Best Western Focuses On Relationships

NEW YORK— Best Western International held its annual meeting in Phoenix, AZ on Nov. 7-9, giving its members a chance to catch up on current events within the organization. HOTEL BUSINESS® caught up with Jim Evans, president/CEO of Best Western immediately following the event at the IH/M&RS show here Nov. 10 and got an earful of news stemming from the brands conference. Evans said the brand meeting was upbeat, as members talked about what they could do in partnership with management to increase market share, particularly in these trying times. “Our guys are focused on teamwork right now, and developing fruitful relationships,” said Evans. In the last month or so, the brand has announced partnerships with ASTA, AAA, and AARP and has yet another big partnership in the works. The new alliance will not be announced until January, said Evans, but said it would include content for a new advertising campaign. Other key announcements made at the event included the introduction of an 800 telephone number (1-866-BWI-WINS) for members to call with questions and problems. Best Western promises a detailed response— including five solutions— to their concerns within 72 hours. The program will be tested from December through February with 150 North American members. If all goes well, the new program will be rolled out throughout North America immediately following the test phase. “This will help create a feeling of belonging (among members). My (managements) participation in Best Western is sought out by members and we are responding,” said Evans. In addition, Best Western announced it would be rolling out its new quality assurance program, which was signed off on last month. The program will become effective on January 1, 2002. Also on the drawing boards is the worldwide launch of Best Westerns member portal. The portal was upgraded in September and is currently being used by members in North America. It will go global in April 2002, said Evans. “Our goal (with the portal) is to embrace our membership and create greater teamwork. We can already see the unity being built,” Evans said. As for the overall performance of the brand, Evans said Best Western has done rather well during the last few months. In August, he said BW RevPAR rose 1.3%, as opposed to a decline reported by industry analysts for the mid-market segment in general. In September, BW reported a -.5% drop in RevPAR, as opposed to a -1.7% drop in the segment. In October, he said business rebounded nicely for the brand.