Wyndham Plans New Brands For China

Wyndham Hotel Group is planning to introduce more of its brands into China to add to the five existing ones in the market: Days Inn, Howard Johnson, Ramada, Super 8 and Wyndham. Brands under consideration for the hop over include TRYP by Wyndham, a select-service, mid-priced city brand; Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham, which offers extended stays in studio, one- and two-bedroom suites; and Wingate by Wyndham, positioned as a four-star, mid-priced brand. Wyndham Hotel Group’s president and managing director for Asia-Pacific, Ken Greene, said: “Apart from the proposed 350-room Planet Hollywood Hotel in Boao on Hainan Island, I’d love to see all the (above-mentioned) brands in 2012, at least to sign agreements.”  Ken Greene In the last year, the group has opened 141 hotels in Asia-Pacific, with 131 of these properties in China. According to Greene, the group’s chairman wants Wyndham’s footprint in China to equal that of its US operations (5,832 hotels). In terms of brand performance in China over the past year, Greene said occupancy at Super 8 properties had fared well given its relatively large distribution of 275 premises, while Wyndham posted better RevPAR. Greene added: “Shanghai did not fare that well (in 2011). After Shanghai (World) Expo, (the market there) started catching up, but our large footprint and distribution of properties affected the result. In 2012, the city should normalise and enjoy the same level of growth as before.” Meanwhile, after doubling manpower in its Hong Kong office last year, the group intends to add eight staff to its 23-man Shanghai team over the next few months to boost management capabilities and expand franchise operations.