With 2024 in the rear view mirror, Wyndham Hotels is poised to push ahead and break more records in 2025.
“We navigated an unforgettable year in 2024, remaining steadfast in our ability to deliver for guests, owners and shareholders,” said CEO Geoff Ballotti, reflecting on the year’s progress. “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.”
Accelerating global growth
During 2024, Wyndham achieved net unit growth of 4%. Presenting the group’s results for the year, Ballotti noted: “We opened a record 69,000 rooms, the largest number of annual organic room additions in Wyndham’s history.” He said the group also continues to improve it satisfaction among franchisees: “Our global retention rate improved another 10 basis points to 95.7%, a level of franchisee engagement and satisfaction that’s never been higher and a testament to the strength of our owner first value proposition.”
The new Echo Suites extended stay brand grew fast, with openings in cities including Nashville, Indianapolis, Madison, Wisconsin and Richmond, Virginia. In addition, higher end extended stay offerings such as WaterWalk and Wyndham Residences also grew, with extended stay properties now responsible for almost one third of the US pipeline. The addition of WaterWalk saw Wyndham grow its brand portfolio to 25 distinctive market offerings.
Ballotti also called out a number of international milestones, including the first Wyndham Garden on the Indian subcontinent, and further growth in Turkey, where there are now more than 120 Wyndham branded hotels, including the recently added Ramada by Wyndham at Gaziantep. “Development momentum across EMEA remains robust, with our pipeline growing 20%.”
In China, the group grew its direct franchises by 16%, opening its 90th Days Inn hotel in the country, opening the luxury Wyndham Qingdao, and its 40th Wyndham Garden hotel, in Huangdao. The substantial pipeline in the country includes the 265 room Grand Wyndham Yichang, and Wyndham Grand Residence Xiamen Xiang’an, both due to open later in 2025. Wyndham branded hotels are planned for cities including Huangshi, Quanzhou, Tianshui and Wuhan.
Supporting franchisees
During the last year, Wyndham introduced several upgrades to the infrastructure its franchisees benefit from, on the operational side. These include Wyndham Connect, a tool that helps hotels increase revenue and offer a more personalised guest experience. Already, around 2,000 of the group’s hotels in North America are using it to drive additional revenue.
An update to the Wyndham Business tool has helped make it easier for businesses of all sizes to benefit from booking their staff into Wyndham branded hotels. Users can enjoy discounts, streamlined billing, upgrades and rewards.
There has also been specific support aimed at encouraging minority groups to become Wyndham hotel franchisees. These initiatives, including BOLD, and Women Own the Room, have already supported more than 100 deals, of which close to 40 are already open.
