[1] The franchise, with its corporate headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona,[2] includes more than 2,000 hotels in North America.

In California, a network of independent hotel operators began making referrals of each other to travelers.

This small and informal network eventually grew into the modern Best Western hotel brand founded by M.K.

By 1962 Best Western had the only hospitality reservations service covering the entire United States, and in 1963, was the largest motel brand in the industry with 699 member properties and 35,201 rooms.

By 1967 the "Best Eastern" name was dropped and all motels from coast-to-coast got the "Best Western" name and Gold Crown, a move that would further enhance an already successful marketing brand into the "World's Largest Hotel Chain" by the 1970s.

Best Western purchased WorldHotels[7] in February 2019 adding approximately 360 additional hotels and 81,248 more rooms to its brand.

[8] BWH Hotel Group was formed as the parent company of Best Western and WorldHotels following this acquisition.

On 21 May 2013 Best Western International announced that it will take over management of the Green Hill Hotel in Yangon, Myanmar.

The acquisition gave the Best Western brand a place presence in Myanmar (Burma) as its first hotel establishment in the country.