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Economic Audit: Best Western

# V-ECON Audit — Best Western (BWH Hotels)

**Audit Phase:** V-ECON
**Date:** 29 June 2026

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## Supply Chain & Sourcing Relationships
Best Western operates as a hotel franchisor rather than a food retailer or wholesaler; sourcing decisions for food and beverage at individual properties are made at the franchisee level by independently owned and operated hotels [^1][^2]. No public evidence identified of BWH Hotels / Best Western International holding any corporate supply chain relationship with Israeli agricultural aggregators or exporters, including Mehadrin, Hadiklaim, or Agrexco successors. No NGO or regulatory investigation naming Best Western in any Israeli agricultural or goods-supply context was identified across searches of Who Profits [^3][^4], AFSC Investigate [^5], and the Don't Buy Into Occupation (DBIO) 2024 and 2025 reports [^6][^7].

No public evidence identified of BWH Hotels or Best Western International maintaining a wholly-owned subsidiary, joint venture, or dedicated import entity as importer of record for Israeli-origin goods. No public evidence identified of recurring seasonal procurement by Best Western International from Israeli suppliers. No public evidence identified of any third-party or indirect sourcing relationship between Best Western and Israeli goods producers, whether in internationally-recognised Israel proper or the occupied territories.

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## Product Origin, Labeling & Regulatory Compliance
No public evidence identified of any Best Western corporate entity being cited in NGO investigations, regulatory citations, or customs audit findings related to goods labeled "Produce of Israel" originating from the West Bank, Jordan Valley, or Golan Heights; source classes checked include Who Profits [^3][^4], Human Rights Watch [^8], Ethical Consumer [^9], boycott-israel.org [^10], and the BDS Movement economic boycott list [^11].

Best Western is absent from the Who Profits company database, whose tourism sector entries focus on online travel agencies and accommodation platforms including Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, TripAdvisor, and TUI Group [^3][^4]. Best Western is absent from the HRW "Bed and Breakfast on Stolen Land" report (November 2018), which specifically examined Airbnb and Booking.com listings in West Bank settlements [^8]. Best Western is absent from the Ethical Consumer boycott list, which names Airbnb, Booking.com, and Expedia in the travel sector [^9]. Best Western is absent from the BDS Movement's published economic boycott guidance [^11]. Best Western is absent from the boycott-israel.org boycott list [^10].

No public evidence identified of any government advisory, enforcement action, or regulatory citation regarding Best Western and country-of-origin labeling for settlement-produced goods. No public evidence identified of any BWH Hotels / Best Western published corporate policy on the sourcing or labeling of goods from occupied or contested territories.

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## Investment, Capital & Financial Exposure
**Foreign Direct Investment**

No public evidence identified of any direct capital investment by BWH Hotels or Best Western International within Israel or the occupied territories, including acquisitions, factories, data centres, logistics hubs, or real estate holdings. The sole confirmed Israeli operational link — the Best Western Regency Suites Tel Aviv — is an independently-owned and operated franchise; the real estate asset and operating capital are held by the Israeli franchisee family, not by BWH Hotels [^1][^2][^12]. The franchisee family is described on the hotel's own About page as having made aliyah in 2008 and having operated the property for over a decade [^1].

**R&D and Innovation Centres**

No public evidence identified of any Best Western / BWH Hotels R&D facility, technology partnership, innovation lab, or accelerator programme operating within Israel.

**Parent and Beneficial Ownership**

BWH Hotels is a privately held, member-owned organisation headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, with no external corporate parent, private-equity sponsor, or majority shareholder [^13][^12]. The organisation is governed by a board of directors elected by its hotelier members and comprises approximately 4,300 independently-owned member hotels worldwide [^13]. Board Chair for 2026 is Viral "Victor" Patel [^14]; CEO is Larry Cuculic, serving since December 2021 [^15]. No public evidence identified of Israeli capital or Israeli-domiciled beneficial ownership among any named officers.

**OHCHR Settlement Database and UN Reports**

BWH Hotels and Best Western are absent from the UN OHCHR database of business enterprises involved in Israeli settlement activities (resolutions HRC 31/36 and 53/25), including both the June 2023 update and the 2025 update [^16][^17][^18][^19]. The 2025 OHCHR database update lists 158 entities, with the hotel and OTA sector represented by Airbnb, Booking Holdings, Booking.com, Expedia Group, and TripAdvisor; Best Western is not among those named [^16][^19][^20]. Best Western is also absent from UN Special Rapporteur Albanese's A/HRC/59/23 report, "From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide" (July 2025), which names Booking Holdings and Airbnb in the hospitality and OTA sector [^21][^22][^23].

**Portfolio and Fund Exposure**

No public evidence identified of BWH Hotels or Best Western International holding Israeli sovereign bonds, Israel Bonds (Development Corporation for Israel), Israeli-domiciled investment funds, or material equity stakes in Israeli companies or OHCHR-listed companies. As a private, member-owned organisation, BWH Hotels does not publish a public investment portfolio [^13][^12].

**DBIO Coverage**

Best Western is absent from both the Don't Buy Into Occupation 2024 and 2025 reports [^6][^7]. The DBIO report series focuses primarily on European financial institutions and does not include hotel chain franchisors in its scope of investigation [^6][^7].

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## Operational Presence & Market Activity
**Physical Footprint in Israel**

One (1) confirmed BWH-brand hotel operates in Israel as of June 2026: the **Best Western Regency Suites**, located at 80 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv, Israel (property code 74023) [^1][^2][^24]. The property is a 33-room beachfront city-centre hotel in Tel Aviv's Hayarkon Street district, adjacent to the US Embassy branch [^1][^24]. The Regency Suites is ranked #11 of 159 hotels in Tel Aviv on TripAdvisor, reflecting its established standing in the Israeli commercial capital [^24]. The property is available for booking via Booking.com [^25] and is listed in global distribution systems, as confirmed by its TravelWeekly GDS entry [^26]. The Regency Suites is independently owned and operated by a franchisee; BWH Hotels holds neither the property's real estate nor its operating capital [^1][^2].

**Settlement Footprint**

No confirmed Best Western / BWH brand hotel exists in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, or any Israeli settlement [^27][^5][^3]. No confirmed Best Western / BWH brand hotel exists in Jerusalem [^2]. Searches covering the West Bank generally, East Jerusalem, the Jordan Valley, Ma'ale Adumim, Ariel, the Golan Heights, and settlement booking-platform aggregators returned no results for Best Western [^27][^5]. By contrast, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is named by AFSC Investigate for operating the Dhotel Ma'ale Adumim inside the Design City Mall in the Ma'ale Adumim settlement industrial zone; no analogous finding was identified for Best Western [^28]. The AFSC Investigate all-companies database does not list Best Western [^5].

**Middle East Growth Strategy**

BWH Hotels' declared Middle East growth priority as of May 2024 press reporting was Saudi Arabia, with a stated target of 70 hotels by 2027 [^29][^30]. Four hotel openings in the Middle East were reported for 2024, with no Israel-specific openings identified [^31]. No Israel-specific mentions were found in any identified BWH Hotels strategic documents or press releases pertaining to the Middle East [^29][^30][^31][^32].

**Global Development**

BWH Hotels reported opening 100 properties globally in the first half of 2024, with no Israeli openings identified [^33]. The BWH Hotels 2026 strategic expansion press release addressed multi-brand growth globally but contained no Israel-specific development announcement [^32].

**Employment and Tax**

No public evidence identified of BWH Hotels / Best Western International employing staff directly in Israel or holding Israeli tax registration. The franchisee employs staff at the Regency Suites; employment figures for this 33-room property are not publicly disclosed [^1].

**Loyalty Programme**

The Best Western Rewards loyalty programme enables point redemptions at the Tel Aviv (Green Line territory) property; no settlement-located redeeming property was identified [^2].

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## Corporate Structure & Foundational Ties
**Founding and Incorporation**

Best Western was founded in 1946 by M.K. (Merile Key) Guertin (January 18, 1891 – April 14, 1970) in the United States, originating as a referral network of independently owned hotels based in California [^13][^34]. No public evidence identified of any Israel connection to the company's founding, original incorporation, or early operational history. The company is not an acquired Israeli-origin entity and has no Israeli antecedent enterprise in its corporate history [^13][^34].

**Headquarters and Domicile**

BWH Hotels — the parent entity of Best Western Hotels & Resorts, SureStay Hotels, and WorldHotels — is legally domiciled and operationally headquartered at 6201 North 24th Parkway, Phoenix, Arizona 85016, USA [^13][^12]. No dual or legacy headquarters in Israel, no Israeli tax residency, no Preferred Technology Enterprise (PTE) status, and no Israeli regulatory registration were identified through corporate disclosure searches [^13][^12].

**State and Institutional Linkages**

No public evidence identified of any Israeli state ownership stake, Israeli government board appointee, Israeli government contract, or designation of BWH Hotels / Best Western as critical national infrastructure of Israel, based on searches of Israeli government tender registries, BWH Hotels press releases, and NGO databases [^16][^9][^11].

**Governance**

BWH Hotels operates as a member-owned private organisation governed by a board of directors elected by its member-hoteliers [^13][^12]. No golden shares, founder shares, charter restrictions, or other mechanisms structurally tying BWH Hotels' operations or mission to the Israeli state or its policy objectives were identified [^13][^12]. The Board Chair for 2026 is Victor Patel [^14] and the CEO is Larry Cuculic [^15]; no Israeli state or military affiliations were identified for either officer in publicly available biographies and corporate disclosures [^14][^15].

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## Profit Repatriation & Economic Contribution
**Revenue Attribution**

No public evidence identified of BWH Hotels publicly disclosing revenue specifically attributed to Israel or the Israeli market. BWH Hotels reported approximately $6 billion in total revenue for 2024 across its global portfolio, with no geographic revenue breakdown publicly available [^33]. The single Tel Aviv franchise — a 33-room independently operated property — constitutes an immaterial contribution to BWH's global revenue at corporate scale, though no precise figure is publicly disclosed [^1][^2].

**Profit Flows**

The identifiable profit flow from the Israeli market runs from the locally-owned Israeli franchisee family (operators of the Regency Suites) to BWH Hotels' Phoenix, Arizona headquarters in the form of franchise royalties [^1][^12]. Applicable royalty rates for Best Western brand hotels are publicly estimated at 4–8% of gross room revenue, plus marketing and advertising contributions [^35]. This structure represents an outward flow of revenue from Israel to the US-domiciled parent, not a flow of BWH Hotels corporate capital into Israel [^1][^12][^35].

**Economic Ecosystem Role**

No public evidence identified of any Israeli government designation, industry report, or economic assessment characterising Best Western / BWH Hotels as a significant actor within a specific sector of the Israeli economy. The single franchised property in Tel Aviv operates as a small independent hotel within Tel Aviv's general commercial hospitality market [^1][^2].

**2026 Expansion**

BWH Hotels entered 2026 with continued global expansion across its multi-brand portfolio; no Israel-specific investment or expansion was announced [^32].

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## End Notes

[^1]: https://bwtlv.com/en/about/

[^2]: https://www.bestwestern.com/en_US/hotels/destinations/worldwide-hotels/israel.html

[^3]: https://www.whoprofits.org/companies/find?Sector=3&Type=List

[^4]: https://www.whoprofits.org/publications/report/39

[^5]: https://investigate.afsc.org/all-companies?page=0

[^6]: https://dontbuyintooccupation.org/reports/dont-buy-into-occupation-report-2024/

[^7]: https://dontbuyintooccupation.org/reports/dont-buy-into-occupation-report-2025/

[^8]: https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/11/20/bed-and-breakfast-stolen-land/tourist-rental-listings-west-bank-settlements

[^9]: https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/ethicalcampaigns/boycotts

[^10]: https://boycott-israel.org/boycott.html

[^11]: https://bdsmovement.net/economic-boycott

[^12]: https://www.under30ceo.com/who-owns-best-western/

[^13]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_Western

[^14]: https://www.asianhospitality.com/bwhhotels-named-victor-patel-boardchairperson/

[^15]: https://www.bestwestern.com/en_US/about/leadership-team/larry-cuculic.html

[^16]: https://www.ohchr.org/en/business/bhr-database

[^17]: https://www.opensanctions.org/datasets/ps_ohchr_settlement/

[^18]: https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session31/database-hrc3136/23-06-30-Update-israeli-settlement-opt-database-hrc3136.pdf

[^19]: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/un-human-rights-office-updates-database-businesses-involved-israeli

[^20]: https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/ahrc6019-database-all-business-enterprises-involved-activities-detailed

[^21]: https://www.un.org/unispal/document/a-hrc-59-23-from-economy-of-occupation-to-economy-of-genocide-report-special-rapporteur-francesca-albanese-palestine-2025/

[^22]: https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session59/advance-version/a-hrc-59-23-aev.pdf

[^23]: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/1/un-report-lists-companies-complicit-in-israels-genocide-who-are-they

[^24]: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g293984-d299724-Reviews-Best_Western_Regency_Suites-Tel_Aviv_Tel_Aviv_District.html

[^25]: https://www.booking.com/hotel/il/best-western-regency-suites.html

[^26]: https://www.travelweekly.com/Hotels/Tel-Aviv-Israel/Best-Western-Regency-Suites-Hotel-p51957610

[^27]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companies_operating_in_West_Bank_settlements

[^28]: https://investigate.afsc.org/company/wyndham-hotels-resorts

[^29]: https://www.hotel-online.com/press_releases/release/bwh-hotels-prioritizes-growth-in-the-middle-east/

[^30]: https://www.ttrweekly.com/site/2024/05/bwh-extends-its-middle-east-footprint/

[^31]: https://www.travelmarketreport.com/articles/BWH-Hotel-Group-Will-Open-Four-Hotels-in-the-Middle-East-This-Year

[^32]: https://www.bestwestern.com/en_US/about/press-media/2026-press-releases/bwh-strategic-expansion-across-brands.html

[^33]: https://hospitalitydesign.com/news/development-destinations/bwh-hotel-development-first-half-2024/

[^34]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._K._Guertin

[^35]: https://www.vettedbiz.com/franchises/best-western ```