Training the Front Line: How Best Western Delivered Its Best Guest Experience Yet With Simulation

Best Western trusted Mursion to implement simulation-based training that improved problem resolution and elevated customer care standards. These efforts led to measurable gains for participating hotels, transforming guest experiences and driving increased revenue per property, not to mention notable ROI.

2-5% Increase in post-stay guest satisfaction
$38K Estimated revenue gain per hotel
97% Training satisfaction rate

The Challenge: Turning Front Desk Pressure Into a Brand-Defining Experience

In the competitive hospitality industry, guest service isn’t just a differentiator, it’s the crux of the brand.
For Best Western® Hotels & Resorts, delivering consistently excellent customer care across thousands of locations was mission-critical, especially at the front desk, where small moments can make or break a guest’s stay.

As Best Western prepared to roll out its “I Care – Every Guest, Every Time” program, it partnered with Mursion to tackle a persistent challenge: empowering front desk teams to handle tough guest interactions with confidence, empathy, and professionalism.

Guest feedback, gathered through Medallia, revealed a consistent pain point: problem resolution. Front desk staff often faced tired, frustrated business travelers, and didn’t always have the tools or training to turn tense moments into positive ones.

The Solution: Realistic Practice for Primary Brand Representatives

Mursion worked with Best Western to integrate live simulation training into the heart of its customer service strategy.

Each of the 380 pilot hotels went through a three-part experience:

Training Module: Delivered by regional services managers, this module helped front desk staff internalize Best Western’s service standards while learning how to go above and beyond for every guest.
Live Virtual Simulations: Each staff member participated in 1–2 simulations with Mursion avatars. These practice sessions were focused on realistic, emotionally responsive virtual guests presenting real-world service challenges.
After-Action Review: Immediately following each simulation, regional and general managers delivered structured feedback, reinforcing best practices and encouraging self-reflection.

The simulations allowed employees to practice difficult conversations in a safe, controlled environment and build the confidence to handle the real thing with professionalism and care.

Results from the program are staggering. Hotels that received the training experienced the highest short term gains in customer satisfaction that Best Western has ever measured in such a short period of time.
Bruce Weinberg, VP of Operations at Best Western

The Results: Measurable Gains, Delighted Guests

The impact was immediate and unprecedented:

Hotels saw the highest short-term customer satisfaction gains Best Western had ever recorded from a training initiative.
Guest satisfaction survey scores rose 2–5% post-training, while non-participating hotels saw flat results.
Problem resolution scores jumped 5.1%, directly aligning with the simulation training focus.
97% of hotels rated the training experience as highly satisfactory.

The results came at an average cost of just $165 per hotel, proving that high-impact training doesn’t require high-cost delivery.

Best Western credits the program for helping it sweep the upper midscale and midscale categories in nearly every customer service metric, including “helpful and courteous service,” as recognized by Business Traveler News.