One family-run hotel went independent after flying the Best Western flag while another upgraded its chain status. Here’s a look at both decisions
The Golden Arrow isn’t your typical highway off-ramp Best Western. The 37-room motel that Stefanie and Winfred Holderied bought in 1974 in the Adirondack vacation town of Lake Placid is now a 150-room full-service resort hotel run by their children, Jennifer and Heidi. And while the Best Western flag was a good fit in 1979 just before the Winter Olympics came to town, the Golden Arrow has expanded so dramatically over the years that the Holderieds found they had simply outgrown the midrange brand.
The family considered switching to a more upscale franchise, but they decided instead that the time was right to take the Golden Arrow independent when the hotel’s contract with Best Western expires in November.
Going independent is an uncommon move for most franchisees. According to Best Western, fewer than 2% of the brand’s 2,400 hotels in North America end their annual contracts with the chain each year. Nationwide, about 70% of U.S. hotels belong to a chain, but independence is something that many franchise owners dream about when they’re writing checks for those costly franchise fees.
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