Best Western Hotels & Resorts’ Avatar: A Guest’s Journey
After field testing virtual role-play scenarios for several years, Best Western Hotels & Resorts (BWHR) decided to integrate virtual simulations into its site-based “I Care—Every Guest, Every Time” program. Scenarios are developed for all positions in a hotel and are implemented using a three-phase experiential model: educate, live simulation, after-action review. Staffers participate in one to two
live mixed reality simulations, in which they interact with avatar-based characters that present challenging issues that mimic real-life customer problems.
After the training, hotels experienced an average of 2 to 5 percent gains in post-stay guest satisfaction survey ratings compared to flat rates for nonparticipating hotels.
