Best Western on Tuesday celebrated the company’s 70th anniversary at its annual convention in Phoenix, recapping accomplishments and growth as well as outlining areas of improvement.
With a conference theme, “It’s a New Dawn,” Best Western President and CEO David Kong told 2,600 hotel representatives in attendance, “As we celebrate our 70th birthday, I know our best times are still ahead of us. It’s up to us to seize each day and make it extraordinary. Our biggest dreams are within our grasp, so let’s be bold as we face our new dawn and let’s pursue every opportunity without hesitation.”
“We may be 70 years old but we have demonstrated that we are very young and very daring,” added Terry Porter, board chairman for Best Western.
Brand refresh, SureStay
Best Western is nearly 50% complete in its brand refresh that was unveiled at 2015’s convention, which aims to broaden its appeal with a more contemporary, energetic and relevant look.
Additionally, Best Western announced that it signed its first SureStay franchisee, the Genetti Hotel in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Announced earlier this month, SureStay includes three brands that operate on a “white-label” franchise model, offering hotel owners access to Best Western’s channels without having to adhere to design parameters.
“In just a few decades, Best Western has grown from an idea to a global powerhouse brand, enabling travelers to cross boundaries of country and culture, welcomed far and wide by the familiar and endearing Best Western hospitality,” said Kong. “At this convention, we celebrate Best Western’s glorious history that sets the stage for a very bright future.”
Marketing initiatives
To further push Best Western’s expansion plans, Chief Marketing Officer Dorothy Dowling announced the Travel Zone content studio. Set to launch in 2017, Travel Zone will offer content features, Instagram imagery and inspirational videos. The goal is to promote sharing which will in turn draw an “emotional connection” between travelers and the brand.
“When you care about something, you share it, increasing our opportunity to reach new and emerging travelers” said Dowling. “Sharing is and always will be that number one marketing tool: word of mouth.”
Dowling also highlighted Best Western’s partnership with Google to provide guests with an immersive 360-degree look into their hotel brands and offerings with the Best Western Virtual Reality Experience, which allows travelers to view guest rooms, hotel lobbies and amenities prior to arrival on-property. The experience is available at all 2,000 North American Best Western properties with a goal to expand globally as soon as within the next year.
On the advertising side, Best Western’s television campaigns will continue but with a focus on “of the moment” spots, such as news and sports, which have consistently reported the highest levels of viewership.
“Viewers are separating from traditional cable providers and moving on platforms like Vevo and Hulu, and viewing more videos on YouTube and Facebook,” explained Dowling. “We will be distributing more content via video on these highly-watched media, where customers can’t forward through advertising messages.”
Room for improvement
Dowling also addressed that Best Western’s recent JD Power rankings revealed that the brand has “inconsistent recognition” among its most valued guests, ranking fifth behind Hilton Worldwide and Marriott International. Best Western Rewards Active and Diamond Elite Memberships have also been raised concern with a decline of 13% year-over-year and 19% in 2016, year-to-date. Dowling said that Best Western is projected to lose 4% of revenue coming from Elite members.
As a result, voting members will soon vote on a proposal created specifically to recognize Elite Membership:
- Include Gold Best Western Rewards members into the Elite Program
- Increase optimal bonus points from 250 to 500
- Update snack and beverage Best Western Rewards offerings to include a minimum of two snacks and two beverages
- All hotels will be required to display the Best Western Rewards Elite Program display at the front desk
- During check-in, a property representative must thank all Elite members for their business and loyalty
“We own the customer experience and we need to make our Elite members feel that they are truly elite,” said Dowling. To address the decline, beginning in January 2017, Best Western updated its rewards tagline to “Go. Get Rewarded” as well as an entire rewards brand refresh aimed to engage social media followers and members to increase awareness.