David Kong Celebrates 15 Years at Helm of a Thriving Brand, Best Western

Bangkok (Thailand) – March 29, 2019 (travelindex) – An industry innovator and thought leader David Kong is celebrating his 15th year as President and CEO of Best Western Hotels and Resorts. As he hits the anticipated milestone, Kong becomes the longest-running CEO of a top 10 major hotel chain and Best Western finds itself poised for its most exciting year yet.

“David Kong is a visionary in our industry, but perhaps more importantly, he is one of the nicest people I know,” said Chip Rogers, president and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association. “Best Western and the entire lodging industry are lucky to have his leadership. I look forward to many more years working alongside David.”

Driving change through innovative thinking

Starting in the hospitality industry as a busboy, Kong spent decades climbing the ranks, learning and working his way through positions in nearly every department and every chain scale segment. In his time leading Best Western – which has included serving as executive vice president of international operations, senior vice president of marketing and development, and senior vice president of strategic services and operations – he has cultivated a leadership team and company that has become a leader in innovation, as is evident in the evolution of the brand and industry recognition.

During Kong’s tenure, Best Western has completely reimagined its brand identity, signaling the modernization and evolution of the brand and emerging as a global hospitality powerhouse with 16 individual brands across every chain scale segment. Kong has put innovation at the forefront of the company’s transformation, implementing programs like the Best Western Virtual Reality Experience (BWVRE), which uses virtual reality to reinvent the way guests view and shop for hotels. The I Care® Every Guest Every Time employee training initiative leverages virtual reality to transform communications between front desk staff and guests. These programs, led by Kong and his stable and progressive leadership team, have established Best Western as the first company of its size and scale to utilize cutting-edge technology in ways that drive increased satisfaction scores. As a result, the company has seen significant financial achievements and unprecedented performance in guest loyalty and hotel satisfaction scores, achieving a record high Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 62. Importantly, these achievements have resulted in Best Western being named one of Fast Company’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies last year.

Creating longevity, and scale, with a diversified portfolio

As Best Western has evolved over the years, so has the company’s portfolio. When today’s travelers began seeking fresh new design options at a value-oriented price point, Best Western introduced Vīb® and GLō®, two boutique brands thoughtfully designed for the midscale market. As the industry has recently seen a shift away from new construction to conversions, Best Western has responded in full force, launching an edgy, imaginative and creative pair of boutique brands, Sadie^SM and Aiden^SM. Both Sadie and Aiden present the opportunity for independent hoteliers or developers with branded hotels to reposition their property in a unique way, taking advantage of a cost-effective, turnkey and customized design and renovation program, all implemented under Kong’s leadership.

Best Western’s economy option, the SureStay Hotel Group®, has differentiated itself in the industry by focusing on customer care and product experience. The brand prides itself on its ability to consistently meet guest expectations as reflected in its impressive 3.91 average TripAdvisor rating. Since the brand’s launch in 2016, it has grown at a rapid pace to more than 200 open properties globally.

Today’s Best Western – A rebirth to be celebrated

Sadie Hotel, Aiden Hotel and the SureStay Group are just a few of the brands that represent Best Western’s now expanded portfolio. Just last month, Best Western announced their acquisition of WorldHotels, further enhancing the company’s breadth of offerings to include the upper upscale and luxury segments. An initiative conceived and driven by Kong, the acquisition underscores Best Western’s commitment to innovation and evolution.

Kong has played an instrumental role in the evolution of Best Western, leading the legacy brand through a full refresh across multiple areas of operation, including: expanding innovative sales and marketing programs, launching a new digital platform, redesigning Best Western’s powerful loyalty program, and implementing a renovation program at every hotel – completely reimagining the look of the brands with new logos and signage. Together with the executive team, Kong has molded the company into “Today’s Best Western” – a brand infused with innovation and excitement, consistently achieving its strongest performance for the past three years.

“I feel very fortunate to have played a role in building Best Western into the brand it is today,” said Kong. “To think about where we started 73 years ago as a single brand and now, to see Best Western positioned as a global powerhouse with hotels in every single chain scale segment – is outstanding. Supported by a truly remarkable leadership team, I’m deeply proud of what we’ve accomplished. Our journey has been a special one, and a large part of that for me has been the incredible team I am surrounded by on a daily basis, including our exceptional group of hoteliers. Together, we look forward to maintaining the momentum that has been built and enjoying further progress in the months and years ahead.”

About Best Western Hotels and Resorts:
Best Western Hotels & Resorts headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, is a privately held hotel brand with a global network of over 4,500 hotels in nearly 100 countries and territories worldwide*. Best Western offers 16 hotel brands to suit the needs of developers and guests in every market. Best Western branded hotels include Best Western®, Best Western Plus®, Best Western Premier®, Executive Residency by Best Western®, Vīb®, GLō®, Aiden^SM, Sadie^SM, BW Premier Collection®, and BW Signature Collection®. Through recent acquisition, Best Western now also offers WorldHotels® Luxury, WorldHotels Elite and WorldHotels Distinctive brands. Completing its portfolio, Best Western offers SureStay®, SureStay Plus®, and SureStay Collection® franchises**. Now celebrating more than 70 years of hospitality, Best Western provides its hoteliers with global operational, sales and marketing support, and award-winning online and mobile booking capabilities. Best Western continues to set industry records regarding awards and accolades, including 66 percent of the brand’s North American hotels earning a TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence award in 2018, Business Travel News® ranking Best Western Plus and Best Western number one in upper-midscale and midscale hotel brands respectively for two consecutive years, and Fast Company honoring Best Western Hotels & Resorts with a spot in the Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in the Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality category. Best Western has also won 10 consecutive AAA®/CAA® Lodging Partner of the Year awards, recognizing the brand’s commitment to providing exceptional service and great value to AAA/CAA’s nearly 60 million members in the U.S. and Canada. Best Western-branded hotels were top ranked in breakfast (food and beverage category) by J.D. Power’s 2018 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study – ranking first for midscale; and second for upper midscale. Nearly 40 million travelers are members of the brand’s award-winning loyalty program Best Western Rewards®, one of the few programs in which members earn points that never expire and can be redeemed at any Best Western-branded hotel worldwide. Best Western’s partnerships with AAA/CAA and Google® Street View provide travelers with exciting ways to interact with the brand. Through its partnership with Google Street View, Best Western is the first major company of its size and scale to launch a virtual reality experience for customers, setting a new industry standard and reinventing how guests view hotels.
* Numbers are approximate, may fluctuate, and include hotels currently in the development pipeline.
**All Best Western, WorldHotels and SureStay branded hotels are independently owned and operated.

Contact information:
Sirimanas Maungrod (Cake) | Senior Regional Marketing Communications Manager | Asia
Email: sirimanas.maungrod@bestwestern.com

Phanintorn Tangtrongjit (Dream) | Assistant Marketing Communications Manager | Asia
Email: phanintorn.Tangtrongjit@bestwestern.com