BEST Western Hotels & Resorts have launched SureStay Hotels, a subsidiary company that plugs hotel owners into the company’s infrastructure and distribution channels while allowing them to retain their branding.
SureStay will have three brands under its umbrella, namely SureStay Hotel, SureStay Plus Hotel and SureStay Signature Collection, that caters to the premium economy, lower midscale and midscale segments respectively.
“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 into this tremendous potential without compromising its brand image,” said David Kong, president and CEO of Best Western Hotels & Resorts.
“Currently, many of these hotels have little to no consumer relevance. 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.”
Hotel owners will have access to Best Western’s preferred OTA commission rates, its scale and global distribution, desktop and mobile platforms and and global sales support. They will also be provided a cloud-based property management system and utilise a digital platform featuring Google 360 virtual reality tours and enhanced SEO support.
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.
The first 100 hotels to join SureStay will get waived royalty fees for 5 years, a regional manager to kick-start their sales and marketing efforts, and hotel-level training support.
According to a statement by Best Western, nearly 20 SureStay letters of intent have already been signed since a soft launch to Best Western members earlier this month. Initial projections for SureStay’s growth is to have 150 hotels online within three years and 800 by 2026.
“We believe SureStay creates a win-win-win situation – the consumers win through superior customer care, the hotels win through superior ROI and the brand wins through a new revenue stream,” added Kong.
