Best Western International has signed deals to launch its first two Vīb brand properties in North America—in Chicago and Miami—and its first international property in Seoul, South Korea.
Short for Vibrant, Vīb is an urban boutique concept first announced last October.
“Since the launch of Vīb we have had tremendous interest from hotel developers, especially entrepreneurs who have not developed Best Western hotels previously,” says Mike Muir, vice president of Best Western North American development. “Vīb is the only boutique concept designed for the upper midscale hotel segment and fills a niche that developers and customers want. What is so exciting for Best Western is that Vīb is no longer a concept but is now a reality. We are thrilled that our first two projects in North America are in such high visibility markets like Miami and Chicago.”
Set within 7.3 acres of the Miami Arts and Entertainment District, the 200-room, 10-story Vīb Miami is being developed by Rebuild Miami-Edgewater within a residential and retail project near the Art Center and the upcoming EXPO Center, and is expected to break ground this November.
“The site where we are developing Vīb is an eclectic neighborhood full of art studios, hip restaurants, and independent shops and is home to Miami’s famous festival, Art Basel,” says Rebuild Miami-Edgewater’s Richard Meruelo. “This project will add to the vibrancy of the Arts and Entertainment District and be a boost to the local economy.”
The 3-story, 74-room Vīb Chicago is being developed by Balkrishna, Parth, and Amit Patel across from the high traffic Midway Hotel Complex in the Chicago/Midway International Airport area.
“We have been looking for a hotel development opportunity in this area for many years,” says Amit Patel. “Once we had the site we wanted, we looked at the various hotel products that we could develop and felt that Vīb offered us the type of contemporary, stylish hotel that was unique to the market and would allow us to effectively compete.” Vīb Chicago is expected to break ground this summer.
Best Western International is currently considering development opportunities in New York, Los Angeles, Austin, Atlanta, Dallas, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal.
