Best Western to allow guests to use reward points for rooms

TO USHER IN 2022, Best Western Hotels & Resorts is offering a new program to allow guests Best Western Rewards to use points to cover the cost of booking a hotel room. The company said its “Pay with Points” will benefit hoteliers as well.

Under the new program, BWR members do not have to reach a free room night threshold, but can redeem points for discounted room rates at hotels in North America immediately. During a beta test of the program in which a few Best Western hotels allowed BWR with at least 5,000 points to apply points to their hotel stays, one third used a combination of BWR points and cash to book stays of two nights or more.

That ultimately boosted the bottom line for the participating hotels, the company said. Also, 35 percent of Pay with Points redemptions were for hotels where members had not previously stayed.

“Pay with Points is designed to help both BWR members and our hoteliers. Our hotel owners will benefit because BWR members are being introduced to new properties within our portfolio,” said Dorothy Dowling, Best Western’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer. “We’re always looking to provide our rewards members with new promotions and benefits, and we’re excited to introduce Pay with Points to Best Western-branded hotels across North America.”

The active Pay with Points program also requires participants to have at least 5,000 points, equal to $25 toward the cost of hotel booking. BWR members will also earn 10 points for every dollar spent on the paid portion of the Pay with Points reservation.

In 2020, Best Western extended Elite status to its BWR members at the start of the pandemic.  In 2021, the company cut its Elite Status eligibility qualifications in half to make it easier for travelers to earn loyalty status and further extended loyalty status through March 31, 2023, without needing to fulfill the necessary qualifications.

The company offers 18 brands, and recently owners in North America made $2 billion in property improvements and renovations. Last month, it elected John Kelly as its chairman of the board of directors, and Viral “Victor” Patel and Mahmood “Mike” Merchant as new members of the board.