Best Western Australasia’s longest serving chief executive and industry veteran, Rob Anderson has announced his retirement.
Anderson served under the Motel Federation of Australia and Best Western Australasia banners for nearly 30 years as a hotel member, director, chairman/president and was elected to the chief executive role in 2005.
“I have had the pleasure of working with Rob Anderson for 14 years,” said David Kong, President and Chief Executive Officer of Best Western Hotels & Resorts.
“Aside from his passion, which is immediately obvious and contagious, I have been impressed with the team he has built. They are talented, dedicated and care deeply about supporting our members to the best of their capabilities.
“Rob is known for his intellect and progressive thinking. He was a highly respected leader of our company and I wish him all the best in his well-deserved and rewarding retirement.”
Anderson received the company’s inaugural Global Leadership Award and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Australian Institute of Management. He has a Bachelor of Business (UTS) and Masters in Commerce (UNSW).
“Best Western and the global hotel industry is going through an exciting period of rapid change and we are responding with a decisiveness and at a pace that is driven by our expanding global pipeline and new hotel brands,” Anderson said.
“May I express my gratitude to the members, the staff and my friends in the industry for your support over the last thirty years. To be of service to such a great group of people has been a wonderful privilege.
“This year in particular entailed a concentrated focus on quality improvement and how Best Western can continue to improve the guest experience. We introduced the Design Excellence Program and have almost completed a new global web platform which will drive further improvements in guest satisfaction and deliver business to our members.
“To ensure we do not lose any momentum and continue to drive our strong global reputation, Steve Richards and Spencer Watson will jointly fill the role of leading Best Western Australasia effective immediately,” Anderson said.
Succeeding Anderson, Steve Richards (former GM Sales & Marketing) has been appointed to the role of Head of Commercial and Spencer Watson (former GM Regional Services and Quality Assurance Program) has been appointed to Head of Operations following approval from Best Western Australasia’s Board of Directors.
“Rob had a vision to improve the quality of the brand, and he did this. His leadership has been instrumental to the growth and success of the company and we wish him all the very best in his retirement,” said Ian Sandilands, Chairman and President of Best Western Australasia.
During his leadership, Anderson led some of the biggest changes in Best Western’s history.
In 2006, the company embarked on a transformative refocus, improving the quality and standard of the Best Western brand through adding a rigorous Quality Assurance Program, member education training and new digital platforms.
As a result in the Australasia region, guest satisfaction scores tripled and overall business to members has increased 250 per cent in the past five years.
Best Western Hotels & Resorts is headquartered in Phoenix Arizona, with over 4,000 hotels in 100 countries worldwide. Best Western Australasia is a third-party organisation and licensee of Best Western Hotels & Resorts, with 100 locations throughout Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.
