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more than 33,000 rooms in our pipeline ,” she said .
Further Echo Suites signings include three in Kentucky ( Louisville , Lexington and Frankfort ) and Clarksville , Ind .
On the full development front , Wyndham opened more than 18,000 rooms in the quarter , 16 % more room openings domestically than last year . Ballotti said its franchise sales team in the U . S . signed 33 % more development deals in the quarter than last year , which helped grow Wyndham ’ s global development pipeline for the 16th consecutive quarter by 740 basis points year over year to a record 245,000 rooms .
Internationally , Wyndham increased net rooms 8 % versus prior year , with its EMEA team opening more than 20 %
WE BELIEVE THAT THE CURRENT REVPAR ENVIRONMENT IS TRANSITORY IN NATURE DESPITE THE OCCASIONAL DOWNTURN
– GEOFF BALLOTTI , PRESIDENT
AND CEO , WYNDHAM HOTELS &
RESORTS
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more rooms than in the second quarter of last year . Its India pipeline grew by over 6 % YOY , while in China , net rooms increased by 3 % sequentially and by 12 % versus the prior year on a direct franchising basis with new openings , including three Microtels .
Overall performance internationally was strong with RevPAR increasing 7 % compared to the prior year .
TECH FRONT Beyond growth prospects , Wyndham is focused on technology to help increase franchisee revenue through Wyndham Connect , which it rolled out this summer , and is designed to enhance the guest experience through mobilecentric tools that leverage AIdriven large language models . Nearly 2,000 hotels in North America have started using it .
Ballotti underscored it , especially its upselling capabilities and ability to speed up processes . “ Smart , mobile check-in is speeding up the checking-in process for guests and front-desk agents , helping to verify guest information in advance and protecting owners from expensive chargebacks and reducing overall labor needs ,” he said , citing one practical instance where the technology is already paying off . At the Spartanburg Echo Suites opening was Wyndham ’ s Development Council and what developer wouldn ’ t want to get into their room earlier if available ? Wyndham Connect tools allow guests to check in prior to the traditional time of
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3pm , if available , by paying , in this case , a $ 20 fee . “ It was a no brainer to anybody checking in early to the hotel and it is money in that developer ’ s pocket ,” Ballotti said .
Other advances of Wyndham Connect allow for upselling late checkouts and room upgrades , such as on higher floors or corner rooms with better views , and pre-selling various F & B options and other amenities to be placed in the room before guests arrive . Ballotti pointed to roughly $ 1,400 in monthly monetization opportunities on early check-in and late check-out , alone , and new AIgenerated messaging that allows franchisees to communicate with and respond to guests via text message before , during and after their stays . “ We ’ re bringing technology typically offered in luxury and upscale segments to select-service hotels , helping franchisees manage their businesses more efficiently and creating more meaningful guest experiences ,” he said .
ROYAL RETURNS Wyndham ’ s business is also improving on the fee front , it said . Royalty rates , or the percentage of gross room revenue that franchisor ’ s charge for things like use of trade name , service marks , associated logos , goodwill and other franchise services , are growing at Wyndham . It noted that global royalty rate increases are yielding incrementally around $ 15 million of adjusted EBITDA opportunity by 2026 . “ It reflects the great work of our franchise sales and
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development teams bringing in higher-fee deals for our brands ,” Ballotti said .
Much of Wyndham ’ s optimism hinges on the $ 1.2-trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that it believes can be around a $ 3.3-billion opportunity for its owners and developers , with many of these projects taking months or years to complete . It ’ s Wyndham ’ s sweet spot , with traveling workers needing both midweek and long-term value-oriented options . At the same time , travel sentiment continues to thrive , now up 400 basis points from where it was at the end of last June , Ballotti said . “ We ’ re not seeing any difference in who ’ s checking into our hotels . Our middleincome guests have higher wages and savings than they had back in 2019 and we ’ re seeing longer lengths of stay ,” he said .
Ballotti cautioned that there has been some normalization in what he called “ those first-torecover beach and mountain destinations , such as Florida , California or Colorado , which were all down a little bit .” Alternatively , he said , there has been continued demand and increases in oil and gas markets like Texas , New Mexico , Ohio , Louisiana , West Virginia and North Dakota . “ In the second half , we were seeing crews continue to come back into these markets and natural gas continues to recover with production in many of those states back to where it was at their peak ,” Ballotti said . “ We ’ re feeling good about the second half .”
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September 2024 hotelsmag . com 15 |