Over 200 delegates from Best Western Australasia and 40 hotel suppliers including Telstra, Bidvest, Concept Amenities and American Express are at Sofitel Broadbeach for the last day of the annual Best Western convention. 

The view from Sofitel Broadbeach over the Gold Coast

Uniting teams from 170 Best Western hotels across Australia, New Zealand and Fiji during with their suppliers through a program of trade show sessions, keynote presentations, networking functions and social events, the convention’s focus has been on mobile and digital access for booking, customer service and positive storytelling via social media.

Keynote speaker Michael Ossipoff from Telstra spoke to delegates about the potential for social amplification of the guest experience, a topic that reinforces the efforts made by Best Western to use Facebook pages as a customer service channel, the company’s recent launch of a Facebook booking app and the provision of free guest wifi wherever possible.

For the first time ever, delegates were able to follow the conference on Twitter using a #BWAConvention hashtag, dedicated @BWAConventionTwitter handle and a live convention feed in the sessions.

This evening will see 12 lucky recipients awarded at a gala dinner that aims to raise $28,000 to support a community of children in Laos through World Vision. Award categories and winners will be announced in the Thursday edition of SpiceNews.