Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
Encyclopedia
Wyndham Hotels and Resorts is a group of chains of hotel
s and resort
s located mainly in the United States
and Canada
, but also in Mexico
and the Caribbean
.
, by Trammell Crow
, president of Trammel Crow Company (TCC). The company appears to have been named after a friend of Crow's, a woman named Wyndham Robertson, who wrote a profile of him for Fortune magazine. As the company grew, it eventually merged with a hotel REIT called Patriot American Hospitality (PAH). Patriot American organized the combined company as a paired-share REIT, in which Patriot owned the real estate assets and leased the hotels to Wyndham to run.
The firm grew rapidly in the late 1990s, acquiring multiple portfolios of hotels and renaming them Wyndhams. In 1998, in an effort to build an upscale limited-service brand, the company acquired the Summerfield Hotel Corporation and renamed it Summerfield Suites by Wyndham. Wyndham Garden Hotels are smaller properties, usually full-service, that are located in suburban or airport locations. Later that year, the combined company introduced a short-lived luxury brand, Grand Bay Hotels & Resorts, which would include 11 hotels that the company had acquired over the past few years and would turn Patriot into a multi-brand hotel operating and ownership organization. The company also included several European properties, including The Great Eastern Hotel in the City of London
.
However, the company's rapid growth drained cash and the firm was unable to continue to grow on its own. In March, 1999, the group agreed to a $1 billion restructuring when a consortium of private equity firms, including Thomas H. Lee Partners
and Apollo Real Estate Advisors, assumed control of the company. They renamed it Wyndham International. The company's paired share status was dropped, and Wyndham International re-emerged as a C corporation
.
From 1999 to 2004, the firm struggled to pay down debt and was forced to sell off many of the hotels it had acquired in the late 1990s, often at a deep discount in an industry still suffering from the effects of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The effort to expand the Grand Bay Hotels & Resorts brand was canceled, and the brand's franchised limited-service offerings, Summerfield Suites and Wyndham Garden Hotels, continued to lose units as hotels converted out of the system. Many of the Summerfield Suites hotels were sold to the Intercontinental Hotels Group
and were converted to Staybridge Suites
hotels.
In June, 2005, Wyndham International was acquired by affiliates of the Blackstone Group
, for $3.24 billion and taken private. In the subsequent months, many of its hotels were sold to Goldman Sachs Group and Columbia Sussex
. Blackstone rebranded most of the remaining assets as LXR Luxury Resorts and sold the Wyndham and Wyndham Garden Hotel brands to Cendant
. Blackstone sold Summerfield Suites to Global Hyatt, which expects to rename it Hyatt Summerfield Suites.
On August 1, 2006, all Cendant
hotel brands became part of Wyndham Worldwide
. Wyndham Worldwide consists of the following brands of hotels: Baymont Inn & Suites
, Days Inn
, Howard Johnson's
, Knights Inn
, Ramada
, Super 8, Travelodge
, Wyndham, Wyndham Garden Hotels, Hawthorn Suites
, and Wingate by Wyndham. Besides hotels, the company also operates Wyndham Vacation Resorts (formerly Fairfield Resorts) and WorldMark by Wyndham
(formerly Trendwest) time share resorts.
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
s and resort
Resort
A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....
s located mainly in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, but also in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
.
History
Wyndham Hotel Corporation was founded in 1981 in Dallas, TexasDallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, by Trammell Crow
Trammell Crow
F. Trammell Crow was an American real estate developer. Crow is credited for creating several famous real estate projects, including Dallas Market Center, Peachtree Center , and San Francisco's Embarcadero Center.-Biography:Crow was born in Dallas, Texas...
, president of Trammel Crow Company (TCC). The company appears to have been named after a friend of Crow's, a woman named Wyndham Robertson, who wrote a profile of him for Fortune magazine. As the company grew, it eventually merged with a hotel REIT called Patriot American Hospitality (PAH). Patriot American organized the combined company as a paired-share REIT, in which Patriot owned the real estate assets and leased the hotels to Wyndham to run.
The firm grew rapidly in the late 1990s, acquiring multiple portfolios of hotels and renaming them Wyndhams. In 1998, in an effort to build an upscale limited-service brand, the company acquired the Summerfield Hotel Corporation and renamed it Summerfield Suites by Wyndham. Wyndham Garden Hotels are smaller properties, usually full-service, that are located in suburban or airport locations. Later that year, the combined company introduced a short-lived luxury brand, Grand Bay Hotels & Resorts, which would include 11 hotels that the company had acquired over the past few years and would turn Patriot into a multi-brand hotel operating and ownership organization. The company also included several European properties, including The Great Eastern Hotel in the City of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
However, the company's rapid growth drained cash and the firm was unable to continue to grow on its own. In March, 1999, the group agreed to a $1 billion restructuring when a consortium of private equity firms, including Thomas H. Lee Partners
Thomas H. Lee Partners
Thomas H. Lee Partners is a private equity firm based in Boston, Massachusetts specializing in leveraged buyouts, growth capital, special situations, industry consolidations, and recapitalizations....
and Apollo Real Estate Advisors, assumed control of the company. They renamed it Wyndham International. The company's paired share status was dropped, and Wyndham International re-emerged as a C corporation
C corporation
C corporation refers to any corporation that, under United States income tax law, is taxed separately from its owners. It is distinguished from an S corporation, which is not taxed separately. Most major companies are treated as C corporations for U.S. income tax purposes.-C corporation vs...
.
From 1999 to 2004, the firm struggled to pay down debt and was forced to sell off many of the hotels it had acquired in the late 1990s, often at a deep discount in an industry still suffering from the effects of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The effort to expand the Grand Bay Hotels & Resorts brand was canceled, and the brand's franchised limited-service offerings, Summerfield Suites and Wyndham Garden Hotels, continued to lose units as hotels converted out of the system. Many of the Summerfield Suites hotels were sold to the Intercontinental Hotels Group
InterContinental Hotels Group
InterContinental Hotels Group plc is a global hotels company headquartered in Denham, United Kingdom. It is the largest hotels company in the world measured by rooms , and has over 4,500 hotels across over 100 countries...
and were converted to Staybridge Suites
Staybridge Suites
Staybridge Suites is an all-suite, residential-style brand of hotels within the InterContinental Hotels Group . The brand targets extended-stay and corporate travelers. There are more than 180 Staybridge Suites hotels open in the United States, Britain, Canada, Mexico and Latin America...
hotels.
In June, 2005, Wyndham International was acquired by affiliates of the Blackstone Group
Blackstone Group
The Blackstone Group L.P. is an American-based alternative asset management and financial services company that specializes in private equity, real estate, and credit and marketable alternative investment strategies, as well as financial advisory services, such as mergers and acquisitions ,...
, for $3.24 billion and taken private. In the subsequent months, many of its hotels were sold to Goldman Sachs Group and Columbia Sussex
Columbia Sussex
Columbia Sussex is a private hospitality company based in Crestview Hills, Kentucky. The company, owned by the Yung family, owns and operates hotels in various parts of the United States. , the company operated 73 hotels under 13 different brands. The current president is William J...
. Blackstone rebranded most of the remaining assets as LXR Luxury Resorts and sold the Wyndham and Wyndham Garden Hotel brands to Cendant
Cendant
Cendant Corporation was a New York-based provider of business and consumer services, primarily within the real estate and travel industries. In 2005 and 2006, Cendant broke up and spun off or sold its constituent businesses...
. Blackstone sold Summerfield Suites to Global Hyatt, which expects to rename it Hyatt Summerfield Suites.
On August 1, 2006, all Cendant
Cendant
Cendant Corporation was a New York-based provider of business and consumer services, primarily within the real estate and travel industries. In 2005 and 2006, Cendant broke up and spun off or sold its constituent businesses...
hotel brands became part of Wyndham Worldwide
Wyndham Worldwide
Wyndham Worldwide is the holding company for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Group RCI and other lodging brands. It was spun off from Cendant Corporation in July 2006....
. Wyndham Worldwide consists of the following brands of hotels: Baymont Inn & Suites
Baymont Inn & Suites
Baymont Inn & Suites is a hotel franchise owned by Wyndham Worldwide and based in the United States.The chain began as an idea by the current CEO of Marcus Corporation, Steven Marcus to create a limited-service, discount-priced motel chain. The first property, located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, opened...
, Days Inn
Days Inn
Days Inn is a motel chain headquartered in the United States. Founded in 1970, it is now a part of the Wyndham Hotel Group, based in Parsippany, New Jersey, which was formerly a part of Cendant...
, Howard Johnson's
Howard Johnson's
Howard Johnson's is a chain of hotels and restaurants, located primarily throughout the United States and Canada. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Howard Johnson's was the largest restaurant chain in the United States, with over 1,000 restaurants...
, Knights Inn
Knights Inn
Knights Inn is an economy/budget hotel chain owned by Wyndham Worldwide and based in Parsippany, New Jersey. Key features include free parking, handicapped-accessible rooms, a continental breakfast, and highway access at most locations...
, Ramada
Ramada
Ramada is a hotel chain owned and operated by Wyndham Worldwide.- History :The lodging chain was founded in 1953 by longtime Chicago restaurateur Marion W...
, Super 8, Travelodge
Travelodge
Travelodge refers to several hotel chains around the world. Current operations include: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand and Australia...
, Wyndham, Wyndham Garden Hotels, Hawthorn Suites
Hawthorn Suites
Hawthorn Suites is a chain of hotels in the United States owned by Wyndham Worldwide.Most Hawthorn Suites offer amenities such as meeting rooms, exercise facilities, swimming pools, and a free hot buffet breakfast and dinner...
, and Wingate by Wyndham. Besides hotels, the company also operates Wyndham Vacation Resorts (formerly Fairfield Resorts) and WorldMark by Wyndham
WorldMark by Wyndham
WorldMark by Wyndham is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wyndham Worldwide Corporation which operates as a vacation ownership , allowing persons to purchase a real estate interest in one of the Wyndham resorts...
(formerly Trendwest) time share resorts.