Wyndham Celebrates Five Years of Making Hotel Travel Possible for All

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06/05/2023 - 09:30 AM

World's largest hotel franchisor marks five years as a publicly traded, pure-play hotel company;
strengthens its position as a select-service leader and champion of the everyday traveler

PARSIPPANY, N.J., June 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, the world's largest hotel franchising company with approximately 9,100 hotels spanning more than 95 countries, today celebrates five years as a publicly traded, pure-play hotel company. Grounded in its mission of making hotel travel possible for all with a strong owner-first approach to franchising, the anniversary marks a major milestone for the Company as it strengthens its position as a select service leader and champion of the everyday traveler.

"The last five years have been monumental as we've welcomed, launched and integrated five entirely new brands, bringing our portfolio to 24 globally," said Geoff Ballotti, president and CEO, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. "We've also expanded into over 55 new countries while debuting our brands more than 100 times in countries where they've never been before, all while nurturing a record development pipeline of over 1,800 hotels, which continues to see positive growth. Through it all, we've proven ourselves as a Company dedicated to the long-term success of our franchisees, team members and shareholders, the latter of whom have seen over $1.5 billion returned to them in the form of dividends and share repurchases. As proud as we are of all we have accomplished, we're even more excited about our future, which has never looked brighter."

Making Hotel Travel Possible for All
Since going public in 2018, Wyndham has been laser-focused on strengthening and expanding its select service portfolio (economy and midscale), creating new travel experiences and opportunities for owners and guests alike. Today, with 24 brands spanning every chain scale, the Company offers a hotel for every owner and guest.

In the last five years, the Company has:

Grown its midscale and above portfolio by 63% globally while expanding La Quinta by Wyndham, the largest acquisition in the Company's history, into three new continents and four new countries (China, New Zealand, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates).
Launched new brands in new segments—ECHO Suites Extended Stay by Wyndham (extended-stay), Wyndham Alltra (all-inclusive) and Registry Collection Hotels (luxury).
Expanded its global pipeline by over 50% to 226,000 rooms—80% of which is now new construction—while increasing its U.S. pipeline nearly 60% and its direct franchising pipeline in China by nearly 70%.
Simplified its business to nearly 100% franchised, selling the Company's two owned hotels while substantially exiting the U.S. hotel management business.
Bolstered its presence in Europe with the acquisition of the Vienna House® brand from Berlin-based HR Group, a longstanding Wyndham franchisee, adding over 40 new hotels and more than 6,400 rooms.
Generated over $1.4 billion of free cash flow and returned $1.5 billion to shareholders, or nearly 25% of its beginning market cap, including the repurchase of 16% of its outstanding common shares.

An Owner-First Approach to Franchising
When owners succeed, Wyndham succeeds. It's why the Company looks at every major decision first through the lens of its franchisees. The approach has helped make Wyndham one of the industry's most admired, most known and most trusted franchisors.

In the last five years, the Company has:

Improved contribution to account for over 75% of all U.S. bookings, while nearly doubling the size of Wyndham Rewards to more than 100 million enrolled members. Nearly half of all U.S. check-ins are from program members who, on average, stay nearly twice as long and spend nearly twice as much.
Invested over $275 million, providing franchisees with best-in-class technology from industry-leaders like Sabre and Oracle (next-gen property management systems), IdeaS (next-gen revenue management system), Salesforce (sales and service platform) and Amperity (customer data platform), among others.
Rolled out an award-winning mobile app—now the Company's fastest growing booking channel—with booking features tailored to road trippers like Lightning Book^SM and Road Trip Planner, mobile check-in and checkout (first at scale in the economy segment), and in-stay features like digital room keys. Wyndham was also the first to make mobile tipping available to franchisees at scale.
Received more than 100 awards and accolades for Wyndham Rewards, which for the past five years, has been named by readers of USA TODAY the number one hotel rewards program.
Increased its franchisee retention rate from 92% to over 95%, making it among the highest in the economy and midscale segments.

Building a Global Community
Since its inception, Wyndham has focused on fostering a more diverse global community while living its core values of Integrity, Accountability, Inclusivity, Caring and Fun. Today, the Company is not only one of the world's leading franchisors, but one of the world's most respected employers.

In the last five years, the Company has:

Received dozens of awards celebrating and recognizing its commitment to ethics, sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion. Top awards include: one of Newsweek's Most Loved Workplaces, one of Ethisphere's World's Most Ethical Companies and one of Diversity Inc's Top 50 Companies for Diversity.
Invested in team member work-life balance with regular team member appreciation days, annual philanthropic-focused WISH days, as well as hybrid and flexible work arrangements. The approach has helped the Company to attract and retain top-tier talent while strengthening its position in the industry.
Launched the first-of-its-kind Women Own the Room program, quickly followed by BOLD by Wyndham, helping advance hotel ownership among women and Black entrepreneurs. To-date, the award-winning programs have led to more than 50 combined signings and over a dozen openings.
Prioritized greater industry diversity through DEI training related to antiracism, unconscious bias and allyship, while advancing gender equity. The Company is on track to meet its 2025 goals of 100% gender pay equity globally along with 100% of hotel team members receiving unconscious bias training.
Expanded its Affinity Business Groups for team members, which include eight fully inclusive networks led by Executive sponsors developed to foster innovation, drive growth and enhance DEI globally.
Reinforced its commitment to helping protect human rights by supporting humanitarian causes and combatting human trafficking. A proud and long-time partner of organizations like Polaris, BEST and ECPAT-USA, the Company requires training for all hotels globally and, earlier this year, donated $500,000 to AHLA Foundation's Survivor Fund.
Committed to a more sustainable future with Wyndham Green, a program designed to help franchisees reduce their environmental footprints and operate more efficiently through eco-friendly initiatives. All hotels globally are required to attain a minimum of Level 1 Core Wyndham Green Certification.

Added Ballotti, "None of these achievements would have been possible without the constant support and engagement of our owners and team members which has never been stronger. We'll continue to deliver on our mission of Making Hotel Travel Possible for All by providing the very best value in the industry to our owners and guests, offering Count On Me service while living our core values of integrity, accountability, inclusivity, caring and fun."

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 9,100 hotels across over 95 countries on six continents. Through its network of approximately 845,000 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 24 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 101 million enrolled members the opportunity to redeem points at thousands of hotels, vacation club resorts and vacation rentals globally. For more information, visit www.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 Hotels & Resorts, Inc.'s (the "Company") current views and expectations with respect to its future performance and operations, including earnings, financial and operating measures, share repurchases and dividends, rooms growth and development. Forward-looking statements include those that convey management's expectations as to the future based on plans, estimates and projections at the time the Company makes the statements and may be identified by words such as "will," "expect," "believe," "plan," "anticipate," "intend," "goal," "future," "outlook," "guidance," "target," "objective," "estimate," "projection" and similar words or expressions, including the negative version of such words and expressions. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company 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; the worsening of the effects from the coronavirus pandemic ("COVID-19"); COVID-19's scope, duration, resurgence and impact on the Company's business operations, financial results, cash flows and liquidity, as well as the impact on the Company's franchisees, guests and team members, the hospitality industry and overall demand for and restrictions on travel; the Company's continued performance during the recovery from COVID-19 and any resurgence or mutations of the virus; concerns with or threats of other pandemics, contagious diseases or health epidemics, including the effects of COVID-19; the performance of the financial and credit markets; the economic environment for the hospitality industry; operating risks associated with the hotel franchising businesses; the Company's relationships with franchisees; the impact of war, terrorist activity, political instability or political strife, including the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine; the Company'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 the Company's ability to obtain financing and the terms of such financing, including access to liquidity and capital; and the Company'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 the Company'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. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, subsequent events or otherwise, except as required by law.