Best Western Franchise

Best Western is the world's largest hotel chain with more than 4,200 hotels in 100 countries. It has been operating for 69 years in the U.S. and for 39 years in Europe, and it continues to expand. It has hotels in The U.K., France, Germany and Bulgaria as well as across the rest of Europe.  It was founded in 1946 by M.K Guertin. The chain first began as an informal link between proprietaries. It was a referral system, whereby hotels recommended other lodging establishments to travellers. In 1962 the chain began using the logo of the crown with a rope border to identity which hotels were members and which weren't. By 1963 it was the largest motel chain in the industry.  In 1975 it started expanding overseas and internationalising, first in Australia and New Zealand, and moving into Great Britain and Ireland in 1978.



All of the Best Western Hotels are independently owned and operated by those that have bought into the franchise. Best Western believes that different owners uniting in shared promotion of their properties will ultimately lead to more substantial profits.

Year established	1946
Year franchise established in Europe	1978
Number of units worldwide	4,700

Training and support

Being a member of Best Western means you get all the independence of running your own business but still reap the benefits of being part of a huge hotel chain. There is much to be gained from belonging to a global brand which is both known and trusted by people all around the world. The franchisee will also have powerful connections and reliable back-up support service all of the time. Best Western has competitive fees and shorter contracts than other hotel chains in the industry. Finally, being part of a global brand means having access to a worldwide consumer pool and a worldwide booking channel through the internet. Being a franchisee of Best Western provides stability for a new business owner.

Corporate Responsibility

Charities, sponsorship

Best Western has such a huge presence in over 100 countries across the globe and with this comes the passion for taking care of its valued customers. Becoming ingrained in local communities across the world leads Best Western to strive for change in certain places and to do so, it supports numerous charities and initiatives.

The Better World Fund supports all the initiatives of the company and organises them in such a way that resources are directed towards the schemes or projects most critically in need of funding.

Best Western team up with World Vision and Kiva to provide families and children with basic needs that can lead to development, for example, helping young entrepreneurs get the vital tools they need to start their business in developing countries.

Having so many tight connections to different communities around the world means that, when natural disasters, hit Best Western feels the need to do something to help. It partners with the Red Cross in Canada and North America, who are the first to respond in public emergencies.

Best Western values the power of education to change people’s lives and to develop people’s lives in a way that could not be done otherwise. It helps to fund higher education. The company established the Best Western Scholarship Program which supports students attending colleges in North America.