BUDAPEST, Hungary
-- They call their company the "quiet giant."
Chameleon, however,
might be the better term for Wyndham Hotel Group, which since 2004
has evolved from largely a budget hotel franchisor in North America
to a fast-growing international player with an upscale
brand.
"In 2004, less than
2% of our total revenue was outside the U.S. Now it is 15%. And we
want to grow that to 25%," Wyndham Hotel Group CEO Steven Rudnitsky
said last week at the company's international franchisors and
owners conference here.
Much of that global
growth came from the 2004 acquisition of the Ramada brand from
Marriott, which brought the world's Ramadas under one umbrella and
helped Wyndham launch its global expansion.
One year later,
then-owner Cendant changed the name of its lodging unit to Wyndham
after purchasing that floundering but upscale brand from the
Blackstone Group.
Today, Wyndham
Hotel Group has 6,500 properties around the world, including about
200 in Europe. It has more properties in China than any other North
America hotel company. It has development deals for more than 50
properties in India. And it just signed a deal for 15 Ramada
Encores, its economy lifestyle product, in the Ukraine.
Much of the
company's international growth involves Wyndham's core economy
brands, Super 8 and Days Inn.
But with its new
name and rights to continue developing the Wyndham brand, the
company has also set its sights on the upscale and luxury
markets.
Joining Wyndham
officials at the conference were executives from Corinthia Hotels
International, which has teamed up with Wyndham to manage its
Wyndham and Ramada brands in Europe, the Middle East and
Africa.
Wyndham owns a 30%
stake in Corinthia Hotels International, and the agreement brings
the Corinthia's properties into the Wyndham global reservations
system.
To highlight that
partnership, the conference was held at the Corinthia Grand Hotel
Royal, part of the recently launched Wyndham Grand Collection of
luxury properties.
"It's really a
terrific position for us, as a commander in the budget and economy
sectors to now be in the luxury field," said Sean Worker, director
of Wyndham's international operations.
To grow the upscale
and luxury side of its brands, Rudnitsky said Wyndham would have to
become more involved in management of the properties; hence the
agreement with Corinthia, a management company based on the
Mediterranean island of Malta.
The bulk of
Corinthia's properties are in Eastern Europe. It is the first
Western hotel company to open a luxury property in
Libya.
Corinthia CEO Tony
Potter said the partnership was going well, "although perhaps
growth hasn't come as fast as we want."
The companies
announced last month an agreement to develop a Wyndham resort in
Morocco. Potter predicted that despite the slower-than-expected
initial growth with Wyndham, "Really, what I'm just saying is, you
ain't seen nothing yet."
Rudnitsky and other
Wyndham senior executives were equally optimistic, although Worker
and Olivier DuPont, Wyndham's senior vice president of development
for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, said the company
would remain cautious in its development announcements.
"There is a
tremendous amount of hype out there," said DuPont. "We are the
quiet giant. We deliver what we say we are going to
deliver."
To contact reporter Jeri Clausing, send e-mail to [email protected].