Milan, 28 October 2026 – BWH Hotels, one of the world’s leading hotel groups, announces a comprehensive strategic transformation bringing together more than four thousand hotels and eighteen brands under a single global masterbrand, WorldHotels, and one loyalty programme. The aim is to strengthen the positioning of the entire portfolio, now diversified and spanning every market segment, offer greater clarity to travellers and owners, and accelerate growth through a unified platform and advanced digital tools, while maintaining an authentic stay experience and enhancing each destination’s local expertise.
Taking market changes into account, this strategic evolution reflects how today’s travellers discover, evaluate and book hotels, which at the same time preserve their local identity and character. «In this transition, we draw on our history to evolve our vision, affirming through these changes the global scale of a group with a diversified range of brands and new tools to win over tomorrow’s travellers. For our hoteliers, the benefits multiply: greater appeal in international markets, a single loyalty programme and advanced digital tools. What has led travellers to choose our much-loved, well-known brands until now remains; what changes is how we introduce them to travellers around the world,» said Sara Digiesi, Chief Executive Officer of WorldHotels Italy & South-East Europe. «Best Western continues to retain the considerable relevance of an iconic, highly recognisable brand; WorldHotels Collection hotels reach the mainstream within a context that recognises their exclusive character and gives them room for expression, involving them more closely in the group’s growth,» Digiesi concludes.
The WorldHotels masterbrand expresses the group’s full potential, highlighting its higher positioning and the entire offering of a portfolio that now includes luxury, boutique, upper-upscale, upscale, midscale, extended-stay and economy properties.
Guests will find it simpler and more intuitive to explore the group’s full range of accommodation and hospitality experiences. «We have a hotel for virtually every travel occasion, but many travellers know only part of our portfolio,» said Larry Cuculic, President and Chief Executive Officer of WorldHotels. «WorldHotels gives us a clearer, more immediate way to tell the story of who we are today. By bringing our brands, loyalty programme and digital capabilities together under one masterbrand, we make it easier for travellers to understand our identity, while enabling our hoteliers to compete more effectively globally and preserving the independence and uniqueness of our four thousand hotels.»
Local expertise on a global scale
The WorldHotels masterbrand builds on local expertise: the platform enhances the know-how of thousands of independent hoteliers and their knowledge of their surroundings, making authentic experiences across the entire portfolio more accessible to travellers. Property identities, signs and historic brands remain unchanged; visibility, direct guest relationships and recognition evolve, offering both the reassurance of a reliable international network and the authenticity of destination-based experiences. While keeping individual property identities, signage and their distinctive recognised brands unchanged, the WorldHotels platform will expand opportunities to discover the entire portfolio, strengthen direct guest relationships and increase hoteliers’ visibility within the global network. Hotels will therefore continue to preserve their uniqueness and independence while benefiting from the strength, recognition and technological capabilities of a global group such as WorldHotels.
WorldHotels Rewards: a unified loyalty programme for seventy million members
Central to the transformation is WorldHotels Rewards, the new unified loyalty programme integrating Best Western Rewards® and WorldHotels Rewards™, bringing together approximately seventy million members overall. Simple, transparent and rewarding, the new programme introduces three clearer, simplified membership tiers while retaining all currently recognised benefits. Loyalty customers will also enjoy additional opportunities to earn more points. They will furthermore have access to an even more integrated global portfolio and a simpler, more intuitive, connected loyalty experience. Further details of the new programme will be announced on 16 November 2026. «Bringing our loyalty programme under a single brand makes it easier for guests to discover the full breadth of our portfolio, find the right hotel for every kind of trip and feel welcome wherever they choose to stay,» said Joelle Park, Chief Marketing Officer of WorldHotels.
An enhanced digital platform to elevate local hospitality globally
To support the programme and facilitate guest engagement, WorldHotels has invested significantly in its technological and digital infrastructure, with a new website and a completely renewed mobile app due for release in January 2027. At its heart is a proprietary discovery and search platform built on rich content gathered by hotel teams around the world. These insights allow travellers to discover hotels, neighbourhoods and experiences across the portfolio more easily and manage bookings and loyalty activities simply, while increasing affiliated properties’ visibility and hoteliers’ direct-booking opportunities.
WorldHotels Collection: exclusive independent hotels with a distinctive character
As part of this transformation, the portfolio’s luxury and upper-upscale hotels will come together under WorldHotels Collection™, an exclusive global selection reserved for independent properties preserving the uniqueness and refined personality increasingly appreciated by travellers when choosing where to stay. WorldHotels Collection comprises six brands: WorldHotels Luxury, WorldHotels Elite, WorldHotels Distinctive, WorldHotels Crafted, WorldHotels Backdrop™ and WorldHotels Residences™. «The future of refined hospitality is not about standardisation. It is about helping outstanding independent properties compete and grow globally while staying true to their identity,» said Ron Pohl, President of WorldHotels Collection. «WorldHotels Collection sits at the intersection of independence and global scale, giving owners access to the commercial strength, technology and demand engines of a major hotel network, while retaining the authentic, personalised and exclusive local experiences that today’s travellers seek.»
The brand is expanding its presence in some of the hospitality industry’s fastest-growing categories. WorldHotels Residences combines private residential ownership with luxury hospitality services and affiliation with a recognised brand, while WorldHotels Backdrop connects travellers with evocative destinations where immersive natural settings meet high-end hospitality. Together, these platforms expand growth opportunities for developers, owners and independent operators seeking access to global distribution and the recognition of an international brand. WorldHotels Collection will distinguish itself at the highest end of the market through partnerships, dedicated commercial activities and exclusive positioning initiatives, benefiting from greater exposure.
WorldHotels™
WorldHotels is a global portfolio of accommodation properties comprising more than four thousand hotels and resorts, eighteen brands and more than one hundred countries. From luxury and boutique options to more affordable travel, WorldHotels combines the strength of a global presence with local knowledge, meeting the needs of leisure and business travellers as well as hoteliers around the world. Guided by a commitment to making travel more welcoming, WorldHotels connects guests with the neighbourhoods and experiences that make each destination unique. With WorldHotels Rewards™, approximately seventy million members can enjoy simplified benefits throughout the portfolio, exclusive member rates and flexible points-redemption opportunities. For more information, visit WorldHotels.com and follow WorldHotels on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
WorldHotels Collection™
WorldHotels Collection is a global selection of exclusive hotels ranging from luxury to lifestyle within the WorldHotels™ portfolio. From iconic city-centre addresses to hidden boutique retreats and wellbeing havens, each property reflects its destination’s culture, craftsmanship and authentic spirit. WorldHotels Collection serves both leisure and business travellers, with properties combining outstanding hospitality with exclusive spaces. The collection comprises six categories (WorldHotels Luxury, WorldHotels Elite, WorldHotels Distinctive, WorldHotels Crafted, WorldHotels Backdrop™ and WorldHotels Residences™), alongside a selection of hotels directly managed by WorldHotels.
Sources and images: WorldHotels / Espresso Communication press release. Complete editorial text in English translation; photographs supplied with the release.
