First, you may have heard that Best Western is the largest hotel chain in the whole world (over 4,000 hotels in 80 countries, 2000 operating in North America alone). You want to be part of their organization. What then are your chances in getting employed? Very good, if you made sure that your Best Western job application online is the best you ever did.

Know your employer

As in all requisites in job-hunting, the first requirement is getting to know your company as best as you can. (This is aside from the information about the position you are applying for.)

By this time, you would know which particular Best Western franchised hotel you would apply to. If you are from outside the USA, it would be a traditional hotel.

However, if you are from the U.S. the choices are as varied in size and personality of the individual hotel. This is because the company has a mix of traditional roadside motels, a variety of inns, all the way to full-service hotels with international ratings.

Non-traditional

Unknown to many, Best Western is quite different from most. Most hotel chains are often a mixture of company-owned units with a smattering of hotel units operating under as franchisees. Also, the business models are the same: a group of hotels, a network of inns, or a chain of motels.

Each hotel of the Best Western group, however, is an independently owned and operated franchise unit. Every franchisee hotel acts as a non-profit member of the association (the chain) and votes on issues affecting the organization. This is way different from traditional franchises which operate for profits.

Aside from this, Best Western gives enough independence to their member-hotels, allowing them their individual identities. Except for the condition that they must use the chain’s signage and identify themselves as a Best Western hotel, the members are allowed the option of adding their own name as part of their hotel’s name.  

Just like in the good old days of applying for a position in a company, it is wise for an applicant to know some history of a prospective employer. In Best Western, you have to know a little bit of the mother company as well as the hotel where you are applying.

For starters, the hotel chain was founded in 1946 by M.K. Guertin and it was not a hotel chain even then. It started out as a network of independent hotel operators. Way back after the last war, most hotels (owned by big companies and smaller family motor hotels) in California began making referrals of each other to their customers. It did not take very long for them to form into a group.  

For an online job application, it is best to update your résumé to include new entries that might interest the particular Best Western hotel unit you are applying to. Be sure to address the selection criteria they specify in their ads. These would be different for each of their hotels.

Show them that you have their requirements by giving examples of your professional knowledge, experience and present skills. In short, your Best Western online job application should be your best, nothing less.