BWH Hotels - Company history

1946

Founding of the brand Best Western: The US-American hotelier Merrill K. Guertin founds together with 66 other hoteliers the hotel chain Best Western with the head office in Long Beach/California. His aim is to recommend hotels to the guests for their further journey in western USA. This idea of "recommendation" is the base for mutual marketing within a with standardized quality brand. The hotels‘ entrepreneurial independence is supposed to profit from the solidarity of the group. Until today nothing really has changed about this concept for success: independent, quality oriented hoteliers unite in a strong community and use the services of a worldwide well-known brand.

1963

With about 700 hotels and more than 35,000 guest rooms Best Western becomes the biggest and most familiar hotel chain of the USA.

1966

Best Western merges with Best Eastern, a similar hotel cooperation in eastern USA. Phoenix/Arizona becomes the new head office.

1975

Worldwide expansion of the brand: First countries outside the United States are Australia and New Zealand (1975) as well as Mexico (1976) with more than 100 hotels.

1977

Best Western is the largest hotel chain worldwide and remains it until today.

1978

Expansion of the brand to Europe with the first hotels in Great Britain and Ireland.

1980

Best Western grows to 2,654 Best Western hotels worldwide.

1981

European expansion goes on: First Best Western hotels open in Austria, Switzerland, France and Sweden.

1982

First Best Western Hotels in Denmark and Italy.

1984

First Best Western Hotels in Belgium, Finland and the Netherlands.

1985

First Best Western Hotels in Spain and Portugal.

1986

Best Western starts in Germany: The 29 partner hotels of unitels Hotelkooperation, which was founded about ten years before, join Best Western and operate under the new name Best Western Hotels Deutschland GmbH. Some of the current hotels were part of the group since the very start: the Hotel zur Post in Bremen, the Hotel Rebstock in Würzburg and the Parkhotel Kronsberg in Hanover.

1987

First Best Western hotels in Asia (Hong Kong and Singapore).

Best Western is present in 38 countries with 3,100 hotels.

1988

Gold Crown Club International, the customer loyalty program for frequent travelers, is found and increases to more than 200,000 members.

1992

Best Western in 42 countries with 3,300 hotels represented, 1,900 Hotels in North America, 1,000 in Europe and 100 hotels in Germany.

1993

A new Best Western logo is launched worldwide.

1994

Electronic booking channels become more and more popular: connection of the Best Western booking system to all big airline reservation systems

1995

Germany is responsible for Best Western hotels in Luxembourg.

Best Western also expands in Africa (Botswana, Simbabwe, South Africa).

1996

Best Western Hotels is one of the first hotel chains worldwide, of which all hotels are bookable online.

1997

Worldwide uniform quality controls with consistent standards are launched.

2000

Worldwide 4,000 hotels in more than 80 countries belong to Best Western, in Germany, Luxembourg and Poland there are 134 hotels.

The German Best Western website is online.

2002

Best Western expands to China.

Launch of Best Western Travel Card: First electronic hotel voucher.

2003

The new category Best Western Premier is launched in Europe and Asia, in this top category 57 hotels in Europe are available.

In Germany, Poland and Luxembourg Best Western grows to 145 hotels.

2004

Launch of Early Bird Rate on the Internet and of price guarantee program Online Low Rate – Guaranteed: On no other website a better price is bookable than on the company websites.

2005

The online presence of Best Western is translated in eight different languages: hotel and booking information in English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

Start of the service initiative „service ideas“ in all hotels in Germany.

2006

Best Western becomes partner of Miles & More, the frequent flyer loyalty program of Lufthansa.

2007

Best Western is with 166 hotels the largest hotel group in Germany.

2008

20 years anniversary: The customer club Gold Crown Club International gets renamed into Best Western Rewards and has ten million members.

2010

Best Western Hotels Germany grows to 190 hotels and becomes partner of Payback.

2011

New worldwide brand strategy: Three hotel categories Best Western, Best Western Plus und Best Western Premier are launched worldwide.

Best Western Hotels Germany integrates evaluations of external hotel portals on the website and offers free use of „Best Western to go“ for iPhone, iPad and Android.

2012

Best Western Hotels develops an own German mobile website.

Best Western is with about 50 holiday hotels in Germany one of the largest brand suppliers in the holiday segment.

2013

New fund-raising campaign: Best Western hotels in Germany and Luxembourg collect 50,000 euros of donations for local aid programs with the project ‚The Good Bear‘ in the first year of the campaign.

The customer loyalty program Best Western Rewards reaches the 20 million members mark and celebrates its 25th anniversary.

2014

Global strategic partnership with online travel agency Expedia.

2015

The customer loyalty program Best Western Rewards reaches the 25 million members mark and takes the third place in J.D. Power’s satisfaction survey.

Best Western relaunches German website in responsive design.

The new lifestyle hotel brand Vib as well as the soft brand BW Premier Collection are launched.

Worldwide brand relaunch announced: After more than 20 years the world’s largest hotel group introduces a new brand appearance with completely new logos. From now on Best Western International uses the designation Best Western Hotels & Resorts as master brand.

2016

Best Western celebrates its 70th anniversary: For the brand‘s birthday the first hotels receive new logos.

Since the beginning of the year, Best Western Hotels Central Europe (BWHCE) headquartered in Eschborn / Germany is in charge of approximately 230 hotels in ten countries: Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland. In addition to its German headquarters in Eschborn there is a regional office in Vienna, Austria.

2017

The first hotels of the BW Premier Collection are launched in the region of Best Western Hotels Central Europe: The Harmonie Vienna in Austria and the V8 Hotel Superior Motorworld Region Stuttgart in Boeblingen, Germany. The BW Premier Collection is a soft brand by Best Western Hotels & Resorts, and a new marketing offer for exclusive hotels at top locations in urban centers and holiday destinations. Currently around 80 hotels worldwide belong to the exclusive BW Premier Collection.

2018

In addition to the BW Premier Collection, which has been introduced in 2017, the soft brand range of Best Western Hotels & Resorts will be supplemented by two further soft brand collections: the BW Signature Collection for upscale mid-range hotels and the Sure Hotel Collection for hotels in the three-star segment.

The Best Western Rewards customer loyalty program celebrates its 30th anniversary and now has over 37 million members.

The fullbrands Sure Hotel by Best Western and Sure Hotel Plus by Best Western as well as the Sure Hotel Collection by Best Western are launched. The Sure Hotel by Best Western Ratingen is the first hotel of that brand in Germany. (In North America and Asia: SureStay Hotels by Best Western, SureStay Plus Hotels by Best Western and SureStay Collection)

The new boutique brands Sadie and Aiden are launched.

2019

Three hotels in Germany have joined the newly launched Softbrand Sure Hotel Collection by Best Western: The Amedia Plaza in Schwerin, the Plaza Hotel Blankenburg in Ditzingen and the Amedia Hotel in Weiden

Best Western Hotels & Resorts acquires WorldHotels with approximately 300 independent hotels and resorts worldwide in the upper midscale and luxury segment.

The third Softbrand BW Signature Collection is launched in Germany with the Excelsior Hotel Nuernberg Fuerth.

BWH Hotel Group, a joint global brand architecture, formed in the wake of Best Western Hotels & Resorts’ acquisition of WorldHotels Collection. The umbrella name reflects the merger of the various brand families (Best Western Hotels & Resorts, WorldHotels Collection, SureStay Hotel Group). Shortly afterwards, the Eschborn-based company Best Western Hotels Central Europe GmbH, which is responsible for hotels in the ten countries Germany, Croatia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Hungary, is renamed BWH Hotel Group Central Europe GmbH at the end of 2019.

New lifestyle brand: The first Aiden by Best Western in the Central Europe region opens in Biberach an der Riss, Southern Germany.

2020

The WorldHotels Collection celebrates its 50th anniversary.

2020 Launch of WorldHotels' fourth collection: WorldHotels Crafted Collection.

2020 The global covid pandemic brings major impact on travel, revenue losses and temporary hotel closures. Successful measures taken by BWH Hotel Group Central Europe and its hotels, including hotel offices, touristic campaigns for restart, picnic offers, hybrid and digital event offers, hygiene and safety concepts.

2021

The Best Western brand celebrates its 75th anniversary.

WorldHotels unveils a refreshed logo for the WorldHotels Collection umbrella brand, as well as for its four collections: WorldHotels Luxury, WorldHotels Elite, WorldHotels Distinctive, and the new soft brand, WorldHotels Crafted.

The loyalty programs Best Western Rewards and WorldHotels Rewards now boast over 45 million members worldwide.

BWH Hotel Group Central Europe launches its first podcast, "Wherever Life Takes You… Stories by Best Western Hotels & Resorts," featuring interviews with the group's individual hoteliers who share their personal insights into the world of hospitality.

Brand debut in Austria: The first hotel of the lifestyle brand Aiden, the Aiden by Best Western @ Stadtgut Hotel Steyr, opens in Steyr.

Successful marketing campaigns for the restart after Covid: BWH Hotel Group Central Europe supports its hotels with numerous marketing campaigns, sales activities, promotions, and new digital offerings for customers and partners. Additionally, guests are informed about the current Covid information and safety measures for each hotel and location before their arrival.

Growth of 2,000 rooms since the beginning of the pandemic: Despite the hotel industry being heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic for over a year, BWH Hotel Group Central Europe has welcomed 20 new hotels with more than 2,000 rooms in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland since the beginning of the crisis last year.

2022

Aid for Ukraine: Rewards members can donate points.

BWH Hotel Group becomes a global partner of the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance. Launch of the image and marketing campaign: "Hosts with Passion – Diverse. Warm. Personal."

New long-stay brand HOME by BWH: BWH Hotel Group announces the introduction of a new brand in the midscale extended-stay segment in North America. HOME by BWH is the new midscale brand for long-stay hotel operators in the USA.

Launch of the WorldHotels Crafted Collection in Germany: The b’mine Frankfurt Airport becomes the first hotel in Germany to join the collection of exclusive design hotels, which is part of the BWH Hotel Group's brand portfolio.

2023

Rebranding and new logo for the global umbrella brand: BWH Hotel Group is now BWH Hotels. The BWH Hotels brand portfolio now includes 19 full and soft brands.

Positive development at BWH Hotel Group Central Europe: Since early 2022, the group of individual hotels has grown by eleven properties, adding more than 1,200 rooms. Additionally, BWH Hotel Group Central Europe has returned to pre-crisis levels in centrally mediated revenues to hotels, thanks to three strong quarters in 2022.

The WorldHotels Collection expands its portfolio worldwide with five new properties. In addition to the first hotel of the brand in Greece, the Crafted Collection makes its debut in Spain.

Best Talents Day by Best Western is held for the tenth time – a talent program for young high potentials from the hotels.

New travel blog by BWH Hotel Group Central Europe: The new blog "Wherever Life Takes You, Inspiration by Best Western" offers inspiration with exciting topics around travel and hotel tips in a new design.

2024

Best loyalty program in the hospitality industry: Best Western Rewards wins the German Bonus Award as "Best Program of the Year." Additionally, the loyalty program of BWH Hotels, which has more than 57 million members worldwide, also ranks first in the categories "Best Customer Service" and "Best Promotion for Earning Points," achieving overall victory among hotel brands in this year's loyalty ranking in Germany.

Best Western becomes the new official hotel partner of the German Basketball Federation (DBB). The hotel group has signed an initial three-year partnership agreement with the federation.

Most desirable employer and training champion in the German hospitality industry: Best Western Hotels & Resorts are the industry winners in the hotel category in the study

"Germany's Most Desirable Employers 2024." Additionally, Best Western Hotels & Resorts has been named "Germany's Training Champions 2024," also ranking first in the hotel category in this ranking. 2024 GreenSign Office certification for the entire DEHAG Hospitality Group..