Phil Payne
Board Director

Phil Payne serves to represent members of District I, which includes Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.

Phil joined the Board with an extensive background in hospitality and has been a BWH^SM Hotels member for over 37 years. His history with the brand began in 1982 and since then Phil and his brothers have owned and operated six Best Western^® hotels. Phil has been the managing member of the 173 room Best Western Plus Rio Grande Inn, of Albuquerque since 1992. He has also served as a Best Western Governor for western New Mexico, and has served as a member of the Reservation & Technology Advisory Committee for the brand.

Throughout his career, Phil has gathered a variety of experiences. In grade school he worked in his father’s construction company and in college, he worked as an accountant. Phil later worked as a CPA and Attorney. Along with a friend, he co-founded a CPA firm in Alaska, headed its tax department, and designed & wrote tax, accounting, and financial software systems for the firm and others.

Phil graduated from Arizona State University with a BS in Business Administration. He later went on to attend Pepperdine University School of Law and graduated with a Juris Doctorate cum laude.