The 2025 BWH Hotels Annual Convention is underway at the Seattle Convention Center Summit in Seattle, Washington. With the theme “Welcome Begins Here,” both literally and in a broader sense, the company is emphasizing its aim to become the most welcoming hospitality brand in the world. Its neighborhood-focused brand positioning reinforces this mission by focusing on welcoming guests to each hotel’s local community around the globe and providing unique moments that turn stays into memories and build long-term loyalty.
This mindset was the key feature of the general session, where BWH Hotels President and Chief Executive Officer Larry Cuculic’s coffee-themed jokes in recognition of Seattle’s strong ties to Starbucks were a preview of the place-based positioning that is the company’s map for the future. Cuculic explained that BWH Hotels welcomes travelers to their neighborhoods; property owners and staff know their local areas, and they can help guests form connections with them as well. “This positioning actually celebrates what makes us unique, the authentic connections our hotels have with their communities,” he said. Cuculic underlined how BWH Hotels “pioneered welcoming hospitality” nearly 80 years ago, and it remains a key component of the brand moving forward. He noted that welcoming is as simple as smiling at guests and thanking them to create meaningful, personal moments in brief interactions.
The focus on being the industry leader in welcoming hospitality was reinforced throughout the presentation, as Cuculic stated that BWH Hotels wants to inspire travelers with unique experiences and welcome them in memorable ways. “This year’s convention theme signifies the beginning of this transformation,” he said. “Welcome begins here. Welcome begins now. No matter where a guest stays, they will be welcome in memorable ways. No matter the destination, we consistently welcome guests by bringing aspects of the surrounding neighborhood into that hotel experience.”
Beyond sharing this vision of welcoming hospitality, Cuculic showed how providing memorable experiences for guests is already driving growth for the company. He pointed to BWH Hotels’ performance, including an increase in its overall experience score (82.2 brand-wide), and highlighted how BWH Hotels’ global business enterprise generated $8.5 billion in global revenue in the last 12 months. He also stated that the company hit a daily record of $7.56 billion on its website on July 8 and reached a RevPar index of 108 in 2024, which marked an increase from the prior year. With these results in mind, Cuculic looked to the future and reiterated that the mission was to make BWH Hotels the most welcoming brand by being unique and relevant.
Likewise, Joelle Park, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for BWH Hotels, discussed this brand strategy and stated that BWH Hotels’ welcoming hospitality represented a selling point that they could claim better than their competitors. Park detailed how research showed that guests want to feel welcomed. “We welcome travelers to our neighborhoods in ways that others can’t,” she said. “This is inspired by what we saw happening in our hotels and consumer research. Your staff genuinely seek to know our guests. Thus, it’s personal. That research confirmed that if we consistently simplify things, if we appreciate them, and if we bring the local in, we will stand out from the competition.”
Throughout the hospitality industry, it’s increasingly clear that guests are seeking hyperlocal experiences, and Park highlighted data showing that they’re more likely to book from brands that deliver special moments that they can take with them. This is the blueprint for BWH Hotels’ future, as Park stated that the combination of welcoming and incorporating the local neighborhood is what makes the company special. “This neighborhood insider angle, it’s our superpower. It’s exactly what our audience is craving,” she continued. “They want something a little special, and they want to share it. Here’s the formula. When we lean into welcoming and we pair it with a neighborhood that is authentic and local, that’s how we achieve brand relevance and differentiation.”
As BWH Hotels embarks on this journey, Park asked each owner to focus on one thing that the guest could learn only from staying at that property. In doing so, they would bring the neighborhood experience into the stay, help the guest feel welcome, and build connections that create loyalty, thus contributing to the goal of making BWH the most welcoming hospitality brand in the world.
“When a brand shares what they uniquely offer to the world, and then we marry that with what consumers crave, this is where powerful branding happens,” Park said. “No matter where we are, wherever your hotel is, we are a global network with this local heartbeat, and every stay is connecting guests to the soul of that destination.”