Best Western CEO Assesses Permanence of Pandemic Changes

Greatest Western Resort Group’s David Kong talks:

• Greatest Western’s restoration
• Speaking with company journey managers
• Lasting resort operational and repair traits

Greatest Western Resort Group CEO David Kong spoke with BTN senior editor Donna M. Airoldi on the Americas Lodging Funding Summit in Los Angeles in late July about Greatest Western’s restoration, enterprise journey, company journey program modifications and present resort traits that might endure in a post-Covid surroundings. Edited highlights observe.

BTN: How is Greatest Western doing?

David Kong: We’re doing properly in North America. Canada remains to be challenged. [Revenue per available room] remains to be down about 30 % in comparison with 2019. Within the U.S., we’re seeing 2019 ranges. The final couple months have been very sturdy. We’re up about 6 to 7 % in income in comparison with 2019. And our reservation system manufacturing is up by about 30 %. We’re seemingly breaking data every single day on the bestwestern.com web site. The quantity has been extraordinarily sturdy. Our name heart, we’re ramping up [and] we definitely need to rent extra individuals. Quantity is surpassing our 2019 ranges.

BTN: Is that this because of your place within the market?

Kong: Proper now, the restoration is led by leisure, and we’re very sturdy in that house. Our location, worth factors—all of them come into play.

BTN: We all know enterprise journey has lagged behind leisure, however the place is Greatest Western with company enterprise?

Kong: We have performed a very good job sustaining relationships with the company journey patrons. No matter enterprise they’ve, they’re making an attempt to channel it our means, in order that has been useful. It is not simply solely leisure. We’re seeing some restoration within the company sector as properly.

BTN: How is your conferences enterprise doing?

Kong: From our expertise, as a result of we ebook loads of conferences, I feel the assembly phase is coming again stronger than the impartial company traveler phase. We held a gathering in Could, and we usually had about 200 individuals for [it]. We had solely 50, so about one-quarter. A part of that was due to the calendar, and most folk could not come from Canada. Subsequently, we held a collection of smaller conferences. Attendance was sturdy, however lower than what we anticipated. The conference will likely be in Hawaii this 12 months. Usually, now we have 2,000 [attendees]. However we’re relying on three-quarters of the individuals exhibiting up. Registration is powerful. There’s loads of curiosity. However it’s not 100%. [Still,] I feel for the conferences phase, it is coming again first.

BTN: You talked about you might be in contact with company journey managers. What’s your technique in working with them?

Kong: Even in the course of the pandemic, we saved in very shut contact with them though they did not have a lot enterprise at the moment. We instructed them what we’re doing in time period of the improved cleansing protocols. We had movies, every kind of how to keep up a correspondence. We lately had a really famend administration consulting agency do an engagement for us to take a look at how we are able to optimize our income engines and enhance gross sales and advertising and marketing. We surveyed our company journey patrons and company vacationers, and we acquired very excessive marks in how we saved in contact with them and the way we helped them. As results of that, their intent to make use of our motels has elevated in comparison with earlier than, and I be ok with that. Proper now, what I hear from them is primarily round obligation of care. They need to be further cautious concerning the motels, that they’re cleaned, well-maintained and the vacationers are secure.

BTN: Did any patrons change their applications?

Kong: Quite a lot of firms really modified when it comes to the place they ship their vacationers. Impulsively, they’ve totally different enterprise alternatives. The sourcing of motels is now totally different. Now [they want] chainwides. They’d moderately say, give us a dynamic low cost, say 10 %, 15 %, but it surely’s for each resort moderately than figuring out sure places and setting a [static rate]. We’re discovering, primary, it is extra environment friendly that means. Now we’re not negotiating 50 motels. It is no matter your wants are at this [time] for all motels in that model. That is way more environment friendly. Secondly, in addition they realized it made their job a complete lot simpler. They do not must do 50 [requests for proposals], then watch for the return and handle the system. That can also be good when the speed goes down. For those who count on charges to go down, having 15 % is best than a flat charge. They discovered that this can be a good option to do enterprise sooner or later. I’ve all the time stated, let’s go the route of dynamic moderately than static charges. The pandemic has educated us for that. Throughout the pandemic, charges went down lots, so individuals have been then having to contact motels and ask for higher charges than the static charges.

BTN: How a lot demand is coming from giant corporates versus small or midsize firms?

Kong: We have seen each giant and small and midsize coming again. Individuals are to get factor going once more. They’ve quarterly enterprise opinions, and it offers us a chance to not simply meet and speak concerning the quarter, but additionally to satisfy purchasers. Quite a lot of firms do this. We see that coming again strongly. I would not speak about only one form of assembly. Every kind of conferences are totally different. The conferences enterprise, for certain the curiosity is there, and it is coming again. The attendance is about two-thirds to one-fourth of what we used to see. However impartial company journey, I feel will probably be challenged for some time due to this hybrid work association and workplaces not open solely. Some firms are discouraging exterior guests. Taking purchasers out on golf occasions, or to particular sporting occasions, that has not come again but. Incentive and leisure isn’t again but.

BTN: What operational modifications has Greatest Western applied that have an effect on the visitor expertise? What’s short-term and what’s prone to be extra everlasting? Let’s begin with breakfast.

Kong: To begin with, the economic system sector now we have not modified. There’s nonetheless one scorching merchandise, then the chilly gadgets, like breads, muffins, cereals. That hasn’t modified, though there are grab-and-go choices. That was essential, since you actually could not put any meals out. Within the midprice scale, we was identified for our breakfast. It was a lavish show, a really costly number of breakfast gadgets. That isn’t again but at most motels. Relying on the place a resort is situated and their description, we gave them totally different choices. We now not do the grab-and-go, we needed to cease that besides in instances the place it is actually early within the morning when individuals need to depart and seize one thing to go. We nonetheless do this after hours.

Regular breakfast hours we mainly both are returning to that large costly buffet, or we dish out the meals for individuals. They order from the menu upfront, or put it collectively for to-go. It is a smaller choice, as a result of now we have a number of challenges. First are the state and native restrictions. Second, individuals’s hesitation about touching serving utensils. Third, staffing is a big problem. We’d like individuals to prepare dinner it and repair it and clear tables, straighten up issues. The labor necessities are way more in depth than any of the opposite choices I simply talked about. We want to return to that large breakfast buffet, as a result of proper now the typical charge is de facto excessive. And when persons are paying actually excessive charges, they’ve sure expectations. The breakfast buffet is one thing that they sit up for. So we do not need to disappoint them. For breakfast, I feel there will likely be a return to that form of a arrange.

BTN: What about housekeeping?

Kong: Housekeeping, however, is totally different. As a result of there are individuals like me, I am nonetheless hesitant to have one other particular person come into my room once I’m staying there. I discovered that I am superb with out somebody servicing the room day by day. I could make my very own mattress, I can reuse my towel. It is not a problem for me. It would not compromise my expertise, and it’s a value financial savings, labor financial savings. If you’ll want to have a housekeeper clear the room every single day, you have to have much more individuals, you want extra workers. We won’t rent the individuals. I imply we have been fortunate to have individuals present up. It’s extremely robust. We now have a normal of each three days we service the room. Each day we examine the room. We need to ensure the room isn’t being trashed or getting used for inappropriate causes. So I feel cleansing upon checkout or request is right here to remain.

BTN: Know-how modifications?

Kong: Know-how-wise, I feel for cell there will likely be enormous adoption. Everyone knows that we use our apps to order takeout and the way simple is in simply lower than a minute you place the order, pay for it and the meals is prepared. I feel that have is setting expectations. And other people count on that reserving a resort room ought to be simply as simple. You should not must key in bank card numbers. We are attempting to streamline the entire expertise and make it easy and straightforward. I feel due to cell adoption, there will likely be much more use of texting. The welcome messages, instruction for the company whereas staying with us and even after departure loads of the textual content, SMS messaging expertise will likely be provided. We’re undoubtedly Investing in that space.

Decluttering of the room can also be a complete design method, simplifying the whole lot. There’s much less space to wash. It is extra conducive to individuals’s heightened consciousness of cleanliness. Transferring away from heavy material, scarves on the mattress. I feel decluttering basically is right here to remain as properly.

BTN: Anything?

Kong: One factor we’re doing now with our loyalty program, as a result of we all the time need to make it extra rewarding and have instantaneous gratification, is we launched a pay-with-points program. Any individual could not have sufficient factors for a free evening. These factors are simply sitting there. So we permit that particular person to make use of factors to pay for the room. Say the speed is $100 they usually have 5,000 factors, [say] that interprets to $25. Then they’ll mainly purchase down the speed to $75. We examined it at a couple of hundred motels and had a lot increased satisfaction from our vacationers. And the motels actually like it.