World's largest hotel franchisor positioned
for long-term success following a year of global expansion, new
brand openings and numerous owner and guest investments
PARSIPPANY, N.J., Jan. 28,
2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Following a banner year capping
multiple milestones and accomplishments, Wyndham Hotels &
Resorts is poised for continued growth and innovation in 2025.
Chief among its priorities: complementing its strong foundation of
economy and midscale brands with new upscale and lifestyle brands,
while scaling technology and digital capabilities to deliver
best-in-class experiences for hotel owners and guests.
"We navigated an unforgettable year in 2024, remaining
steadfast in our ability to deliver for guests, owners and
shareholders. From welcoming our 25th brand and
expanding into new markets, to broadening our bench of aspirational
hotels and generating new owner revenue streams via the industry's
best tech platform – 2024's successes have both Wyndham and our
franchisees well positioned for the years ahead."
- Geoff Ballotti,
president and CEO, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
According to a recent McKinsey study, travel spending reached
its highest level last year since 1960—driven by consumers'
shifting preferences for experiences over material goods. And it's
a trend poised to continue. The U.S. Travel Association projects
travel spend to grow ~4% to $1.35
trillion in 2025, while recent Skift Research suggests
global travel spend to increase by 9%. At the same time, the
International Air Transport Association unveiled last month it
expects global air travel to reach a record-breaking 5.2 billion
passengers in 2025—up ~7% from 2024.
Driving Growth
With recognizable brands spanning every
segment of the industry, Wyndham saw continued global growth in
2024, adding a new brand, expanding its presence in key markets and
building on its footprint in key segments like extended-stay. Among
the highlights, the Company:
- Opened its first ECHO Suites® Extended Stay by Wyndham hotels,
reinforcing its position as the industry's fastest-growing all
new-construction brand. Early locations are seeing daily occupancy
rates as high as 80% within weeks of opening. ECHO now makes up 14%
of the Company's development pipeline.
- Expanded its offerings in the booming extended-stay segment
with new upscale offerings, including the launch of WaterWalk
Extended StaySM by Wyndham, its 25th brand,
and the introduction of Wyndham Residences® in the U.S., a new tier
within its namesake Wyndham® brand.
- Strengthened its portfolio in key countries where it holds a
significant presence, including the U.K., India, Türkiye and Mexico, while introducing 12 of its brands
into a combined 22 new markets. The Company also announced an
exclusive agreement to introduce its Microtel® brand in
India, targeting 40 open hotels by
2031.
- Joined forces with international lifestyle hospitality group,
sbe, to introduce HQ Hotels & ResidencesSM, a new
"smart lifestyle" brand affiliated with Registry Collection
Hotels®. Focused on dining, nightlife and wellness, the brand opens
its first hotel in Antigua this
quarter: Hodges Bay Resort and Spa, a HQ Luxury Resort and
Residences.
Tooled for Success
Delivering on its OwnerFirst®
approach to franchising, Wyndham further leveraged its unmatched
size and scale in 2024 to provide franchisees with robust tools,
solutions and innovative technology, helping them capture more
business. Among the highlights, the Company:
- Introduced Wyndham ConnectSM, helping hotels
increase revenue and curate personalized guest experiences via
AI-generated messaging, upsells, mobile check-in and check-out,
mobile tipping and more. Approximately 2,000 of the Company's
hotels in North America are
regularly engaging with the tool and seeing significant incremental
revenue as a result.
- Refreshed its Wyndham Business platform, anchored by the new
Wyndham Rewards® Business, a B2B extension of Wyndham's top-rated
rewards program. Designed to simplify travel for business of all
sizes, the re-imagined program offers rich savings and rewards,
streamlined billing, membership upgrades, easy point management and
more.
- Created new opportunities for its BOLD® by Wyndham and Women
Own the RoomSM members—promoting industry mentorship via
Accelerator Circle and unlocking third-party financing solutions
via investment firm Lafayette Square. Together, BOLD and Women Own
the Room have resulted in more than 100 deals with nearly 40 hotels
now open.
Championing the Everyday Traveler
Further advancing
its mission of making hotel travel possible for all, Wyndham
continued championing the everyday traveler in 2024, launching new
initiatives that further elevate the guest experience. Among the
highlights, the Company:
- Expanded its #1 ranked Wyndham Rewards program with new
redemption offerings, bringing the total to more than 60,000
hotels, vacation club resorts and vacation rentals globally. No
other major hotel rewards program offers members more places to
redeem for stays.
- Unveiled Wyndham Travel Packages, a one-stop-shop allowing
Wyndham Rewards members to book and earn points on hotels, flights,
car rentals, airport transfers, and even activities, all-in-one-go
via WyndhamRewards.com.
- Celebrated 50 Years of Super 8 with the debut of the brand's
new Innov8te 2.0 room design, a limited time consumer promotion and
a special anniversary sweepstakes. Super 8 is one of the world's
largest economy hotel brands with over 2,600 locations.
- Re-imagined its consumer marketing, leveraging top-tier
creative partners to deliver campaigns that hit the right travelers
at the right time with unmatched relevance, including the launch of
the Company's first-ever holiday campaign.
For more information about Wyndham Hotels & Resorts,
including details on franchising opportunities, visit
www.wyndhamdevelopment.com.
About Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: WH) is the world's largest
hotel franchising company by the number of properties, with
approximately 9,200 hotels across over 95 countries on six
continents. Through its network of approximately 893,000
rooms appealing to the everyday traveler, Wyndham commands a
leading presence in the economy and midscale segments of the
lodging industry. The Company operates a portfolio of 25
hotel brands, including Super 8®, Days Inn®, Ramada®, Microtel®, La
Quinta®, Baymont®, Wingate®, AmericInn®, Hawthorn Suites®,
Trademark Collection® and Wyndham®. The Company's
award-winning Wyndham Rewards loyalty program offers approximately
112 million enrolled members the opportunity to redeem points at
thousands of hotels, vacation club resorts and vacation rentals
globally. For more information, visit wyndhamhotels.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal
securities laws, including statements related to Wyndham's current
views and expectations with respect to future growth opportunities
and strategies and travel trends. Forward-looking statements are
any statements other than statements of historical fact, including
those that convey management's expectations as to the future based
on plans, estimates and projections at the time Wyndham makes the
statements and may be identified by words such as "will," "expect,"
"believe," "plan," "anticipate," "predict," "intend," "goal,"
"future," "forward," "remain," "outlook," "guidance," "target,"
"objective," "estimate," "projection" and similar words or
expressions, including the negative version of such words and
expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the
actual results, performance or achievements of Wyndham to be
materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this
press release.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those in the forward-looking statements include, without
limitation, general economic conditions, including inflation,
higher interest rates and potential recessionary pressures; global
or regional health crises or pandemics including the resulting
impact on Wyndham's business, operations, financial results, cash
flows and liquidity, as well as the impact on its franchisees,
guests and team members, the hospitality industry and overall
demand for and restrictions on travel; the performance of the
financial and credit markets; the economic environment for the
hospitality industry; operating risks associated with the hotel
franchising business; Wyndham's relationships with franchisees; the
impact of war, terrorist activity, political instability or
political strife, including the ongoing conflicts between
Russia and Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East, respectively; Wyndham's ability
to satisfy obligations and agreements under its outstanding
indebtedness, including the payment of principal and interest and
compliance with the covenants thereunder; risks related to
Wyndham's ability to obtain financing and the terms of such
financing, including access to liquidity and capital; and Wyndham's
ability to make or pay, plans for and the timing and amount of any
future share repurchases and/or dividends, as well as the risks
described in Wyndham's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission and any subsequent
reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These
risks and uncertainties are not the only ones Wyndham may face and
additional risks may arise or become material in the future.
Wyndham undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
subsequent events or otherwise, except as required by law.
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SOURCE Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
