PHOENIX— As hotels continue to struggle in this challenging economy, many are finding new, and cheaper, ways to acquire customers— namely improved loyalty clubs. Among the upgraded hotel programs is Best Western’s Gold Crown Club International (GCCI), which was recently re-launched with new elite tiers and a free night award program. “Loyalty pays. You spend less for customer acquisition and they tend to generate more revenue,” said David Kong, vp/strategic services for Best Western. “And higher revenues at less of a cost means more profit.” Best Western is also, of course, hoping the added club benefits will increase its membership, creating a larger list of customers to contact with “discrete promotions.” With the enhanced Gold Crown Club program, members with 800 points are now eligible for a free night stay at more than 900 properties worldwide. “February 1 was the re-launch, and our phones have been ringing off the hook since then with members wanting to redeem their global free night,” said Kong. GCCI has also added new elite tiers— platinum and diamond— which give members the opportunity to earn extra points with each stay. While Kong admitted that the two elite levels are “quite similar” with regard to their member benefits, the diamond level does receive 5% more bonus points than platinum. Fifteen nights are required to earn platinum status and 30 nights for diamond status. Elite tier members are also eligible for early check-in, late check-out, and room upgrades when available. “Our previous program was competitive with other mid-tier hotel chains but we wanted to be more generous,” explained Kong. He added that when the economy is bad, many business travelers trade down from four-star hotels to three-star properties, and Best Western is hoping to capitalize off their new customers by giving them added reasons to stick with the brand. “We’re trying to make our program as competitive as the ‘big boys,’ like Marriott and Starwood, in order to give guests another reason to stay with us. Plus we want to be superior to our mid-level competitors,” he stated.