Wyndham Targeting Struggling Resorts For Timeshare Conversions
By Adam Kirby, Associate Editor -- Hotels, 7/30/2009 10:28:00 AM
Wyndham Worldwide is on the lookout for struggling resorts and leisure hotels that might be prime candidates for conversion into timeshare product, CEO Stephen Holmes says.
In an interview with Bloomberg News, Holmes says the company could be "a big help" to distressed assets in leisure destinations by leveraging the sales and marketing prowess of Wyndham Vacation Ownership. While timeshare generally is suffering badly from the seized-up credit markets, Holmes says Wyndham is actually converting a greater percentage of timeshare tours this year than last.
View the complete video interview with Holmes here.
Wyndham's stock reached a 10-month high this week after its second-quarter earnings statement beat analyst expectations. Holmes credits Wyndham's relative strength during the downturn to its dominance across the economy and budget segments.
"People are still traveling to go visit Aunt Ruth, and they're stopping along the way to stay at a Days Inn or a Super 8," Holmes tells Bloomberg. "If you look at what's happened in the market, airport hotels are down, urban markets hotels are down, and interstate hotels are down—but they're not down as much. So, it's really a question of where you're positioned in the value spectrum. The econmmy and midscale hotels that we have, for the most part, are built for value for the consumers, and that's what the consumers looking for now."
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