1. Mobile broadband, the forgetful traveller’s friend

Many train companies now have wi-fi on board while 3G mobile networks are pretty universal across the country. What this means is that you can whip out your laptop or smartphone and place an order on the journey home.

Instead of buying an inappropriate present, why not forget presents altogether. “Darling, I decided to surprise you by taking you out to a restaurant instead of buying you a packet of chocolate chip cookies from the buffet car.”

If you have kids, book a babysitter through www.sitters.co.uk or www.childcare.co.uk. For the restaurant, try www.foursquare.com, www.toptable.co.uk or download the Foodspotting app.

Another idea would be to do an online food shop, ordering a romantic meal in time for your return. www.tesco.com can sort you out for a same day delivery.

2. Amazon’s evening service

If you live inside the M25 or in certain parts of Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Nottingham, Sheffield, Leeds, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bristol or Cardiff, you can take advantage of Amazon’s Evening Delivery service. The service is available for many products sold through Amazon.co.uk (not third parties or international sites), including Kindles. The delivery charge is a hefty £14.99 but if your marriage depends on it, it is money well spent.

3. The train shop

These days, rail buffets no longer just serve up curly sandwiches. If you have young kids at home expecting a present from Mummy or Daddy and you are travelling on Virgin Trains back home, grab a couple of Vkids Bags for them. The bags are filled with colouring pencils, notebook, chalkboard, stickers and a magazine.

4. Reduce, reuse, recycle

There’s an hour left of the train journey till you get home and you’re running out of ideas. All you have is the notes from your sales presentation earlier in the day. Rather than throwing them in the bin, be creative and reuse them. Go to www.doctororigami.com or download one of the many free origami apps for your smartphone and use your waste paper to create something magical – roses, unicorns and peacocks are suitably romantic.

5. Rebook for two

If you are paying the hotel bill, what about bringing your partner back for a romantic break? Some of the Best Western Premier hotels, such as the Mount Pleasant in Doncaster, have their own spas. Book a saucy weekend and a treatment voucher as you settle up for your business trip. Don’t put it on the company credit card though.

6. Failing all that…

Pop into WH Smith at the airport or railway station on the way, buy a reel of ribbon and then wrap yourself in a bow before walking through the door.

Read more from Mark on his blog. He can be found at www.markfrary.com.

As the consumer world continues to move online, Generation D, the digital generation will help to grow:journey, we won’t be surprised to see more of the following in 2012:

1. Online bookings
2. Mobile research and reservations
3. Social Media’s informed decision making

We’ve got big plans for M-Commerce, social media and continuous innovative online marketing strategies. Richard Lewis, CEO of Best Western Hotels GB, also has a few tricks up his sleeve regarding social media activity, and how it may impact the hotel industry. See below to find out more about our top 3 predictions.

Industry predictions for 2012…

• Online Bookings, will see continued growth

Traveller search and booking is on a constant rise. Over half of travel bookings are already made on the Internet, and the online travel market has certainly matured. More than 114 million people will research travel this year, and 94 million of those will book online!

• More mobile research and bookings

Increasingly, people of all ages are turning to mobile phones and tablet devices to surf the net and for travel research too. According to Forrester Research, in just two years mobile channel booking increased by four times that of the previous year, and Google is predicting mobile to overtake PC as the most common web surfing device by 2013!

• Social Media will continue to transform travellers opinions

Today, only 22% of the travel industry is using social media to generate booking revenue. However, it’s predicted that by 2016 that number will grow to at least 50%. Best Western is already using social media to increase profit margins, and we’ve got big plans to take advantage of changing consumer booking patterns. We will continue to boost marketing efforts – and bottom lines!

A word from our CEO on Social Media…

­It has always been a priority for Best Western to drive measurable results through highly effective, cutting edge digital marketing techniques, which include the use of innovative social media strategies.

Our members benefit from continuous Twitter activity, from resolving customer service issues to providing up-to-the-minute news and information to promoting exciting offers and specific properties. We are also currently the only hotel group to have an international partnership with Facebook, the world’s largest social networking site. Our on-going plans include developing a mobile platform for Great Britain – an exciting part of our marketing strategy.

With the use of mobile devices and social media continuing to rise, so too can the quality of service we are able to provide our guests. For instance, extending concierge services via Twitter feeds would allow us to communicate with guests before, during and after their stay, therefore allowing enhance your guest’s personal experience.

Geo-location features may also give us a competitive edge and encourage further in-hotel spend. Either by prompting guests to enjoy a complimentary first cocktail in the bar, or by providing information about their current location, we’d be able to accelerate our conversation with guests and make connection at points we haven’t been able to make before.

In addition we are noticing more and more travellers are taking advantage of last minute deals. Using social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, we can offer these deals to guests who ‘Follow’ or ‘Like’ our online presence, thus promoting our sales and creating a greater brand following and customer network.

There is no doubt that the future of the hotel industry will largely involve social media and Best Western are keen to entertain any opportunity that has the potential to improve our customer service and experience, while also increasing revenue opportunities and brand awareness for our hoteliers. As a membership organisation, every Best Western hotel has a voice in the direction of the company and with the help of industry experts, we’re looking forward to some exciting new ventures ahead.

Richard Lewis
CEO Best Western Hotels GB

Emma Dalton, General Manager of the BEST WESTERN PLUS Maldron Hotel in Cardiff answered a few of our questions to give you an idea of what you could expect as a new member:

When did you become a member of Best Western?
We joined Best Western on Wednesday, 1^st February 2012

What impact have you noticed since your first day of membership?
The key change we have seen is our exposure to the corporate market, with a stronger presence on GDS (Best Western’s Global Distribution System) and an immediate relationship with key consortia agents. In the first 21 days of business we have seen the greatest share of business through GDS channels… Conference enquiries have also been encouraging. Our regular customers are pleased to see the additional benefits of the Best Western brand with the Rewards programme. Being a member of Best Western allows us to compete with more established hotel groups within Cardiff for key corporate business.

…Our key objective at the moment is getting to know the Best Western team. Best Western provides so many resources and it is vital to get the most out of this to grow our business. The Best Western team are a very motivated, focused group of people and they have brought a new found energy to our team!

What was the main reason you chose to become a member of Best Western?
Best Western membership opens doors to channels where we previously did not have access. It provides a great support team in directing and supporting us to grow our business. It allows us access to advice and expertise about how to improve our business.

If you could give prospective hotels just one reason to join, what would it be?
It provides you with access to a large team of experts who can help you drive your business forward. As an independent hotel it is near impossible to get this level of support and direction. With so many challenges as a standalone hotel, Best Western provides endless opportunities in the business and leisure market.

What other benefits of membership are you looking forward to over the longer term?
The network of over 270 Best Western members!

The hotels Grade II listed building and former home to one of Newcastle’s best known pubs, the Balmoral, dating back to the 1840s, has been totally transformed into the hotel it is today.

When hotels owners bought the pub six years ago after it had fallen into despair and worked on a 24-month refurbishment process, giving the building a new lease of life.

The judges were impressed by the transformation of the derelict building and the dramatic interior refurbishment and as such awarded the hotel the top award on the night.

Why not stay overnight at the hotel to experience it for yourselves. All the breakfast items are locally sourced with honey, yogurt, bacon and sausages all coming from a local Grasmere farm. We’re a massive fan of their full English breakfast and homemade Granola too.

• BEST WESTERN Castle Green in Kendal

Set in the heart of the Lake District sits the BEST WESTERN Castle Green Hotel in Kendal. With 99 bedrooms this hotels is large enough to accommodate a large group, but small enough to have award winning customer service. Its locally acclaimed restaurant has achieved 2 rosette awards for its fine dining and with an onsite pub the evening is complete.

The hotel easily combines business with pleasure with all the amenities you could need for a successful working day and all the leisure facilities including swimming pool, steam room and salon for a relaxing evening.

• BEST WESTERN Salford Hall Hotel, Stratford Upon Avon

This idyllic Tudor manor hotel is situated in its own tranquil gardens on the outskirts of Stratford Upon Avon. Its grand appeal continues inside with 36 large spacious bedrooms, four poster beds and an award winning restaurant.

The hotel and its vicinity also has much to entertain after working hours with a tennis court on site and the much loved Royal Shakespeare theatre in the city centre. Plus with its own bar on site with original feature fireplace sipping red wine here can feel Christmassy all year through.

• BEST WESTERN Abby Hotel, Bath

If you are looking for a Georgian period property in the heart of the city with all the modern day facilities you could dream of then look no further than the BEST WESTERN Abbey Hotel in Bath.

This hotel has 60 elegant bedrooms, its own restaurant and bar and boasts the best location in Bath for easy access to all the city has to offer.

Among the booty ferreted away from Best Western hotels is a Christmas tree, a suit of armour, a two piece leather suite, a 12ft long model of the supersonic jet Concorde, and a cigarette machine. Even plants in the hotel gardens aren’t safe, with cuttings being taken, whole plants dug up and even bark chippings from flower beds going home with guests.

One guest even managed to clear out an entire hotel room – taking absolutely everything inside, except the bed. Their ill-gotten haul included a bedspread and matching curtains, a plasma TV set, a hairdryer, kettle, cups and saucers.

However, when you add festive spirit into the mix it appears there is just one thing topping the poll of the most popular item taken – baubles! In fact we estimate that if we added up all the baubles that went missing in hotels across Great Britain it would cost £1billion.

The review also found the top most frequently taken items 

• Toiletries
• Toilet rolls
• Teaspoons
• Towels
• Bathrobes
• Batteries from remote controls

On the whole we do not mind toiletries going home with our guests, we have even added ‘so good you’ll want to steal two’ on our soap. By far the large majority of our guests are the epitome of honesty, but, just occasionally we get a rogue who takes more than the odd soap or shampoo home with them.

Demand for better value and quality among UK business travel seems to have spurred a growth in our corporate bookings and with a significant increase of 16% in overnight business stays.

It also seems that our customers are more loyal than ever too with bookings from Best Western Rewards member increasing by a staggering 18% on last year.

We would like to think that our high standards, quality and fantastic customer service alone is bringing our customers back time and time again, but we think adding free internet access in all hotels and a huge marketing drive has also had a little something to do with it too!

The receiver can spend their gift card in over 80 countries and in over 4,000 hotels worldwide, choosing from afternoon tea in York to a full holiday in Thailand and much more inbetween.

Plus, unlike other gift cards that expire in just a few months the Best Western gift card lasts forever giving your friends and family all the time in the world to choose how to spend it.

The card can even be used as a staff incentive too, with cards starting from £20.

To buy your gift card simply log onto www.bestwestern.co.uk/giftcard

2011 has seen a strong focus on increasing the standards and quality of the group’s members resulting in six of the latest hotels to join the group having four-star ratings.

The new hotels are located across Great Britain boosting the portfolio from the North of London to Central Scotland and expanding onto the Isle of Man for the first time in ten years.

• BEST WESTERN Royal Adelaide Hotel, Windsor
• BEST WESTERN Cheltenham Regency Hotel, Cheltenham
• BEST WESTERN Feathers Liverpool Hotel, Liverpool
• BEST WESTERN Queens Hotel, Oban
• BEST WESTERN Cwrt Bleddyn Hotel and Spa
• BEST WESTERN PLUS Windmill Village Hotel, Golf and Leisure Club, Coventry
• BEST WESTERN Deincourt Hotel, Newark
• BEST WESTERN Forest Hills Hotel, Frodsham
• BEST WESTERN Angel & Royal Hotel, Grantham
• BEST WESTERN Beamish Hall Hotel, Beamish
• BEST WESTERN Nottingham Derby, Long Eaton
• BEST WESTERN London Highbury, Finbury Park, London
• BEST WESTERN Old Mill Hotel and Leisure Club, Ramsbottom
• BEST WESTERN Pinewood Hotel, Manchester
• BEST WESTERN North Shore Hotel, Skegness
• BEST WESTERN Oaklands Hall, Grimsby
• BEST WESTERN Naseby Hotel, Kettering
• BEST WESTERN The Bell Hotel, Epping
• BEST WESTERN Crianlarich Hotel, Perthshire
• BEST WESTERN Palace Hotel & Casino, Douglas, Isle of Man
• BEST WESTERN Passage House, Newton Abbot

Like all the groups hotels, each new member will continue to be independently owned and managed, whilst meeting the strict criteria set by Best Western, with regular inspections to ensure consistent quality and service.