When WorldHotels and parent BWH Hotel Group unveiled the WorldHotels Crafted Collection, a curated group of independent hotels that offer cutting-edge design, immersive guest experiences and expert service, at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) last January, nobody knew that the COVID-19 pandemic would emerge and put a halt to any plans of rolling out the brand.
Fast forward a little over a year later, and the Crafted Collection is ready for its official launch. The fourth brand in the WorldHotels portfolio, and the first in 30 years, already has five hotels that are open, two in the U.S.—ACME Hotel Company in Chicago and La Casa del Zorro in Borrego Springs, CA—and three in Europe: The Vault Hotel in Sweden, Zander K Hotel in Norway and Hotel Haarhuis in The Netherlands.
“This [brand]is more about the EQ—the emotional quotient—as opposed to a checklist, which we do for a lot of luxury hotels,” said Gregory Habeeb, president, North America, WorldHotels. “We basically defined seven new travelers who are evolving, and they’re going to be fortified even after COVID. This particular collection is design-led; it’s about delivering something with local flair and community. March is International Design Month, and so it’s the perfect time to formally launch it.”
The next expected Crafted hotel to open in the U.S. is the Hotel Bijou in San Francisco, and there are another 45 properties planned for cities across the country, including Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Boston and Palm Springs, CA, among others. WorldHotels is also finalizing negotiations with three prospective Crafted hotels in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region in the coming months, and Asia-Pacific (APAC) expansion is also in the works with about 15 properties in the pipeline and another potential three being interviewed.
Habeeb noted that Crafted hotels won’t always be found in primary urban markets. “Crafted’s mission is to take the storytelling of these owners and these creators, and how we can tap into our resources to deliver revenue for them, because they have very specific needs,” he said. “It could be out in Sag Harbor on Long Island; it could be out in tertiary areas. It could be outside San Francisco or in Santa Monica (CA). We look at this group as a boutique lifestyle [collection], but really about soul searching. It’s led by design of contemporary and classic, F&B and local flair. People, even after COVID, are craving that locality and something different.”
David Kong, CEO, BWH Hotel Group, pointed out why Crafted works from a business perspective, noting, “Every brand has to be in tune with its customer base and what they want and how they can attract new customers.”
He continued, “There’s no question the boutique lifestyle trend is here to stay because travelers are looking for experience. And, it’s no wonder the lifestyle boutique segment performs so well; it achieves a higher average rate, higher occupancy and, therefore, higher RevPAR. Developers want to build these hotels or convert properties to be part of this segment. On the Best Western side, we have four boutique lifestyle brands, two new-construction and two conversion. On top of that, we have two collection soft brands. These hotels, based on our experience, have achieved superior RevPAR performance, high guest satisfaction, great social engagement and they tremendously elevate the image of our brand.”
He also noted that Crafted fills a need that WorldHotels’ other brands don’t provide. “If you look at what WorldHotels offered, at the time when we acquired it, it is primarily in the luxury and upper-upscale segment,” said the CEO. “If you look at that universe, it’s very limited; you have very limited profit opportunity. So, to enable the brand to enhance its image and to grow its presence around the world and become more consumer relevant, you have to grow through this boutique lifestyle segment. [The Crafted brand is] very much about the personality and uniqueness of the hotel. When you think about the name Crafted, you immediately think about, well, it’s handmade, it’s unique and it’s different. I think the name says it all; that’s the essence of what we want to create. That’s the essence of that brand and its appeal to both travelers and to hotel developers.”
Crafted joins the other three WorldHotels collections—Luxury and Elite (both top-tier luxury) and Distinctive (what Habeeb called “attainable upscale”)—all of which have undergone a brand refresh, which, according to Kong, “will give each its own identity.”
The CEO said the refresh was in the works prior to COVID, and that it was more than just new logos. “A logo refresh is part of a bigger plan to breathe excitement and vibrancy in WorldHotels, and also creating consumer relevancy,” he said. “The bigger plan includes things like the newly articulated vision and mission, which gives us a lot more focus and clarity, and makes it much easier for us to convey the value proposition to prospective WorldHotels owners. On top of that, in terms of creating excitement and vibrancy, you have to think about social media and marketing. And there are multiple initiatives that we’re pursuing to refresh the brand. It’s not just about the logo refresh, it’s about refreshing the brand.’
Habeeb, who returned to WorldHotels in 2019 after nearly eight years at cosmetics firm Molton Brown, furnished the vision and mission statements: “Our vision is to be the most trusted and intuitive partner with access to essential and extensive resources for the discerning global family of the finest curated hotels and resorts. Our mission statement is to be stronger together by empowering our community of hoteliers, travel partners and guests with expertise, passion and collective goals to inspire unique life enriching experiences that connect people in places.”
He added, “We were always amazed at some of the owners of our hotels. They come from all different walks of life. We had one that was a racecar driver and one that owned a tattoo parlor. So, when you start looking at all these unique things, that’s what is gravitating toward our brand. No two hotels are alike, and we want to tell those stories.”
