Best Western Embraces Cloud for Customization and Support

Need to Know

• Best Western has announced its migration to cloud provider AWS to improve day-to-day operations and provide insights that deliver personalized customer experiences.
• Currently, the hospitality chain manages over 4,700 locations and is the seventh-largest hotel company in the world.
• Areas cloud hosting will improve include reservations, call centers, and rewards programs.

Analysis

Best Western has made a big move in improving customer experience, announcing the migration of a number of its services to the cloud. The hotel chain will use AWS to improve its 4,700 properties in areas such as hotel reservations, customer rewards, and contact centers.

By moving to the cloud, Best Western can improve day-to-day operations and improve workflows. The cloud platform will be used to “infuse automation into [Best Western’s] customer service platform” and will “derive insights that help workers deliver more personalized customer experiences.”  

The hotel chain hopes its cloud-based system will improve the reservation process as well, meaning if there’s “a hotel that has one room left, and somebody’s trying to book it on Expedia, or Booking.com or on Best Western.com,” both customers and agents will be able to “get that information quickly and to make sure everything’s in sync.”

Best Western is making the shift to the cloud following its major competitor, Hilton, who announced their migration to AWS in 2018.

AWS is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform, offering over 175 fully-featured services that support startups, government agencies, and other major brands to lower costs and innovate faster. 

One tool included with the switch to AWS is Amazon Connect, which Best Western will use to provide customer service in its contact centers. Other features of the platform include easy reporting for agents regarding call quality or other issues and tracking and reporting of data.

AWS also offers rollout planning and an “Amazon Connect Bootcamp” for developers so any brand’s migration can run as smoothly as possible. 

With improved customer experience, more efficient systems, and improved data, Best Western could be on its way to edging out Hilton as one of the world’s top hotel chains.