Phoenix, AZ (January 9, 2019) – In 2018, Best Western® Hotels & Resorts introduced the travel industry to “Today’s Best Western,” a year-long campaign representing Best Western’s rich and colorful past while celebrating the excitement and vibrancy of the brand today. The initiative included a special “Behind the Brands” series, which raised awareness about Best Western’s contemporary, diverse brand portfolio and offered travelers a look at the evolution of this powerhouse brand. Today, Best Western announced that “Today’s Best Western” will be back in 2019 with a new series entitled “Every Guest Has a Journey”. This campaign is a unique opportunity to celebrate the valued guests who have been with Best Western throughout the brand’s evolution, while demonstrating that today’s Best Western is a go-to travel solution for guests across all segments. A preview of the initiative can be seen in this video.
Throughout 2019, Best Western will dive deeper into the human side of hospitality and travel, showcasing the personal journeys of its guests by shining a spotlight on travelers from all walks of life – for example, sharing the incredible stories of road warriors, and examining what life is like as a millennial traveler staying with today’s Best Western. The “Every Guest Has a Journey” series will explore the different guests that help make Best Western the diverse brand it is today.
“Best Western has been on a journey of transformation over the past several years,” said David Kong, President and CEO of Best Western Hotels & Resorts. “While the extraordinary results of our transformation can be seen through our dynamic portfolio of brands, expanding presence in key markets and unrivaled industry recognition, it’s truly the guests behind the brand that define today’s Best Western. Today’s Best Western is something very special and we look forward to a new year of continued innovation, bringing the company into a new era and sharing our journey with travelers.”
Best Western proved its commitment to modernization this past year with a recognition from Fast Company as one of the world’s Most Innovative Companies. The company also dedicated itself to diversification, as the first in the industry to introduce a pair of boutique brands – Sadie HotelSM and Aiden HotelSM that compete in the upscale and upper-midscale segments, respectively. Best Western also, in 2018, continued to make valuable enhancements to its award-winning loyalty program, Best Western Rewards®, offering more rewards and recognition for Elite members and generous promotions for members of all levels. The award-winning loyalty program earned a spot as a top innovator in the industry, achieving a top-five ranking for the sixth consecutive year in U.S. News & World Report’s 2017-2018 Best Hotel Rewards Programs, among many other accolades in 2018.
“As we continue to be flexible and think strategically in the year ahead, we will continue delivering on the expectations of today’s travelers and our hotel owners,” said Dorothy Dowling, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Best Western Hotels & Resorts. “Looking ahead to a new year, we will remain hyperfocused on elevating our brand perception through initiatives like the ‘Every Guest Has a Journey’ series, driving even more revenue to our hotel owners, and providing only the best customer care to our guests.”
Best Western’s new “Every Guest Has a Journey” series launches in February with “Every Road Warrior Has a Journey,” sharing the stories of today’s business travelers and highlighting members of the Best Western Business Advantage® Program. Later in the year, the company will offer an inside look at the journeys of Best Western Rewards members, families, couples, pets, road trippers, AAA members and every generation from millennials to retirees.
For more information, please visit BestWestern.com or BestWesternDevelopers.com.
About Best Western® Hotels & Resorts:
Best Western Hotels & Resorts headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, is a privately held hotel brand with a global network of over 4,200 hotels in nearly 100 countries and territories worldwide*. Best Western offers 13 hotel brands to suit the needs of developers and guests in every market: Best Western®, Best Western Plus®, Best Western Premier®, Vīb®, GLō®, Executive Residency by Best Western®, Sadie HotelSM, Aiden HotelSM, BW Premier Collection® by Best Western, and BW Signature Collection® by Best Western, as well as its recently launched franchise offerings: SureStay® Hotel by Best Western, SureStay Plus® Hotel by Best Western and SureStay Collection® by Best Western**. Now celebrating more than 70 years of hospitality, Best Western provides its hoteliers with global operational, sales and marketing support, and award-winning online and mobile booking capabilities. Best Western continues to set industry records regarding awards and accolades, including 66 percent of the brand’s North American hotels earning a TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence award in 2018, Business Travel News® ranking Best Western Plus and Best Western number one in upper-midprice and mid-price hotel brands respectively for two consecutive years, and Fast Company honoring Best Western Hotels & Resorts with a spot in the Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in the Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality category. Best Western has also won 10 consecutive AAA®/CAA® Lodging Partner of the Year awards, recognizing the brand’s commitment to providing exceptional service and great value to AAA/CAA’s nearly 60 million members in the U.S. and Canada. Best Western-branded hotels were top ranked in breakfast (food and beverage category) by J.D. Power’s 2018 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study – ranking first for midscale; and second for upper midscale. Over 37 million travelers are members of the brand’s award-winning loyalty program Best Western Rewards®, one of the few programs in which members earn points that never expire and can be redeemed at any Best Western-branded hotel worldwide. Best Western’s partnerships with AAA/CAA and Google® Street View provide travelers with exciting ways to interact with the brand. Through its partnership with Google Street View, Best Western is the first major company of its size and scale to launch a virtual reality experience for customers, setting a new industry standard and reinventing how guests view hotels.
* Numbers are approximate, may fluctuate, and include hotels currently in the development pipeline.
**All Best Western and SureStay branded hotels are independently owned and operated.
###
Media Contact
Kelly Dalton
Senior Director, Communications
602.957.5752
Samantha Jacobs/Lindsey Wiegmann
Hemsworth Communications
954.716.7614