2019 has been an extremely positive year for Best Westernboth worldwide and in France. On a global scale, the hotel group, which has a total of 4035 hotels, including 417 new affiliates in 2019, saw sales generated by the central reservation system rise by 17.4 1TP3Q. In France, despite a business disrupted by strikes and the yellow waistcoat movement, the Centralised sales even jumped 68%. At the same time, turnover from the corporate customer portfolio grew by 12.5 1TP3Q, generating 13.5 million euros thanks to partnerships with CWT and Egencia. Seminar business remained stable compared with the previous year, at €4.3 million.
To explain this dynamicsQuentin Vandevyver, President of the American group's French network, talks about "completed connectivity with OTAs such as Booking.com and Expedia, as well as improved ergonomics for the bestwestern.fr website". In 2020, the booking process will be completely overhauled to make it even simpler and more intuitive, while the Group will extend its conversational approach to instant messaging on Facebook Messenger and iMessage to complement the chatbot launched a year ago.
The strategy of moving upmarket in recent years is also driving growth. With 15 additional establishments, the Best Western group's offer is approaching 300 hotels in France with a total of 298 hotels by the end of December 2019. New affiliates include the appearance in France - and in Europe - of the lifestyle brand Aiden at Magny les Compiègne, as well as Best Westerns at Quétigny near Dijon, at Loos les Lille and at Pau airport, a Best Western Premier at Tournus, Sure budget hotels in Reims and Arras, and several BW Signature Collection hotels, notably in Auxerre and Kaysersberg. Finally, at the top end of the market, the Grand Hôtel de l'Opéraideally located on the Place du Capitole in Toulouse, has joined the BW Premier Collection.
This growth is set to continue in 2020 and beyond. While in 2018, Best Western France beat a record number of validated hotels This figure was exceeded in 2019, with 37 new hotels to be added, and is set to be exceeded again in 2020, when the group has set itself a target of 40 hotels. The hotels due to join the group later this year are as follows: 6 Sure Hotel, 1 Sure Collection, 5 Best Western, 4 Best Western Plus, 2 Aiden, 3 Best Western Signature Collection and 4 Best Western Premier.
Like most major hotel groups, Best Western is committed to a policy of sustainable development. diversification of its offering with the launch of new brands. In France, eight of the eighteen Best Western banners since the acquisition of the WorldHotels group of independent business hotels last year, will soon be present. "This new brand architecture gives us a real boost to growthexplains Olivier Cohn, General Manager of Best Western France. Until 2011, we only had two brands, Best Western in the mid-range and Best Western Premier at the top end of the market. With eight brands, this opens up new opportunitiesfor example in destinations where we already have a presence. "
As a result of this proliferation of brands, the Group's structure has evolved, with an umbrella brandBest Western Hotel Group, which comprises three entities covering the entire spectrum of the hotel offer: SureStay for budget hotels, Best Western for mid-range and top-of-the-range hotels and WorldHotels for top-of-the-range and luxury hotels.
