Inside Track

What business is it in?
Best Western GB has 316 independently owned hotels and is part of a global brand with 4,000-plus hotels in more than 80 countries.

What's its form
The company was founded in 1946 by a California-based hotelier called MK Guertin as an informal referral system for member hotels. Best Western GB, trading previously as Interchange Hotels, became an affiliate in 1967 and merged with Consort Hotels in 1999 to form one of the nation's largest hotel groups.

Where is its head office and area of operation?
Best Western operates throughout Britain, and its head office is based at Consort House in York. It has regional sales and conference offices in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. All hotels are individually owned and managed, meaning no two hotels are the same. Properties include country house hotels, coaching inns, Victorian townhouses and coastal hotels.

What sort of employer is it?
Best Western GB employs about 100 staff at its central office, which covers a range of departments including IT, membership, marketing, reservations, sales and accounts. Twenty staff work for Beacon, the company's buying consortium. As each hotel is independently owned, the company doesn't directly employ the staff working there. However, there's a dedicated website that all member hotels use to advertise for jobs on: www.bestwesternjobs.co.uk. All Best Western staff, hotel and central office, receive a 50% discount when staying at other member hotels throughout Britain, and a 10-15% discount on hotels in Europe, America and Canada. It has held Investors in People status since 1998.

How does the future look?
The company has recently introduced a Premier status tier to its operation to recognise outstanding hotel properties within the group and communicate the difference to the public to better meet their expectations.

Did you know?
Chef-proprietor and media darling Gordon Ramsay started his career at the Best Western Wroxton House hotel in Oxfordshire.