BWH Hotels’ board of directors has elected three new hospitality professionals for three roles; including Phil Payne as board chairperson for 2024, Steve Wahrlich as vice-chairperson and Viral (Victor) Patel as secretary-treasurer.
Payne has been the managing member of the 173-room Best Western Plus Rio Grande Inn, of Albuquerque, N.M. since 1992. He serves to represent members of District I, which includes Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Payne’s previous role was board vice chairperson, bringing decades of hospitality experience and over 40 years of BWH Hotels ownership to his role as chairperson.
Alongside his brothers, Payne has owned and operated six BWH Hotels properties since 1982. During his time as an owner, he also served as managing member of Best Western Plus Rio Grande Inn, Best Western Governor for Western New Mexico, N.M. and member of the brand’s Reservation & Technology Advisory Committee.
In addition, as vice-chairperson, Wahrlich represents BWH Hotels’ property owners in Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, United States; as well as British Columbia, Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada. He has owned and operated BWH Hotels properties for over four decades. He currently is an owner of and operates the Best Western Plus Clocktower Inn and Stella’s Kitchen and Bakery, Billings, Mont. — which has been a Best Western Hotels & Resorts property since 1966.
Furthermore, he is also a managing member and voting member of the Best Western Plus Hilltop in Redding, Calif., which has been in the BWH Hotels family since 1977. He is also vice-chair of RiverStone Health, and a member of the board of directors of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and the Montana Lodging & Hospitality Association. Before that, he served on the board of directors at the City of Billings Tourism Improvement District, the Downtown Billings Tax Improvement District and other local associations.
Lastly, as secretary-treasurer, Patel represents hotel owners in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, the United States and Ontario, Canada. With more than 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, he currently owns and operates the Best Western Corbin Inn located in Corbin, Ky. He is also the owner of Hilton Garden Inn Lexington, Ky., a member of the Kentucky Travel Industry Association, board member on Corbin Tourism and Convention and lifetime member of the AAHOA.
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