May 14, 2021
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest hotel franchising company with over 8,900 hotels across nearly 95 countries, remains on a steady growth trajectory around the world and is continuing to debut new properties and enter new destinations. In a year of significant challenges for the hospitality industry, Wyndham strengthened its portfolio to generate sequential growth in system size and its development pipeline. The company’s non-urban, drive-to economy and midscale hotels, combined with ongoing investment in sales and marketing, helped capture rising pent-up leisure travel demand, which continued to drive sequential RevPAR improvements and domestic market share gains for franchisees.
In the first quarter of 2021, Wyndham converted 52 independent and branded hotels to one of its 20 brands, accounting for over 70% percent of its global room additions. The brand’s overall development pipeline has continued to expand both domestically and internationally with new conversion opportunities. The company awarded 112 new franchise contracts in the first quarter of 2021, and by March 31 the development pipeline had grown sequentially from Q4 to approximately 1,400 hotels and approximately 187,000 rooms.
“Our portfolio of iconic hotel brands offers a wide range of experiences and price points for guests as well as strong opportunities for franchisees and developers,” said Geoffrey A. Ballotti, president and chief executive officer, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. “Our global sales, marketing and loyalty teams are looking forward to helping more travelers discover all these new hotels.”
A selection of the company’s recent hotel conversions to date are noted below by region.
Americas
Wyndham signed a nine-hotel franchise agreement in Q1 with The Thrash Group for its namesake, upscale, Wyndham® brand in the U.S. The nine hotels, all managed by Charlestowne Hotels, span across the U.S. and include a mix of lifestyle-focused boutique hotels, historic hotels and new construction hotels scheduled to open later this year and next. “Converting our hotels to Wyndham has allowed us access to new resources and further opportunities, which supports us in running our business proficiently,” said Ike Thrash, founding partner, The Thrash Group. “That paired with the award-winning brand’s recognition will help contribute to my Thrash’s overall success and hopefully further development of additional Wyndham properties.”
In downtown San Francisco, The BEI Hotel in San Francisco, is another recent conversion for the Trademark Collection that is scheduled to open in May. Located by the Financial District and Union Square, guests can stay in the heart of the city and enjoy well-appointed guest rooms, a fitness center and other inviting amenities. Just 14 miles from San Francisco International Airport and 20 miles from Oakland International Airport, this contemporary, hotel is surrounded by world-class restaurants and minutes from Civic Center Plaza, Moscone Center, and Union Square. And on Long Island, N.Y., the award winning and LEED certified Viana Hotel & Spa converted to a Trademark by Wyndham.
New conversion hotels in the Caribbean include the Kunuku Resort All Inclusive in Curacao along with the Turtle Island Beach Resort, in Belize — both of which are converting to Trademark Collection by Wyndham. The most recently awarded Caribbean franchise contract is to The Buccaneer Beach & Golf Resort in St. Croix, an upscale property that will be converting to Wyndham’s Trademark Collection and mark the first Wyndham Hotels & Resorts property in St. Croix. The family owned and operated 340-acre resort is the island’s only four-star resort, offering 130 guest-rooms and suites.
In Latin America, TRYP by Wyndham Guayaquil, Ecuador was recently converted to a Wyndham as part of the company’s urban lifestyle brand. The centrally located hotel is steps away from the city’s top dining venues, the Mall del Sol and the Guayaquil Convention Center.