Wyndham Hotels and Resorts has revealed its plans to boost profits for owners and advance its position as a leader in the select-service hotel brands sector around the world to over 7,000 delegates at the company’s global conference in Las Vegas today.
The company’s President and CEO, Geoff Ballotti, said the plans included new dual-branding opportunities, design and build offerings, enhanced wireless and network services, a revamped app and other measures designed to increase RevPAR for owners and franchisees across the world.
“As the world’s largest hotel franchisor, our commitment to making hotel travel possible for all starts with our franchisees,” he told a packed 2019 Wyndham Global Conference at the Mandalay Bay Convention Centre.
“Together, we are elevating our family of iconic brands through innovation in quality and design, operational efficiency, strategic growth and guest experience to shape not only the future of Wyndham, but the legacy of our owners around the world.”
Wyndham Hotels and Resorts currently has approximately 9,200 hotels across more than 80 countries and a pipeline that’s expected to see the mega-chain top the 10,000 room mark soon.
Ballotti said with a focus on enhancing returns for its nearly 6,000 franchisees, initiatives were designed to elevate Wyndham’s brands, deliver incremental resources to its owners, grow its presence and meet the needs of today’s travellers.
Leading the initiatives are two technology enhancements, including the launch of ‘Wyndham WiFi’, a new bundle of wireless and network services featuring high-quality hardware and equipment at lower costs.
“Hoteliers will have access to best-in-class wireless and network equipment, a professional home page, superior WiFi services with consistent signals capable of handling guests’ multi-screen needs, and one-stop shopping for support,” the company said.
A new mobile app will also be rolled out in the second quarter of 2020, which will offer streamlined bookings, account management and on-property features enabling guests to make the most of their stays.
There will also be enhancements across several of Wyndham’s most popular brands of the 20 in the stable.
On the back of brand-wide redesigns for Super 8 by Wyndham and Howard Johnson by Wyndham, the company revealed today the next one would be Days Inn by Wyndham, which is approaching its 50th anniversary in 2020.
Wyndham unveiled a new interior design package for its 1,400 Days Inn hotels in the United States, which the company said “takes inspiration from the sun with bright and airy rooms and sun-centric art celebrating the brand’s roots with a modern flair”.
The company says it is also prioritising new construction growth with the launch of both new and refreshed prototypes designed to lower development costs and capture greater efficiencies, taking a page from the best-practices of La Quinta by Wyndham and the success of the recent ‘Moda’ prototype launch from Microtel by Wyndham.
Wyndham announced plans to reposition its Wyndham Garden brand – which debuted in New Zealand in 2018 – for growth with a new interior and exterior prototype called ‘Arbor’, which offers a “streamlined, modern aesthetic inspired by nature that is designed to reduce cost-per-key to build”, according to the company.
The company is also introducing a new prototype combining its extended-stay Hawthorn Suites brand with La Quinta, designed to streamline development and operational costs, while appealing to multiple types of travellers. The dual-brand prototype leverages the newly refreshed room of La Quinta’s ‘Del Sol’ prototype, which continues to draw developers, with seven new-construction agreements signed in the second quarter.
Wyndham also debuted a refreshed interior design for AmericInn inspired by the modern lodge look, updating the brand’s contemporary exterior prototype while celebrating its heritage. Together, the interior and exterior designs represent the brand’s fourth-generation prototype.
Global growth is also a major focus for the company as it edges closer to the milestone 10,000 hotels and 1 million rooms mark in the next couple of years.
It has been a strong 2019 for the company, with five Wyndham brands opening in new markets this year, including: Days Inn in New Zealand; Microtel in China; Ramada by Wyndham in Armenia; Wyndham in Malaysia; and Wyndham Garden in Argentina and the Philippines.
The company also signed agreements to introduce Dolce Hotels and Resorts by Wyndham in Denmark and Vietnam this year, and La Quinta in the Dominican Republic in 2021.
Since launching just over two years ago as the first soft brand geared toward midscale and upper-midscale hotels, Trademark Collection by Wyndham has continued its rapid growth around the world, adding six new hotels in Canada and its first hotel in Latin America, in Belize, to its more than 100 hotels in North America and Europe.
Wyndham is the largest international franchisor in Greater China and recently announced plans to open approximately 500 hotels in China over the next three years, bringing its total to more than 2,000 hotels there by the end of 2022.