SEATTLE — BWH Hotels is planning a major overhaul of its entire technology stack, from its website to its property-management system to its loyalty program. During the company’s annual convention—held this week at the Seattle Convention Center—leaders shared hints of what member hoteliers could expect in the coming year, and explained why now is the right time for change.
“I've taken a deep dive across our entire technology stack, and one thing is clear: We can't keep playing the old game,” EVP and Chief Technology Officer Bill Ryan told attendees during the opening general session. “We need to ignite innovation at speed and scale.” To that end, he said, the company needs to create a new ecosystem from scratch.
Digital Presence
The BWH team will be rebuilding the company’s tech stack “from the ground up, mobile first," Ryan said. "Our content strategy ensures that we are optimized not just for traditional SEO but for AI-native search like ChatGPT or Perplexity.” Artificial intelligence is no longer a feature, he added, but a “force multiplier.”
Joelle Park, BWH’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer, noted that since AI programs have become a preferred search engine, searches have become more specific and complex. For example, she said, instead of searching for a hotel in Seattle, a user might search for a historic hotel in Seattle that is near Pioneer Square and offers free breakfasts. “Travelers are asking more nuanced questions, and in return, they're expecting smarter and more personalized results,” she said. “AI is transforming how brands optimize paid search investments.
BWH Hotels President and CEO Larry Cuculic told Hotel Management that AI will also make it easier to personalize the guest experience at the property level. “When you go to any of our.com sites, we know who you are, what you want, what you looked at last time—[so we can] serve it back up to you and make it very personalized to you.”
Brad LeBlanc, BWH Hotels’ senior vice president and chief development officer, said that by building a new tech stack from scratch, the company would be better prepared to meet the needs of both current and future guests as well as team members. “It's really a refreshed approach to what a program will be moving forward for the next 20, 30, 40, years—not what it was created to be 20 years ago,” he said.
Loyalty
The company is set to combine its Best Western Rewards and World Hotels Rewards loyalty programs into a single vertical. With a simplified and united program, Park said, hoteliers will be able to offer guests more personalized experiences that keep them coming back. “One year from now we will introduce the world to a transformed loyalty program that is more than a loyalty name and more than a campaign.”
“It just makes absolute common sense that we have one [loyalty program],” Cuculic said. “If you look at all the major competitors that we have, they all have one. We’re at a point in time where we think it's appropriate to do that.” Until the union is complete, he added, points will be transferable between the two programs.
These changes, Cuculic said, are part of making the brand “as welcoming as possible” to travelers with technology that is easy to use. Since the changes are still underway, he expects to have more information to share by next year’s convention.
Property Management
The company also is rolling out AutoClerk Atlas, its next-gen property-management system built on the company’s existing investment in AutoClerk but now powered by HotelKey.
The new PMS aims to address challenges facing hoteliers. Features include:
One-day onboarding, intuitive workflows and built-in training modules to simplify the front-desk experience
Automated payments and reconciliation processes
Guest insights
Connectivity with existing systems and third-party partners for a cohesive operational environment
“We want to make sure that it's the best cloud-based system possible,” Cuculic said, noting that the program “makes hotel training very, very intuitive,” which makes it easier to onboard new team members. And since HotelKey is a popular platform, he expects team members who join Best Western properties from other hotels to have an easier time learning what to do.
Beyond that, Cuculic expects the new system to help BWH Hotels expand internationally. “You don't have to tell a [hotelier] that you don't have a PMS that they could use,” he said of working with international developers. “It handles their language, their taxes [and] their compliance with government rules and regulations.”
Hoteliers, LeBlanc added, are “literally looking to us and our leadership and our expertise” to help guide them through technology’s evolution. “It's an exciting challenge [for] us.”