Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 22
Best Western's new frontier
Best Western internationally, notes that he fully expects the
hotels to also grow outside the borders of the United States.
And while there won't be a direct advertising campaign, he
said the corporation would be pushing the chain through its
marketing and he expected online travel agency (OTA) bookings to enhance SureStay's ability to snag the budget traveler.
Online bookings are huge, he said, and he noted that Best
Western has an advantage with the online sites that can turn
them from a major cost to a cost-efficient draw because of
the lower commissions its members have to pay, therefore
enhancing profit for hoteliers. Currently, however, a lot of
those hoteliers outside the Best Western family may be getting slammed on fees because OTA booking is so prevalent,
Kong said.
"I wouldn't be surprised if hotels in these segments get
40 percent of their business from sites like Expedia," he said.
"In the next few years, most of our efforts [for SureStay] will
be in sales, meaning we will leverage our worldwide sales
efforts to drive business."
* Advisory committees that allow for hotel feedback and
recommendations.
* Standards of quality that are well-defined and uniformly
and fairly enforced.
* Allowing hotels to purchase the vast majority of products
from vendors of their choosing.
EVERY DEAL HAS A POTENTIAL DOWNSIDE
SureStay proprietors won't be getting all the help that a Best
Western owner can expect. For instance, the hotel chain
won't be doing much - if any -advertising to promote the new
brand. One-hundred and fifty hotels simply will not justify
an advertising campaign, Kong said, in a chain that has more
than 4,000 locations in more than 100 countries.
Competitor Choice Hotels International, which has been
migrating some owners from Comfort to Sleep or to Quality
inns, has an advantage in advertising since it lists its economy along with higher-end brands in its national ads. In that
regard, Best Western is saddled with the fact that its corporate
umbrella is its brand name, which is an asset in general but
clumps all the entities together. Nor will the SureStay franchise
holders necessarily benefit from the lucrative partnerships
that Best Western has formed with such groups as Harley
Davidson, Disney and AAA to boost room reservations - which
have proven successful even during economic downturns that
can play havoc with hotelier returns.
The Best Western partners are being approached about
developing relationships and agreements with SureStay, but
it is too early to comment on whether they will happen or, if
they do, what form they will take, Kong said.
"I think there are great opportunities for us," he said.
Still they expect to be up to 800 SureStay hotels within a
decade, and Kong, who has been aggressive at expanding
2 2 | OCTOBER 2016 | TODAYSHOTELIER.COM
SURESTAY STANDARDS WILL PROTECT
THE GUEST AND THUS THE BRAND
Kong says the cost efficiencies will benefit the hotelier and
traveler alike, insisting that the new brand will not be cheap
but simply serve the thrifty. The SureStay hotels will be held
to strict standards for cleanliness, customer services and the
amenities appropriate for that level of price, Kong said. That
should reassure the customer who is mostly looking for a bed
in a clean room and proprietors who want assurance that the
brand will develop a good name.
The goal is that quality-control will make guests gravitate
to SureStay as the best of the budgets - accomplishing for the
economy chain what Best Western Plus did for the chain's
upper-mid business travel. In fact, SureStay's goal might be
to become the chain for the business person who travels on
his or her own dime.
Eventually, Kong said, when SureStay moves from conversions to construction to grow the brand, the focus will be
on ensuring hotels have comfortable suites with separate
bedrooms, he said.
Kong describes the potential SureStay guest as someone
unsure about their choices at the economy level - perhaps
someone who has run into unclean rooms in the past - who
can be wowed by the welcoming environment Best Western
envisions for SureStay: clean and comfortable rooms, friendly
and professional service, free and reliable internet free and
good quality breakfast, and great value.
The SureStay hotels will be required to score at least a 3.5
on TripAdvisor and agree to a service guarantee that if anything goes wrong, hoteliers will take care of it, Kong says.
That formula of standards and support should ensure happy
travelers, and happy travelers should ensure more profits in
the long run.
"Guests can be sure about their stay at SureStay," Kong said. ■
http://www.TODAYSHOTELIER.COM
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Today's Hotelier - October 2016
Letter From the Chairman
Letter From the President & CEO
News Bytes
AAHOA Spotlight
Best Western’s New Frontier
Government Affairs
The Uneven Playing Field: Hotels & Airbnb
Finding Opportunity in the Old
Development & Renovation
Living Legends: Wisdom From Industry Trailblazers
Finance Q&A
The Latest Tech Tools for Hospitality
Guest Experience
AAHOA Events
AAHOA Founding Members
AAHOA Vendor Partners
Classifieds
Advertiser Index
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - cover1
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - cover2
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 3
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 4
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 5
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 6
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 7
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - Letter From the Chairman
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 9
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - Letter From the President & CEO
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 11
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - News Bytes
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 13
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - AAHOA Spotlight
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 15
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 16
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 17
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - Best Western’s New Frontier
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 19
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 20
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 21
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 22
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 23
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - Government Affairs
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 25
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 26
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 27
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 28
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 29
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - The Uneven Playing Field: Hotels & Airbnb
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 31
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 32
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 33
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 34
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 35
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - Development & Renovation
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 37
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 38
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 39
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 40
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 41
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - Living Legends: Wisdom From Industry Trailblazers
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 43
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 44
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 45
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 46
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 47
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 48
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 49
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - Finance Q&A
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 51
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 52
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 53
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - The Latest Tech Tools for Hospitality
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 55
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 56
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 57
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - Guest Experience
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 59
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 60
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 61
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - AAHOA Events
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 63
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - AAHOA Founding Members
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 65
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - AAHOA Vendor Partners
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 67
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 68
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 69
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 70
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 71
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 72
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 73
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 74
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 75
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 76
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - Classifieds
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 78
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 79
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 80
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 81
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 82
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 83
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 84
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 85
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - Advertiser Index
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - cover3
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - cover4
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - outsert1
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - outsert2
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 91
Today's Hotelier - October 2016 - 92
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