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Wyndham’s march toward 10,000 properties continues

Spurred by acquisitions of the AmericInn and La Quinta brands in recent years and strong growth, particularly outside the U.S., Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is in no danger of losing its position as the world’s largest hotel franchisor.

With 9,200 properties and more than 800,000 rooms across 20 brands in 80-plus countries, Wyndham continues to see net gains of 2% to 4% annually, with the fastest growth occurring outside the U.S., particularly in Asia.

“We’ve never had a larger pipeline,” President and CEO Geoff Ballotti told the crowd of about 6,300 attending the 2019 global conference in Las Vegas this week. Of the 180 hotels in development, 71% of them are new construction, he added.

Wyndham President and CEO Geoff Ballotti addresses attendees at the company's global conference in Las Vegas.
Wyndham President and CEO Geoff Ballotti addresses attendees at the company’s global conference in Las Vegas.

In the U.S., growth has been consistent for five consecutive quarters, but “we are becoming more selective in terms of who we allow into a brand, so more demanding in terms of quality,” Ballotti said. “We’ve been adding more rooms but also saying goodbye to more rooms.”

Wyndham has also rolled out a number of protypes for various brands, including brand-wide redesigns for Super 8 and Howard Johnson, the new Moda design for Microtel, and “Dawn of a New Days Inn,” a new interiors package for the 1,400 U.S. Days Inn properties to mark the chain’s 50th anniversary next year. The first seven dual-brand prototypes combining Hawthorn Suites and La Quinta are in development as well.

New customer app coming

Thanks to the acquisition of La Quinta, Wyndham Rewards membership now sits at around 77 million; efforts to position all 20 brands with the “By Wyndham” kicker are designed to create more engagement with those rewards members. So is a new app, set to roll out in 2020, that is designed to be anticipatory, transactional and personal. In other words, travelers on the go could get geotargeted messages reminding them about a nearby Wyndham property, they will be able to book a room with two clicks, and they can use their mobile device as a key or to check in and out, among other things.

“It’s a way to drive loyalty and increase stickiness,” said Eliot Hamlisch, senior vice president of global loyalty and partnerships.

At the conference, the company also announced a property Internet upgrade package, Wyndham Wi-Fi, which will provide subscribing franchisees access to wireless and network equipment, a professional home page, superior Wi-Fi services with consistent signals capable of handling guests’ multi-screen needs, and one-stop shopping for support.

Availability of strong internet service has become a deal breaker for many travelers. “Poor internet service can cost you half a bubble on tripadvisor.com,” said Lisa Checchio, executive vice president and chief marketing officer.

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