PHOENIX—Best Western Hotels & Resorts said Wednesday that it had launched a boutique brand, GLo, targeting the midscale segment in secondary, suburban and highway locations. GLo will be the hotelier's seventh brand overall and the company says it represents a first in the midscale segment, since boutique brands currently target the luxury, upper-upscale and upscale segments.

The introduction of GLo follows up on Best Western's successful 2014 launch of Vib, a boutique brand targeting the upper-midscale market. It's also part of a broader repositioning campaign that includes new logos and investment of $2 billion in property improvements by the end of 2016, building on the selloff of 1,200 underperforming properties over the past decade.

The 69-year-old company's name is new, as well. Known for decades as Best Western International, the Phoenix-based company announced a name change to Best Western Hotels & Resorts at its annual convention in Honolulu earlier this week.

“We looked at the segmentation of boutique hotels and realized GLo would fill a void because of the lack of a boutique product in the broad midscale segment,” says David Kong, Best Western's president and CEO. “Developers are expressing interest in a boutique brand for secondary markets with a high density population. With the demand to build a hotel product that is fresh, chic and contemporary, we see tremendous opportunity for GLo to change the development landscape in the midscale segment.”

Designed as a four-story, 70-key new construction hotel, GLo is intended to be cost effective to build. The brand is forecast to cost $65,000 per key and generate an average daily rate of up to $90 in the US, depending on the market.

Regarding the new logos, Kong says, “We started over. We are embracing our future with a completely reimagined brand identity that clarifies our exceptional offerings and broadens our appeal with a contemporary, energetic and relevant look.”

Instant Insights /

Best Western Unveils New Name, Logos, Brand

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