Best Western's Top-Rated Website Gets Even Better

PHOENIX, Sept. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Best Western International launched a revamped bestwestern.com that features fresh TripAdvisor reviews and opinions, as well as enhanced hotel details, additional photos and a shorter booking process providing travelers an even better online research and booking experience.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120113/MM35506LOGO-a)

By adding TripAdvisor content to the refreshed bestwestern.com site, visitors will be able to view TripAdvisor ratings and the five most recent traveler reviews from the world's largest travel website** for each hotel without ever having to leave the Best Western website.  

"Travelers on average conduct more than 20 web searches when planning travel, according to research from Google, and we recognize that a growing number of guests turn to social communities and online reviews for research before they book a hotel stay. Our commitment is to provide the most information possible to bestwestern.com visitors to ensure they're booking their travel plans with complete confidence," said Best Western Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Dorothy Dowling.  "Now our guests can read TripAdvisor traveler reviews without leaving our site, which not only saves time but also helps each guest choose the right Best Western hotel for their needs."

"Research shows that 81 percent of travelers find user reviews important when determining which hotel to stay at during their trip, and nearly half won't book a property if it doesn't have reviews¹. Best Western's integration of TripAdvisor's trusted reviews is a terrific addition to its website and a new feature guests will truly appreciate," said Christine Petersen, president, TripAdvisor for Business.

The revamped bestwestern.com also incorporates key new features that include:

• Enhanced room descriptions to give travelers more specific hotel details
• More hotel photos so guests can see more of the hotel before they book
• Specials offering travelers unique hotel deals and packages
• Easier-to-navigate Best Western Rewards management for loyalty program members to track and redeem their rewards points
• Option to save favorite hotels for quick booking on future visits
• Redesigned mobile and Facebook booking sites

"Even though bestwestern.com is recognized as an industry-leading website and was recently named a Compuware Best of the Web Gold Award Winner due to its speed and reliability in the travel category, we believe it is important to refresh and update the site to best meet travelers' evolving needs and truly exceed their expectations into the future," said Dowling.

Best Western Resources:

• For bookings: www.bestwestern.com
• For rewards: www.bestwesternrewards.com
• For Best Western's mobile offerings: http://www.bestwestern.com/mobileapps/
• Like Best Western on Facebook: www.facebook.com/BestWestern
• Read the Best Western blog: www.youmustbetrippin.com
• Follow Best Western on Twitter: www.twitter.com/thebestwestern

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.

About TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor^® is the world's largest travel site,** enabling travelers to plan and have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools. TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 60 million unique monthly visitors,** and over 75 million reviews and opinions. The sites operate in 30 countries worldwide, including China under daodao.com. TripAdvisor also includes TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to millions of monthly TripAdvisor visitors.

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) manages and operates websites under 19 other travel media brands, and together the sites attract more than 74 million unique monthly visitors.*** TripAdvisor, Inc.'s travel media brands include www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.everytrail.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.independenttraveler.com, www.onetime.com, www.seatguru.com, www.sniqueaway.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.tingo.com, www.travel-library.com, www.travelpod.com, www.virtualtourist.com, www.whereivebeen.com, and www.kuxun.cn.

**Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, Worldwide, July 2012

***Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor, Inc. and its subsidiaries, Worldwide, July 2012

©2012 TripAdvisor, Inc. All rights reserved. 

SOURCE TripAdvisor

¹ Source: Commissioned survey of more than 2,100 travelers conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of TripAdvisor, December 2010

SOURCE Best Western International