HONOLULU—With the conomic downturn on owners minds, the annual convention of Best Western International here stressed the brands competitive advantage. President/CEO David Kong, speaking to the roughly 2,500 attendees gathered at the Hawaii Convention Center, didnt mince words when it came to the impact the meltdown in the financial markets was having on the industry. “Many members have seen declines in revenue, September being a particularly hard month. People disagree as to how long the downturn might last, with the most optimistic view saying at least six months. The overall consensus though is that 2009 will be a difficult year,” said Kong, who has been in his present role since 2004. Unlike most brands. Best Western is a membership association that has over 4,000 hotels in 80 countries. About 2,400 of those hotels are in North America. “Our goal has always been the same–to drive business to our hotels and thats never been as pressing as in the current economic decline,” said chairman of the board David Francis, who owns the 87-room Best Western in Lynchburg, VA. “But with ownership comes responsibility for owners–to maintain their properties at the highest level and to provide excellent guest service,” Francis explained. To help owners prosper through the downturn, Best Western has freed up an additional $8 million in advertising spend in 2009 for a total of $43 million, an investment that senior vp of sales and marketing Dorothy Dowling described as unprecedented. To reinforce its appeal to business travelers, Dowling said the brand had also renamed and upgraded its frequency program. Formerly known as Gold Crown Club International, the program is now called Best Western Rewards. “The new name is meant to better communicate the programs value proposition,” Dowling said. In addition, at the property level, Best Western in 2009 will focus on improved training,increasing guest satisfaction scores, and revenue management upgrades, in an effort to counter expected fall-offs in lodging demand. “We cant afford to lose a single customer today,” said vp of operations Ron Pohl.