Less than a year ago, Wyndham completed its acquisition of La Quinta. Since then, Wyndham has been evolving its overall development strategy by leveraging La Quinta’s expertise in new-construction and applying it to its prototypical, new-construction brand—Microtel.
“Now, bringing the focus on development and new-construction development to Wyndham, it’s only natural that we focus on our only new-construction brand,” said David Wilner, SVP of franchise development at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. “There’s never been a better time, in my opinion, for a product like this, given what’s going on in the industry with our competitors and also with the guest changes that are out there.”
Coming from La Quinta, a brand known for its focus on new-builds and high-quality conversions, Wilner, who joined Wyndham after the company acquired La Quinta in early 2018, leads a team entirely focused on new-construction—which Wyndham hasn’t had in nearly 10 years.
“We’re only nine months into being a stand-alone hotel company, and being a stand-alone hotel company, we are thinking long term,” he said. “We are thinking strategically, and the best way to position our company and all of the brands in our portfolio for success is by doing high-quality, new-construction deals and high-quality conversions.”
With his team, he’s bringing what made La Quinta successful to Wyndham. “Number one is having a strategic and disciplined approach to our development, ensuring we’re doing the best deals with the best people in the best locations, but it doesn’t stop there,” Wilner said. “That’s really just the beginning.”
This strategy pairs with the construction resources Wyndham already offers owners.
“We have a very robust design and construction department that will assist the owners throughout the planning process and construction process to ensure that they’re building the hotels to the prototype specs, and opening up on time and on budget,” he said.
Wyndham also has a franchise support team for its owners. “[They go] every step of the way in order to make owners successful through local sales and marketing, revenue management, best practices within their market, so that they can ramp up and gain their fair market share,” Wilner said.
For Wyndham, if its owners aren’t successful, the hospitality group as a whole isn’t successful—period.