BWH Hotels sets sights on Northern growth

Headquartered in York, the parent group of a raft of hotel brands spearheaded by Best Western is keen to work with property developers and independent hotel operators alike as it looks to grow its portfolio.

BWH Hotels GB describes itself as the UK’s largest group of independent hotels with brands – including Best Western and luxury brand World Hotels – supporting hoteliers with commercial operations, and giving them global reach across the US-headquartered hospitality giant’s business.

So far in 2024 BWH’s UK operation has added 832 rooms and 12 hotels, from Eastbourne to Sunderland, to its 230strong portfolio.

BWH said with its help, web traffic for partners has been driven up by 10% for partners, with year-on-year bookings up by 11% across the group.

Robert Alley, BWH Hotels GB brand director, told Place North: “Given our incredible business growth in 2024, our ambitions for Northern city-centre locations in 2025 and beyond are challenging but definitely achievable.”

BWH said that hotels joining the group enjoy benefits such as a global loyalty scheme, affiliate marketing programmes and and global web connectivity at competitive commercial terms.

Alley said: “We’re based out of York, our roots are in the North.

“There’s almost nowhere we wouldn’t look at, whether that’s working with a developer or an operator looking for a partner. We’re keen on the key cities, like Newcastle, Manchester, Leeds, and what we can offer is that range of price points, how they can benefit from scale.”

Alley said the group’s goals are tough but achievable. Credit: via Smoking Gun

The Covid pandemic obviously affected the sector greatly at all levels. And as Alley describes, it led some operators into the partnership:

“When the sector was really suffering under Covid, I think the group became a safe pair of hands for some bruised independents who have seen the benefit of what we call ‘the Power of Two’ – combining their individuality with the flexibility and reach of a big brand.

“Even in the years following Covid, hotels have been facing operational pressures – pressures on attracting and retaining staff, inflationary costs, construction and development finance, it’s been a difficult few years for many people.

“But now that money is starting to move in the market again, we think there’s a great opportunity for people to put their offer onto that expanded platform that we can offer. We’re keen to have conversations.”

Part of Alley’s mission since joining BWH has been to spread the message of how the group has a wider offer than just the main Best Western heritage brand.

He said: “Our model is different to traditional franchising alternatives, we are essentially a member organisation that ‘looks’ like a franchise business. There isn’t a shareholder to think of as such, what we take out in fees is invested back into the business, so it is more cost-friendly than some operators.”

So who are BWH looking to work with, and how? The core brands – or “hard brands” –  have stricter parameters, but the “softer” brands in the group, where branding is less obvious, are more flexible.

Alley said: “What we consider as really important across the group is to work with hotels that really invest in customer service. Guest satisfaction scores are important, we want to work with hotels known as clean and tidy, with a warm welcome, who engage with their customers”.

Aparthotels are part of the mix, as evidenced by Liverpool Dockside aparthotel being added to the group’s Signature collection this year.

Alley, a former COO of aparthotel specialist Roomzzz before joining BWH, said: “The aparthotel market is well established now, and is becoming more and more mainstream. We’re having lots of conversations around that extended stay market. There are a lot of great operators around, and I think hotels realised they were missing out on that market. Serviced apartments are very much part of the puzzle for us.”

Alley concluded: “There are still key cities in the North with city centre hotels which could genuinely benefit from joining forces with BWH Hotels and we look forward to welcoming more high quality independent hotels to our group.”