Best Western Launches Travel Agent Advantage -- An Interactive Resource For Travel Agents

PHOENIX, Nov. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Best Western International announced today the launch of Travel Agent Advantage(SM), the hotel chain's new online education and resource center for travel agents.

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Best Western's new Travel Agent Advantage website offers a one-stop-shop for travel agents to learn more about the hotel chain and its offerings for travelers. Through the online resource center, agents can easily access information about Best Western's 4,000+ hotels and destinations worldwide, the brand's three types of hotels and other key initiatives and programs. In addition, agents can take interactive courses online to learn more about Best Western – from international properties to Best Western Rewards.

"As Best Western evolves to engage partners such as travel agents in new and meaningful ways, Travel Agent Advantage is a major initiative for the brand as we further engage and help educate the travel agent community," said Dorothy Dowling, senior vice president, marketing and sales for Best Western International. "By providing a portal designed exclusively to meet agent needs, Travel Agent Advantage provides the resources, information and brand education that is so valuable to the success of agents worldwide."

Key features of Travel Agent Advantage include:

• Our Hotels – An overview of the history of Best Western and key differentiators of the brand's tiered descriptors program that includes BEST WESTERN®, BEST WESTERN PLUS® and BEST WESTERN PREMIER®
• Education – A five-chapter interactive online educational course for agents to learn more about the Best Western brand, and be registered to win sweepstakes and prizes upon course completion
• Agent Programs – From incentives to quarterly sweepstakes and prizes, the latest program offerings for agents
• Sales Center – Resources to help agents sell Best Western, including leisure programs, mobile offerings and more
• Media Center – Highlights of the brand's latest news and media coverage, and a library of  international hotel videos, videos featuring brand experts, like Best Western pet travel expert Cesar Millan, and more
• New Hotels – Details new hotel openings worldwide
• Best Test – A fun online game that challenges agents to identify geographic locations of key Best Western hotels across the globe

Best Western partnered with Northstar Travel Media to develop the Travel Agent Advantage site. An established leader in the travel agent education space, Northstar Travel Media provided the proprietary platform for the education component of the site.

For more information on Travel Agent Advantage, visit www.bwtravelagentadvantage.com. To learn more about Best Western International, visit www.bestwestern.com.

ABOUT BEST WESTERN INTERNATIONAL, INC.

Best Western International, Inc., headquartered in Phoenix, Ariz., is a privately held hotel brand made up of more than 4,000* BEST WESTERN®, BEST WESTERN PLUS® and BEST WESTERN PREMIER® hotels in more than 100* countries and territories worldwide. Now celebrating 66 years of hospitality, Best Western welcomes hundreds of thousands of guests nightly. Best Western provides its hoteliers with global operational, sales, marketing and promotional support, and online and mobile booking capabilities. More than 15 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 hotel worldwide. The brand's partnerships with AAA/CAA, racecar driver Michael Waltrip, and Harley-Davidson® provide travelers with exciting ways to interact with the brand. Best Western in 2011 was named AAA's and CAA's Hotel Partner of the Year and bestwestern.com was named the 2011 Compuware Best of the Web Gold award winner. For more information or to make a reservation, please visit bestwestern.com.

*Numbers are approximate and may fluctuate.

SOURCE Best Western International