Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest hotel franchising company by number of properties with over 8,900 hotels across nearly 95 countries, continues to cement its presence across Europe, Middle East, Eurasia and Africa (EMEA) with a series of recent hotel launches and a strong line-up of openings for 2021.
In a year of historic challenges for the travel industry, in 2020 Wyndham achieved 38 new hotel signings in the region and a host of important openings, in addition to launching multi-faceted initiatives to support and empower hotel partners across EMEA to help re-build demand in response to changes and on-going travel restrictions.
Some of Wyndham’s key 2020 openings included the international expansion of La Quinta by Wyndham into Turkey, the European expansion of Ramada by Wyndham in Madrid, Valencia, Leeds and Budapest and other openings in Germany. 2020 also marked a significant year for the Middle East region, with the debut of the Super 8 by Wyndham brand in the UAE and the opening of the upscale Wyndham Dubai Deira. Other openings in the region included Ramada by Wyndham Erbil Gulan Street in Iraq, Ramada Encore by Wyndham Muscat Al Ghubra in Oman, as well as Ramada by Wyndham Lahore Gulberg II in Pakistan.
In late 2020, Wyndham also opened its first hotel in Nepal under the Ramada Encore by Wyndham brand, and expanded in India with the addition of Wyndham Ahmedabad Shela. Solid growth continued in 2021, as Wyndham announced the debut of the La Quinta brand in Dubai, and saw further momentum in Turkey with the opening of Ramada by Wyndham Izmir Aliaga, while also expanding its Dolce brand with a new flagship hotel in Copenhagen.
Wyndham’s recent expansion in EMEA reinforces its commitment to its partners, guests and team members across the region and is set to continue with a strong development pipeline of over 16,000 rooms that includes more than 20 new hotels expected to open later this year.
Dimitris Manikis, President EMEA, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, said: “We are extremely proud of these achievements, initiatives and the incredible resilience shown by our hotel partners in the region. In the toughest period our industry has ever experienced, it is more important than ever to put our partners, guests and teams at the heart of everything we do. Our ability to continue to grow is a testament to the strength of the value proposition of the Wyndham brands for hotel partners as they prepare to rebuild demand, and we are looking forward to our continued and long-term success together.”
Some of the upcoming openings in 2021 will include:
· The opening of the first Days Inn by Wyndham in the UAE in the second half of 2021, which will bring more economy accommodation options to travellers visiting the charming Deira district in Dubai, as well as the opening of Howard Johnson Plaza by Wyndham Dubai Deira and a new Wyndham Grand hotel in Doha, Qatar.
· The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will also see the addition of Ramada by Wyndham Riyadh King Fahd Road, further cementing Wyndham’s presence in the market.
· Further momentum in Turkey where Wyndham is the largest international hotel group with over 80 hotels and seven new properties expected to open in 2021, including the debut of the Days Inn by Wyndham brand with two openings in Istanbul.
· Additional development in India with the openings of Ramada by Wyndham Gangtok Deorali Hotel & Casino in April and Ramada Varanasi Katesar later in 2021.
· The debut of the Wyndham’s namesake brand in Cyprus with the highly anticipated opening of the upscale Wyndham Nicosia expected at the end of the year. The hotel will offer elegant accommodation in Nicosia’s main square, alongside several leisure amenities and conference space.
· Additional openings of Wyndham Garden Burabay (Kazakhstan), Ramada Encore by Wyndham Tashkent (Uzbekistan). A Ramada by Wyndham will also open in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi.
In 2020 Wyndham Hotels & Resorts launched a new hybrid meeting solution in EMEA combining live-streaming and in-person participation to encourage attendance when faced with restrictions on meeting sizes and travel. Wyndham also introduced support for business travellers with reduced corporate rates for small to mid-size businesses through the Wyndham Easy Book, and a new Wyndham Mobile App offering personalised experiences and responding to new user’s needs in real time.
Wyndham hotels in EMEA and around the world participate in Wyndham Rewards®, the world’s most generous hotel rewards programme with thousands of hotels, vacation club resorts and vacation rentals worldwide.