New Direction for Best Western GB

It’s been a busy summer for Best Western GB with the announcement of a new Chief Executive and launch of the new BW Premier Collection.

In June 2015 Rob Payne was confirmed as Chief Executive of Interchange & Consort Hotels (ICH), the parent company of Best Western GB.

A graduate in international politics and marketing from Keele University, Payne joined Best Western and its partner business Beacon Purchasing in November 2014 as chief commercial officer. He was previously director of marketing at Bupa Care Services.

Payne said it was “a privilege to lead both brands and to work with such a talented collection of hoteliers, incredible staff and the fantastic team at ICH. “I look forward to leading the company into further commercial growth for our members and to continue to provide a leading guest experience for our customers.”

Since his interim appointment, Payne has focused on introducing a new accountability and direction to Best Western and Beacon.

June also saw the launch of the first three hotels to join the new BW Premier Collection, just three months after the soft brand was launched in the UK.

The first three to be revealed are the historic Winchester Royal Hotel (Winchester), the Grade II listed Richmond Hotel (Liverpool) and the luxurious Bank House Hotel, Golf and Spa (Worcester) with a leading conference hotel joining the collection shortly too.

The BW Premier Collection is the first new brand from Best Western in almost 70 years. It allows high quality hotels – all properties need to be four star minimum with the AA or tourist board and have a Trip Advisor rating of 4.2 or above – in city centre or destination locations to retain their identities through a soft-branded relationship.

Christine Jones, Director of Hotel Development for Best Western Great Britain, said: “The BW Premier Collection is proving incredibly popular. The fact that we have three onboard already just a few months after launch in Great Britain demonstrates how popular this is proving to be and the calibre of the first three shows the direction Best Western is moving in. We are very much focused on quality, raising standards and improving experiences across the board for our guests and the BW Premier Collection does all of those things.”

These are exciting times for Best Western as there are more developments on the way in 2016. 

- ENDS

For more information please contact:

 Kate Bromley

Best Western GB is the largest collection of independently owned and family run hotels in Great Britain. Our 280+ properties have over 42,000 years of history between them and hundreds of stories to share too. From the oldest purpose built hotel in Europe, the hotel with the best room-with-a-view in the world and the hotel which hosted the honeymoon of Hollywood royalty, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.

We are also very proud to have the largest collection of pet-friendly hotels in Great Britain, so you can always holiday with your best friend.

For more details about Best Western GB properties visit www.bestwestern.co.uk or to hear more Best Western GB stories and to arrange a press trip, with or without your dog, please contact the Communications Team.

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