SIGNS OF SUCCESS

Travellers recognise the logo, but they do not have a clear picture of what Best Western Australia is. New CEO Rodger Powell aims to change that.

Rodger Powell has hung up his jogging shoes, but that doesn’t mean he is slowing down.

Since becoming the Sydney-based Chief Executive Officer of Best Western Australia, he has clocked up many thousands of kilometres meeting owners of properties from Torquay to Townsville, from Kalbarri to Katoomba.

Additionally, Mr Powell has spent many hours in discussions with the board’s directors, as well as appointing a new management team “with a view to delivering a better bottom-line to our members, which, frankly, is what it is all about”. He has also recently accepted an invitation to become convenor of the Tourism Task Force’s newly-formed Regional Tourism Advisory Panel.

So what’s Mr Powell’s view of the Best Western Australia landscape after six months? “To be honest, there have been a number of surprises,” he says. “Fortunately, most of them have been pleasant ones.”

On the plus side, he has been “energised by the quality of our skilled, committed owner-operators, some of whom have built successful businesses worth up to $10 million”.

On the downside, he admits that Best Western Australia “has been very successful in marketing but not at listening, leading to a level of member dissatisfaction which, while small, is unacceptable”.

Best Western Australia is a non-profit organisation supported by 250 members, who represent hotels and motels with 8,415 rooms in all states and territories. It is affiliated to Best Western International, with over 4000 properties in 83 countries.

Not only is Best Western the world’s largest accommodation brand, it is becoming sophisticated – with Australia embracing the global trend to minimum standards.

While BWA incorporated a Quality Assurance program in 1997, the bar will be significantly raised from January 2002. Properties that fail three successive inspections will be removed from membership.

This poses a challenge to the new management team. Does membership size matter? Yes, but not at the expense of the brand’s reputation.

According to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers study, “the issue of quality presents both the greatest threat and greatest opportunity for BW”.

“At the end of the day, the customer, whether tourist or business traveller, wants to be guaranteed spotlessly clean premises and an efficient range of guest services,” says Best Western Australia’s Chairman, Rob Anderson, who also runs the 41-room four-star Best Western Twin Towers Inn on Sydney’s North Shore.

“For a large brand such as ours, it is vital to have a consistent level of minimum standards, even if it means we have to lose one or two members along the way.”

Mr Powell is not daunted by the challenge. “Ultimately, the only way we’ll attract new quality products is by having a higher entry level,” he says. “To be honest, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by our members’ willingness to embrace the program.”

In fact, 80% of Best Western Australia members voted for the stricter controls. “This only serves to underline the imperative at head office to listen to members’ needs and support them more than we have done,” says Mr Powell. “We need to earn their trust again.”

Apart from quality assurance, Best Western Australia is embracing the opportunities offered by new technology. It has one of the country’s most successful websites, with up to 900,000 hits a month. In turn, the Australian booking system is linked to the international network of BWI.

In 1998, Best Western Australia became the only accommodation provider in Australia’s highly successful Fly Buys program. “This gives us a competitive advantage,” says Mr Powell. “It allows the brand to reach over 2.5 million Australian households”.

Increasingly, the chain is earning revenue from the business sector, with BWA’s Corporate Rewards program grossing over $10 million annually. However, this poses another challenge.

A Best Western Australia survey carried out by Minter Research shows that tourists are “more concerned about the hip pocket (i.e. price, discounts etc)” while business travellers place “more importance on familiarity (and) require a higher level of service and loyalty programs”.

Mr Anderson is not fazed by this. “At the end of the day, both sets of customers want a clean bed and a well-run motel.”

In the meantime, Mr Powell and his newly-arrived senior management team, General Manager – Operations Steve McPharlin and General Manager – Sales and Marketing Jane Roennfeldt, are getting to grips with their top priorities: quality and brand-building.

Mr Powell says research shows that the Best Western Australia brand is “in some ways a well-kept secret. People recognise the crown logo and signs, but they do not have a clear picture of what Best Western Australia is. We need to put the jewel back in the crown”.

While the team works its way through SWOT analysis and business and marketing plans, it has identified a number of positives to be maximised in the short-term. “Clearly, we have a lot going for us,” says Mr Powell.

He identifies BWA’s strengths as having

- a high-percentage of mid-market properties, which is where the growth market is currently

· dedicated owner-operators who “go the extra mile”, rather than follow the “cookie cutter” approach of the big hotel chains

· a vast national network of properties with international links

· a Quality Assurance program which will increasingly deliver a consistent minimum standard

· a highly-skilled and motivated back-up team at head office to service a committed membership

· a clear competitive edge through its Fly Buys program.

All of which means Mr Powell - who finds little time today for his one-time passions of running, sailing and bushwalking - will have to burn up yet more kilometres on his listening tour.

“I just love getting out there to our properties,” he says. “I had my best meal in months at one of our motels recently. As I said, Best Western Australia is full of surprises.”