Best Western Hotels & Resorts intends to grow its
existing presence in the industry and embrace updated and new technologies,
both consumer facing and on the back end. Executives outlined plans at the
company's recent annual North American convention.
BWR Loyalty
Experiences
Best Western Rewards, which underwent a revamp in 2016 to
make it easier for travelers to earn points and obtain free nights, has added experiences
packages. Loyalty program members can now earn a two-night stay for two guests
at one of Best Western's hotels, plus an experience. Packages available include
trips to Walt Disney World in Orlando, a Broadway show in New York, a culinary
experience in Paris and gaming and entertainment in Las Vegas.
"I think the [rewards program] is the most important
thing to the business traveler today," chief marketing officer and SVP Dorothy
Dowling told BTN. "We fundamentally see that loyalty is becoming the
primary differentiator from hotel brand to hotel brand, and it's also from
hotel brands to [online travel agencies]. We want to compete, and we want to
make sure that we are winning that customer."
In recent years, hoteliers across the industry have made a
concerted effort to increase loyalty program membership, partially as a way to
reduce consumer acquisition costs made higher by rising OTA commission rates.
Best Western is no exception; 44 percent of its gross room revenue is expected
to come from loyalty member bookings in 2017, constituting more than $1.7
billion in revenue in North America, according to COO and SVP Ron Pohl. Its
number of loyalty program members increased 14 percent globally year over year.
But growing membership no longer is enough as hoteliers
compete among each other, as well as OTAs and Airbnb, on experience-based
redemption opportunities. Airbnb launched a tours and experiences platform
called Trips last November. Hyatt Hotels Corp. in April launched its own experiences
in World of Hyatt, and Wyndham Worldwide followed in May within Wyndham
Rewards. But Dowling said Best Western Rewards Experiences stands apart in the
industry because it "was created with a special emphasis on attainability,"
indicating that members would start booking experiences "sooner rather
than later."
Best Western also will enhance its loyalty program with the 2018
launch of a Facebook Messenger chatbot, BWR Bot. The artificial intelligence
chat interface will allow rewards members to ask questions about the loyalty program
and about the experiences offerings.
Improved Tech Infrastructure
At a time when data breaches continue to impact companies
large and small across every industry, BW is shoring up its digital defenses. The
company is deploying a program called Hotel Managed Security Service to its
members.
"Think of it as a gateway, and what it allows us to do
is basically to put a fence in between the Internet and the hotel systems,"
chief digital officer Greg Adams told BTN. "It allows us to monitor what's
leaving and coming into the hotel and to monitor the devices that are within
the hotel network. It allows us to segment the network, to keep separate the
[property management] system from the guest system from the back-office systems
from the Internet of Things systems, which, to me, are one of the most
concerning." The system should help the company identify and respond to
problems, such as security incidents, faster.
As for how the company decides which customer-facing
technologies to adopt, Adams said his philosophy is not to get too caught up
with the so-called new and shiny. "It's important to consider what are the
technologies that consumers are really gravitating towards and which ones are
being hyped by really great marketers," Adams said. "Then it's making
intelligent decisions about that but making them soon enough that you're not so
late to the party that it costs you."
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Platform for Guests
Geared-Up Development
Best Western is growing its portfolio quickly, both in terms
of total properties systemwide and in terms of brands, of which there are now
eight: Glo, Vib, Best Western, Best Western Plus, Executive Residency by Best
Western, Best Western Premier, BW Premier Collection and BW
Signature Collection.
This year, 40 percent of the applications for development
that Best Western approved were for new brands. Next year, that share is
expected to grow to 50 percent. "In the past three years, we have
introduced more new brands than ever before," said Pohl. "We sign a
new Best Western or SureStay deal every two days and open a new Best Western
branded or SureStay hotel every four days."
Pohl said the company intends to have all eight of its Best
Western brands represented in every primary and secondary market. That market
reach also plays into a strategy to attract corporate customers. The company's
global pipeline totals 530, just over half of those in North America. Sixty
percent of the North American pipeline is for new-construction hotels.
Best Western also plans to build a new flagship
hotel on its corporate campus in Phoenix in late spring 2018. The 138-room
property will feature innovation rooms for each of the company's brands. Pohl
said it should help the company showcase new brand offerings and attract
development deals.