Wyndham Hotel Group’s Europe, Middle East and Africa (MEA) portfolio is currently enjoying its strongest growth ever with plans for significant expansion in the market.
The year 2015 saw extensive growth with the opening of 38 hotels resulting in an impressive 440 hotels within the region. Strong momentum continues into 2016 with a pipeline of 50 hotels and an additional 10,600 rooms expected to be added to the portfolio, said Dan Ruff, Wyndham Hotel Group’s president and managing director, EMEA. Wyndham Hotel Group has established itself as the leader in its sector, building locally relevant hotels in emerging destinations ahead of other brands. The group has capitalised on the growing global middle class and the democratisation of travel to develop a new wave of upscale, midscale and economy friendly hotel options across EMEA. With guests looking to travel further afield than ever before, Wyndham Hotel Group continues to respond to heightened demand for affordable and accessible accommodation in new and exciting destinations, said Ruff.'Our global footprint is second to none and a core focus within this is strategic growth in EMEA. We’re investing in the region at a phenomenal pace and this includes more than doubling our resources as close to the business as possible with regional offices in New Delhi, London, Berlin, Dubai and Istanbul. We enjoyed unprecedented growth last year and our outlook for 2016 remains just as strong,' Ruff continued.Wyndham has responded to increased demand for mid and upscale hotels in the Middle East with new properties. February 2016 saw the opening of upscale hotel, Wyndham Dubai Marina, which is demonstrative of the abundant growth and development taking place in the Middle East for the group, he said.Wyndham also recently announced four new managed Ramada hotels across Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Bahrain – Ramada Resort Dead Sea in Jordan, Ramada Corniche in Saudi Arabia, along with Ramada Hotel & Suites Amwaj Island and Ramada Manama City Centre, both located in Bahrain. March 2016 saw Wyndham launch Super 8 Munich, the first of 10 new Super 8 hotels being introduced to Germany in partnership with GS Star GmbH. The Super 8 hotel brand is one of the world’s most well-known hotel chains with more than 2,600 locations around the globe. Each Super 8 hotel is independently owned and operated under a franchise agreement with Super 8 Worldwide Inc (SWI) or its affiliate. SWI is a subsidiary of Wyndham Hotel Group and parent company Wyndham Worldwide Corporation.Germany has risen in rank in the last two years to become Wyndham Hotel Group’s fourth largest global market with more than 100 existing hotels. The new Super 8 Munich City West is centrally located and has excellent access to public transport links, making it an ideal base for both tourists and business travellers. The hotel is well suited for families and welcomes teenagers up to 17 years old to sleep for free in their parents’ room. The hotel also welcomes pets. A second Super 8 will soon follow in Munich City North and is slated to open in September 2016.Turkey has seen strong growth with Wyndham Hotel Group cementing its position as the largest international hotel company with more than 40 hotels including Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, TRYP by Wyndham and Ramada brands. In addition to focusing on established markets, Wyndham is entering destinations before they become the trend and as such a number of properties in the company’s pipeline are in new markets for the group. Ethiopia is an example with the imminent opening of Ramada Addis Ababa this year. Last year saw the opening of the Ramada Resort Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, the first property in Africa to be operated by the group’s growing management team. Meanwhile, membership of the award-winning Wyndham Rewards loyalty program has grown 34 per cent year-on-year in EMEA as of January 2016, the group said. This follows a major overhaul to the programme in 2015 which saw it offer members a generous points earning structure and a flat, free night redemption rate – the first of its kind for a major rewards programme, it said.Wyndham Hotel Group is the world’s largest hotel company based on number of hotels and is one of the three hospitality business units of Wyndham Worldwide. As both a leading hotel brand franchisor and hotel management services provider, the company’s global portfolio consists of over 7,800 properties and 678,000 rooms in 72 countries.