BEST Western International is hopeful of another strong year in 2014, says Glenn de Souza, vice-president, international operations, Asia and Middle East.
“With business confidence generally improving across the world, including an expected upturn in the US and Eurozone economies, we can expect rising demand from what have traditionally been our strongest markets. And with Asia’s tiger economies showing little sign of slowing down, we are confident of taking advantage of the rapid rise in intra-regional travel,” de Souza tells TTN.
“In recent years we have seen that no matter what the global economic situation, tourism arrivals – whether for business or leisure – continue to rise steadily. There are always slight shifts from one market to another but overall we expect to see the growth trend continue across our portfolio.”
The situation varies considerably from market to market, says de Souza.
“Overall, Southeast Asia and the Middle East did very well last year, with rising rates and occupancy levels. We expect similar trends this year, with rising demand and performance in emerging destinations such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Vietnam. Thailand remains a strong market despite the current unrest, and we remain confident in the long-term fundamentals of our Thai hotels.
“This year we expect to expand rapidly in Indonesia, with a focus on key cities and regional destinations. And this process has already started with the opening of our first-ever hotel in Makassar, on the island of Sulawesi.
Best Western International made incredible progress last year, with the launch of new hotels and signed other projects, as part of expansion efforts across Asia and the Middle East. The hospitality giant offers three distinct brand levels – the mid-scale Best Western, upscale Best Western Plus and the luxury Best Western Premier.
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At this year’s ITB Berlin the chain will be focusing on Myanmar, where it recently opened the Best Western Green Hill Hotel Yangon, and in doing so became the first US hotel group to launch in Myanmar since the country opened up to international investment.
“We also plan to bring our luxury Best Western Premier brand to the capital Nay Pyi Taw,” says de Souza.
The Middle East remains a very strong market for Best Western, continues de Souza. “Having debuted in Makkah last year, we expect to ramp up our expansion efforts in Saudi Arabia in 2014. We have a pipeline of 13 hotels in the kingdom, of which nine are expected to open this year. These will include the first-ever Best Western properties in Al Qissim, Al Ahsa, Jeddah, Dammam, Al Jubail, Hayel and Jizan, plus more hotels in Riyadh and Makkah.
“And before the end of 2014, we expected to have opened our first hotel in Iraq; the Best Western Premier Erbil Airport, in the northern Kurdistan region of the country.”
Best Western first launched in Asia and the Middle East in 2001 and now covers 27 countries in the region. For hotel owners, Best Western offers a broad range of support, including sales, marketing and distribution, with online, mobile and social media booking capabilities. The award-winning Best Western Rewards guest loyalty programme has 15 million members.
As part of its ongoing corporate social responsibility efforts, Best Western International has helped conserve Thailand’s rich marine environment with a weekend initiative and charitable donation. A group of team members from the company’s Asia and Middle East head office in Bangkok recently gave up their weekend to travel to the Chonburi province, east of the Thai capital, where they participated in two key local projects designed to protect the local marine life.
The Best Western volunteers sailed out to the Kham Islands where they joined the Royal Thai Navy and helped transplant and replenish the island’s coral reef, which is in danger from coral bleaching.
The volunteers then returned to the mainland, where they visited the Royal Thai Navy’s Sea Turtle Conservation Center and a turtle nursery, where they helped release young turtles back into the sea.
Best Western also presented a charitable donation to the centre, enabling it to continue its work in the future.
“Best Western aims to be a force for good in every market we operate, and this latest CSR (corporate social responsibility) initiative is just one example of the work that our teams undertake across the world,” says de Souza. “Thailand’s coast is one of the key reasons why so many visitors travel to this wonderful country. As such, it is the responsibility of the tourism industry to help preserve and protect this incredible marine environment. At Best Western, we are committed to this challenge and we are delighted to be able to give something back to the coastal community.”
Best Western was founded in 1946 by M K Guertin, a California-based hotelier. Today, Best Western International has more than 4,000 independently owned and operated hotels in 100 countries and territories across the world.
By Rashi Sen