Best Western launches SureStay

PHOENIX Best Western® Hotels & Resorts  introduced a new white label franchise model, SureStay Hotels, earlier this week.

SureStay will operate as a separate subsidiary, but will plug hotel owners into the company’s infrastructure and distribution channels.

With three distinctive brands – SureStay Hotel (Premium Economy), SureStay Plus Hotel (Lower Midscale) and SureStay Signature Collection (Midscale Soft Brand) – Best Western aims to provide options in the marketplace for franchisees.

“In North America, there are currently 17,000 branded hotels and another 12,000 unbranded in the economy and midscale segments. The white label approach allows Best Western to tap this tremendous potential without compromising its brand image,” said Best Western Hotels & Resorts president and CEO, David Kong.

“Currently, their brands have very little potential to drive superior revenue, and the owners are incurring high franchise fees from brands that don’t provide the necessary support, service or value.”

SureStay was developed under the AAHOA Fair Franchising Principles, granting owners fair and reasonable early termination provisions with no liquidated damages, allowing them to have a voice through advisory committees, and allowing procurement outside of brand channels.

All three brands will be marketed under the SureStay umbrella, with no consumer reference to Best Western Hotels & Resorts. This will allow Best Western to leverage its existing infrastructure, while creating a new revenue stream, without compromising the company’s already established position.

SureStay hotels will have access to Best Western Hotels & Resorts’ preferred OTA commission rates, its scale and global distribution, award-winning desktop and mobile websites.

Owners will be provided a cloud-based PMS and benefit from a robust digital platform featuring Google 360 virtual reality tours and enhanced SEO and SEM support.  The hotels will receive individualised corporate consulting to help manage reviews and social media platforms and property-level sales coaching.  In addition, they will receive the support of a global sales team focused on commercial and leisure clients.

To qualify for SureStay, hotels will need to achieve and maintain a TripAdvisor score of 3.5 or higher. They will also need to adhere to the SureStay Service Promise, which will be a key point of emphasis.

“With SureStay, we are seeking to create a core group of hotels that will differentiate themselves from others in the market, focusing on delivering high quality and outstanding service,” said Kong.

The first 100 hotels to join SureStay will receive an array of incentives, including waived royalty fees for five years, a regional manager to kick-start their sales and marketing efforts, and hotel-level training support.  Additionally, 100% of the marketing and technology fee (5%) will be re-invested to help hotels succeed.

The group targets 150 hotels online within three years and 800 by 2026.