" A very, very good year" as Olivier Cohn, General Manager of Best Western France, describes it. No surprise there, in line with the results published by other major players in the global hotel industryBest Western had a very positive year in 2022. The reservation centre's worldwide sales grew by 20% compared with 2019, and by 37% compared with 2021. " The world of the hotel industry has recovered its pre-pandemic momentumwith the exception of a few markets in Asia, notably China" says Olivier Cohn.
In France, Best Western-affiliated establishments have seen an average of 65% over the yearThis is two points less than in 2019, despite a difficult start to the year. In addition, average prices rose by 13% compared with the pre-covid period. The sustained level of activity from March onwards - with the return of individual business customers particularly noticeable from September onwards - enabled the network to record extremely favourable results, with a 21% increase in central booking office sales compared with the last year not affected by the pandemic.
" This is a sign that all the elements of our distribution strategy to win market share are working.nt", according to the head of Best Western France. The website, one of the cornerstones of this strategy, features bookings up 351TP3Q vs. 2019, while the Best Western Rewards loyalty programme saw an increase in new members of +17% with, in France, more than one million cardholders.
Best Western is clearly targeting business customers as part of this distribution strategy. " The business and seminar markets can bring more volume to our hotels, with the added advantage of breaking away from third-party distributors." says Olivier Cohn. Especially since in 2022, the corporate segment recorded a more than significant increaseby +213 % compared with 2021 for individual customers. " We're almost back to 2019 levels, with sales of €14.5 million." emphasises the Managing Director, France. The seminars business also enjoyed strong growth in 2022, up 33% in 1Q3 vs 2021, generating a total of €3.4 million.
Business customers in the spotlight
But Best Western France, which is a partner of the GBTA association, has set its sights even higher. Its goal is to reach €25 million by 2025. " We still have huge potential for growth in the corporate segment" explains the French CEO of the American hotel group. To this end, its sales team has doubled in size so that it can respond more effectively to the needs of businesses, work more closely on existing contracts and go on to win new accounts. " There are a number of large companies and SMEs that are not yet Best Western customers. The most effective method is to take up your pilgrim's staff and go and meet them." Olivier Cohn continues.
In addition to a loyalty programme, Planners Advantage, dedicated to event organisers, the strategy for winning over business customers also includes a digital component, with the launch at the end of last year of a platform enabling customers to centralising requests for groups, seminars and leisure activities. This solution, created in collaboration with Backyou (formerly Groupcorner), is designed to simplify the customer experience for businesses, as well as the administrative booking procedures for hotels.
This digitalisation also applies to Best Western's coworking offer, MyWO, which includes workspaces and meeting rooms. Best Western's aim is to become a major player in this market in France, 59 establishments already had MyWO spaces by the end of 202270 others are preparing for it. " The target of having all our 300 hotels offering this service by April 2023 will probably not be achieved, but I am confident that it will be by the summer." explained Pierre Siegel, Chairman of Best Western France. Launched last year and available online, the MyWO Meeting solution is set to add new links to its offering, in addition to developments on the digital side. " The myWO.fr website will see an optimisation of its registration and payment tunnel, as well as a focus on subscriptions and B2B offers." Best Western explains.
This development is part of a wider digital project, that of the redesign of the bestwestern.fr website.
" This is one of our major projects for 2023, with the ultimate aim of doubling sales by 2025." says Olivier Cohn. With a new graphic design, new functions and improved presentation of the establishments, and a separation of the booking and more institutional information sections, the revamped site is due to go online in June.
Strengthening the group's power and its distribution is one of the main thrusts of the new 2022-2025 strategic vision presented last year by Best Western, entitled "Towards a hotel of the future". CSR is another guiding principle. Today, Best Western France has 37% in its network labelled Green KeyBest Western is already one of the most advanced independent hotel groups in France in this area, with 114 establishments to be joined by around sixty more by the end of 2023. Already one of the most advanced independent hotel groups in France in this area, Best Western has extend the label to 75% of its hotels by 2025. At the same time, and in order to have a precise vision of the actions to be taken to reduce its environmental impact, Best Western intends this year to draw up a carbon assessment (scope 3) of its activity. This is the first step in developing new tools to support hotels' environmental transition.
