The most important meal of the day is causing problems for Best Western. Calling it “one of the brand’s competitive weaknesses,” chain executive Ron Pohl recently told Best Western members they need to focus on “the 3Ps: Product, Presentation and Presence. We must be consistent in offering our brand standards and present them well.”

Speaking at the chain’s recent annual conference, Pohl, vice president of brand management and member services, told members they also need to mingle with their guests at breakfast time. “I guarantee if you spend time in the breakfast room every day and your guests aren’t happy: A, you will hear about it; B, you will fix it because no one likes to hear complaints; and C, you’ll generate more business through relationships.”

The news wasn’t all bad, though, as Pohl reported that guest satisfaction scores for breakfast are improving, rising to 7.97 this year versus 7.82 last year. The downside: just 10 percent of Best Western properties have breakfast scores equal to the chain’s top rival, Hampton Inns, and, “Guess what, Hampton is raising its breakfast standards again,” said Pohl.

“Don’t cut corners on breakfast,” he said. “It should be a selling feature, something we stand for, not an opportunity to save money. The bottom line is when breakfast is good, guests are happy and they return.”

Best Western considers customer service to be its competitive advantage, and two years of higher overall guest satisfaction scores proves the point, believes Pohl. Conversely, customer complaints are falling—from an average of eight per hotel to four, with 461 properties receiving no complaints in the past year. The chain’s “I Care” property-level training initiative gets much of the credit, said Pohl.

According to him, the brand is testing enhancements to the program and is ramping up its online training offerings through new partnerships with the AH&LA Educational Institute and Cornell University. It’s also testing “I Care 2” as the next phase in customer service training. The program will focus on creating problem-free experiences for guests and a concept he called “collaborative service.”

One element in testing now at 100-plus hotels allows guests to choose the level of housekeeping service they want and when they want service. Pohl says 40 percent of guests in the test hotels take advantage of the offering.