Best Western International on Thursday announced two new brands: an urban "lifestyle" hotel and a soft brand of upper-tier properties.

The first, Vib (pronounced "vibe"), is a prototype for urban markets and will feature "large, interactive lobbies that incorporate the local flavor of their individual markets as well as comfortable and chic guest rooms," according to Best Western. The second, the BW Premier Collection, will be a group of hotels with ratings of at least three diamonds by AAA and CAA and TripAdvisor ratings of at least four. Though hotels in the collection will not be official members of the Best Western portfolio, they will be listed for booking on Best Western's website, participate in the Best Western Rewards program and have the option of buying sales support from the hotel chain.