• by Tanya Gazdik , February 14, 2013

Best Western International is breaking away from the trend of amenity-based advertising and launching a major new campaign that shifts the spotlight back onto the people who provide the hospitality.

The hotel chain's new “Stay With People Who Care” campaign launches this month and is supported by a  mix of advertising, sponsorships and social media strategies -- including new 30- and 15-second television spots airing on more than a dozen major cable networks. The spots were created by Gotham Inc. and the media buy is from Initiative Media. 

The new campaign is rooted in research that showed customer care, personalized service and supporting local businesses were key for travelers when picking a hotel brand, but are virtually ignored in current hotel advertising.

The Phoenix-based hotel company believes that these factors, and a commitment to providing a personal connection with guests, are differentiators for Best Western and its locally owned member hotels. To help spotlight these individual hoteliers, the brand is releasing a new series of three-minute documentaries focusing on the personal stories of the brand’s local hotel members.     

Working with Gotham, Best Western conducted research to determine what is important to guests when selecting a hotel. While amenities such as free Wi-Fi and breakfast are important to consumers, customer care, personalized service and supporting local businesses were also cited as important factors in the decision-making process.

In the mid-scale hotel market, offering amenities is considered the price of doing business, says Dorothy Dowling, senior vice president of sales and marketing. But it is the personal connection that Best Western hoteliers have with their guests and their local communities that builds trust and loyalty in the brand and sets it apart from the competition, she says.

“The message is really about reminding people that hospitality is the essence of the Best Western brand,” Dowling said in a release. 

In North America, spots will air on cable networks including CNN, ESPN, USA, TBS, MLB Network, The Weather Channel, CBC News, National Geographic Channel and TNN. Digital advertising will run on travel sites and portals including Yahoo, Google, Amazon, Kayak, and TripAdvisor and sponsorships include organizations such as MLB Network.