M. K. Guertin

Who was M. K. Guertin?

Merile Key Guertin was the founder of Best Western and was known in the hospitality industry as Mr. Motel.

Born in Liberty, Texas northeast of Houston, Guertin worked on the family farm and as an apprentice in the printing trade. Guertin left Texas for California in 1923 where he began working on marketing efforts for his sister who owned multiple hotels in Long Beach, CA.

He was involved in the creation of the Southern California Auto Court Association and the California Auto Court Association in 1925.

He purchased the Cherry Motor Court in Long Beach in 1933, and in 1938 purchased the Beach Motel, which would become the first Best Western property. Over time he built or owned 13 motels in the California.

In 1946 he started an association of independently owned hotels to refer business to each other, which was the beginning of Best Western. While taking a trip from his hotel to Tacoma, Washington, Guertin recorded the names and locations of motels less than a gas tank apart from each other. He used the information collected to create a guide provided to the growing number of interstate travelers on trips. Members were initially recruited by Guertin who sought varied hotels from small roadside motor courts to urban hotels as long as the owners agreed to adhere to the association's high standards of quality and service. Over time, this referral program grew into Best Western, the world's largest hotel chain.