What's Happening?
BWH Hotels, the parent company of Best Western Hotels & Resorts, WorldHotels, and SureStay Hotels, is actively promoting a new travel pattern called 'trip stacking.' This trend involves travelers combining multiple destinations into a single journey,
rather than dedicating their entire trip to one location. The company, which operates over 4,300 properties across 100 countries, has undergone a significant transformation over the past decade. This includes rebranding its parent company as BWH Hotels and launching design-forward concepts like Aiden and Vib. A pivotal move was the 2019 acquisition of WorldHotels, a collection of independent luxury properties. This acquisition allowed WorldHotels to maintain its distinct identity while gaining access to BWH Hotels' global distribution network, loyalty programs, and booking infrastructure. As a result, BWH Hotels now offers a diverse portfolio ranging from budget-friendly SureStay properties to five-star WorldHotels luxury experiences, all connected by a unified loyalty program. The company highlights destination pairings such as Bangkok and Southeast Asia, Kortrijk, Belgium, Mexico City and Cuernavaca, Milan and the Italian Lakes, and Northern California to illustrate how its varied offerings can support this new travel approach.
Why It's Important?
This strategic shift by BWH Hotels is important because it addresses evolving traveler preferences and aims to capitalize on a growing trend in the hospitality industry. The 'trip stacking' model reflects a desire among travelers to maximize their limited vacation time by experiencing more diverse destinations within a single trip. By offering a wide spectrum of hotel brands, from budget to luxury, under one umbrella, BWH Hotels is uniquely positioned to cater to these varied needs. This approach allows travelers to use a single loyalty program across different price points and experiences, potentially increasing customer retention and engagement. For the U.S. travel industry, this could influence how other major hotel chains structure their offerings and marketing strategies, pushing them to consider more integrated and flexible travel solutions. The emphasis on curated luxury experiences through WorldHotels also elevates the perception of the broader BWH Hotels brand, potentially attracting a segment of travelers who previously associated Best Western solely with budget accommodations. This move could also impact regional economies by encouraging multi-destination travel, distributing tourist spending more broadly across different areas.
What's Next?
BWH Hotels is expected to continue leveraging its diverse portfolio to support and promote the 'trip stacking' travel trend. The company's president and CEO, Larry Cuculic, has indicated that BWH Hotels is uniquely equipped to support travelers who are structuring their trips to extend stays, add second locations, or explore more neighborhoods within a single destination. This suggests ongoing marketing campaigns and potentially new package deals designed to facilitate multi-destination itineraries. The integration of loyalty programs across all brands, including the budget-friendly SureStay and the luxury WorldHotels, will likely be a key focus in encouraging travelers to utilize the full breadth of BWH Hotels' offerings. The company may also continue to expand its WorldHotels collection, adding more independent luxury properties in key global and domestic destinations to further enhance its appeal to high-end travelers. This strategy could lead to increased competition among hotel groups to offer more flexible and comprehensive travel solutions, ultimately benefiting consumers with more diverse and tailored travel options.
Beyond the Headlines
The 'split personality' of BWH Hotels, encompassing both budget and luxury segments, represents a deeper shift in how hospitality brands are perceived and managed. Traditionally, hotel brands have often been segmented by price tier, with distinct identities for each. However, BWH Hotels' strategy, similar to Marriott and Hilton, suggests a move towards a more integrated ecosystem where a single parent company can cater to a wide range of traveler needs and budgets. This challenges the conventional mental model of hotel brands and highlights the increasing importance of loyalty programs as a unifying factor across diverse offerings. The success of 'trip stacking' also reflects a broader cultural trend of seeking more immersive and varied experiences from travel, moving away from single-destination, static vacations. This could have long-term implications for destination marketing, encouraging regions to collaborate on multi-city or multi-country itineraries. Furthermore, the emphasis on independent luxury properties within the WorldHotels collection underscores a growing demand for unique, place-driven accommodations that offer local character and refined experiences, contrasting with the uniformity often associated with larger hotel chains.
