Best Western reports record sales increase

Following its Hotels with Personality relaunch campaign this spring, Best Western has announced a sales increase of almost 30% year on year, with calls into its reservations team up 70%. It has also seen a 53% growth in enquiries from potential new member hotels since its marketing campaign was launched in April.

The campaign generated over £1.2m in incremental sales in its first three months, with more in the pipeline. Even more impressively, the sales figures for Best Business, Best Western’s corporate loyalty scheme, are up 120% year on year. Best Business is for small to medium sized businesses that book accommodation or meeting rooms at independently owned hotels in the Best Western group.

This shows that businesses are starting to use corporate accommodation again and figures for this market segment show an increase of 14% during the same period of the rebranding campaign. In addition Best Western’s Meetings team also saw an increase of 30% in enquiries in the same period with bookings up 24%.

David Clarke, CEO of Best Western said: “The Hotels with Personality campaign has had great resonance with our target audience and its impact has helped us achieve our highest sales increase in our 30 year history, delivering great value for our member hotels. The campaign also achieved its other goal of generating more enquiries from independent hoteliers keen to join the Best Western brand. Overall, it’s been a highly successful campaign and ensured that Best Western is a group that stands apart from its competitors.

“The increase in the corporate sales figures is also very reassuring. They show that companies are returning to spending on travel, and confidence is returning to the business sector. We think that people want a hotel with a bit more personality when they are looking for somewhere to stay and that a meeting room with more character and personal service can make a difference in choosing where to hold an important meeting.”