TRENDING
WYNDHAM IN EMEA learning much from COVID
THE PAST 18 MONTHS MADE IT A BETTER COMPANY , BUILT A BETTER FUTURE , ACCORDING TO REGIONAL PRESIDENT DIMITRIS MANIKIS .
For Dimitris Manikis , president of EMEA for giant Wyndham Hotels & Resorts , the past 18 months have been one of the greatest learning phases of his life . For someone who claims to travel 220 days in a year , the pandemic forced him to stay at home for 18 months , taking him away from what his job has always served up . “ That ’ s what we do in our business . But suddenly I couldn ’ t travel for 18 months ,” he tells HOTELS from Berlin while attending the International Hospitality Investment Forum . “ This was my first trip in so many months and I looked at my suitcase and didn ’ t know what to pack .”
The veteran hotelier , who is in charge of the development of all of Wyndham ’ s brands in the EMEA region and maximizing their performance , says the pandemic helped the company focus on their employees during the trying time . It also allowed them to focus on systems , and Manikis says those initiatives during COVID allowed them to achieve in 18 months what would usually take five years .
In fact , in late October Wyndham announced it was adding 12 properties in European resort destinations , including Spain , Canary Islands , Turkey , UK , and Austria , under a deal made with independent European resort operator CLC World Resorts & Hotels . The deal expands Wyndham ’ s portfolio of more than 300 hotels across Europe . HOTELS asked Manikis to go into greater detail about Wyndham ’ s plan for the region , how he is by HOTELS EDITORS
26 hotelsmag . com November / December 2021