Best Western approaches 200-unit mark

Mark Williams of Best Western Hotels

PHOENIX—Sometime during the middle months of 2012, Best Western should pass the 200-hotel mark in Canada.

“We’re not there yet, but we’re close,” says Mark Williams, vice president North American development.

“We have 188 open and operating with another 28 under development. We should hit 200 in mid- 2012.”

Many of the new Best Westerns will be in Saskatchewan and Alberta due to the oil and gas business, notes Williams.

New builds are slated for Estevan, Regina, Moose Jaw, and North Battleford, SK; while Alberta locations include Okotoks, Lacombe, Lethbridge, Redwater, Sundre, Sherwood Park and Camrose. The Alberta properties are all Best Western Plus properties, with some Best Western Premiers.

“For years, we just had one property in Manitoba,” Williams adds, “But now we have three new construction hotels coming in 2012.”  The three will be located in Headingley, just west of Winnipeg, Thompson and Selkirk.
BC properties include Williams Lake, a conversion in Maple Ridge, a Best Western Premier in Surrey, and an approved conversion in Radium Hot Springs. Prestige Hotels, the same group that developed the showpiece Best Western Premier in Sooke, BC, will be converting the Radium Hot Springs property.

Ontario Best Westerns in the works include Strathroy, Etobicoke, and Fergus, which are under construction, plus Waterloo and Walkerton. Conversion properties are also planned for Toronto North and Perth, while plans for Aurora include a new build hotel.  The property in Etobicoke, near Toronto Airport, will be a Best Western Premier.

And, notes Williams, there’s been a lot of interest from Quebec regarding the Best Western Premier product. “Quebec owners seem to have the Premier mindset—the product in there is all in the higher end. The introduction of Premier helped [that market] considerably.”

Val D’Or and Riviere du Loup, Quebec are working on becoming Best Western Premier. A Laval property is also in the works.

While development has been steady in Atlantic Canada for several years, Best Western has nothing on the books right now. Williams notes that Best Western would like to continue to grow in the Atlantic region.

“We are very favourable toward the Canadian market,” he says. “The Canadian financial situation was not as severely impacted as the U.S., and the ability to attract capital hasn’t wavered as much as in the U.S.”

Atrea now Premier

The Atrea prototype unveiled by Best Western has been “tweaked” to become a premier product by increasing the dimensions of some spaces.

Canada’s first Best Western Premier in Calgary, the Freeport Inn and Suites, was based on the Atrea prototype.

Best Western’s development website also shows a “Classic Upper Midscale” design, which is currently being updated.

“Developers are not bound to use our designs, though [the designs] can give them a leg up in cost savings and time because the designs have already been approved,” says Williams.

Four-year contract

At the recent Best Western International convention, members voted overwhelmingly in favour of a four-year contract term for new properties.  In the past, all Best Western membership contracts were on a year-to-year basis.

Lenders want the commitment of a longer term with a respected chain, and the four-year-term will also protect Best Western from having other brands “poach” their properties after the first year is up.  The new terms apply to any project approved from October 2011 on.

Canadian product and service standards high

Best Western’s focus is on continuing to improved its product standards, and Williams notes that Canadian product and service standards are high.

“We would like to get as many Premier properties as possible in metropolitan and resort markets,” he notes.

“Best Western is the largest single brand in Canada and we look forward to surpassing 200.”

Best Western Stats

Total Canadian properties: 188

Best Western Plus properties in Canada: 105 with 6 about to install signs = 111 total.

Best Western Premier properties in Canada: 2 with another 4 in the works to become Premier = 6 total

Canadian properties in the pipeline: 28