After pausing the rollout of its upscale boutique hotel brand, Vib, Phoenix-based Best Western Hotels & Resorts decided to develop a “prototype” of the hotel in the Valley to better understand the work that went into building the hotel and have a product to show potential developers.
“We identified that it would be important, with our headquarters here, that we build one of these ourselves and understand the costs and the challenges involved,” Ron Pohl, senior vice president and COO of Best Western, said.
The company recently opened its Vib hotel in Tempe, which features 102 rooms, a lobby bar and restaurant that is open to the public and a rooftop deck with a bar and lounge, at 511 S. Farmer Ave.
Normally, hotels under the Best Western and other associated brands are independently owned and operated. Of the 4,500 hotels with a Best Western brand, the Vib Tempe location is the first to be owned and managed by Best Western, Pohl said.
