Best Western Australasia has reported encouraging results for the first six months of 2016 with booking revenue rising by 19%. Head of Commercial Steve Richards told members at Best Western’s annual conference on the Gold Coast that surging internet sales powered the strong results. He also revealed that online sales overtook bookings by traditional travel agents at Best Western for the first time.
“The balance has finally tipped – the majority of our business is now coming through the online channels,” Mr Richards said.
Online sales are tipped to increase further when parent company Best Western Hotels & Resorts launches its new global website in early October.
Mr Richards said strong preferred partnerships with Travel Management Companies have also been delivering in an increasingly competitive corporate market. “The Flight Centre preferred partnership has been particularly effective,” he said.
Meanwhile the sharp increase in international tourism across the region has had a positive impact with inbound business up 16% across the Best Western network. “We’ve seen China go through the roof,” Mr Richards said.
Marketing highlights included the record-breaking free breakfast campaign which delivered record revenue and high online engagement from guests. “It was our most successful ever marketing campaign, delivering more room nights to members than anything we’ve ever done.”
The revamped Best Western Rewards loyalty program has attracted a further 13,000 members since the beginning of this year.
Looking ahead, Mr Richards said Best Western’s new hotel acquisition pipeline is very healthy, with four new properties coming on board over the next two months and others in various stages of the pipeline.
“New brands such as BW Premier Collection and GLō are creating interest among new developers and hotel operators,” he said. “It’s a very exciting time and we’re in the final stages of preparing for the launch of a new campaign to support the recent launch of our new logos and images, which are creating a buzz in the market. We’ll have some more details on that soon.”
