Best Western’s Australian online sales overtake agents
Guest Writers are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the specific writer directly
Best Western Australasia has revealed that its online sales now exceed those generated through travel agents.
At the company’s annual conference on the Gold Coast, head of commercial Steve Richards told members at that surging internet sales had driven an overall 19% jump in booking revenues in the first six months of 2016. And this growth meant that online bookings overtook those made by traditional travel agents for the first time.
“The balance has finally tipped – the majority of our business is now coming through the online channels,” Richards said, adding that business from China as gone “through the roof”.
The performance was also helped by the company’s free breakfast campaign, which Richards said had delivered “record revenue and high online engagement from guests”.
“It was our most successful ever marketing campaign, delivering more room nights to members than anything we’ve ever done.”
Looking ahead, Richards said that Best Western’s hotel pipeline is “very healthy”, with four new Australasian properties expected to be added over the next two months.
“New brands such as BW Premier Collection and Glo are creating interest among new developers and hotel operators,” he said.
“It’s a very exciting time and we’re in the final stages of preparing for the launch of a new campaign to support the recent launch of our new logos and images, which are creating a buzz in the market. We’ll have some more details on that soon.”
The company’s online sales are expected to increase further when Best Western Hotels & Resorts launches its new global website in early October.
Comments are closed.