Wyndham Revamps Brands In A Move To Appeal To Millennials, Middle Class

Photo: Wyndham Worldwide

In a push to attract the growing middle class and Millennials, Wyndham Hotel Group is launching a major rebranding of its upscale, mid-scale, and economy hotels.

Each of Wyndham’s 16 brands will be refined to distinguish themselves among in overcrowded market, as hotel supply is set to outpace demand over the next couple of years.

The repositioning comes after an 18-month study that analyzed 50 hotel brands and the travel habits of thousands of leisure and business travelers. The report revealed a “one-size-fits-all” approach isn’t effective in the hospitality industry, and guests place greater emphasis on experience over status.

Changes will updates and redesigns, from new interiors and marketing campaigns to enhanced guest perks. Wyndham Garden properties will have more spaces that can be used for work and play, while Super 8s will get rid of old, generic artwork in favor of photographs of iconic scenes from each destination. The overhaul will begin this summer.

The assessment of the U.S. hotel landscape focused Wyndham on how it will define each brand, starting with individual marketing campaigns. One in two Travelodge properties, for example, is located within 25 miles of a national park—leading to the brand’s new tag line, “Your Basecamp for Adventure.” Super 8 will be dubbed “An American Road Original.”

The report also showed that Millennials frequent budget and midscale hotels, as opposed to trendy lifestyle hotels, leaving Wyndham in an ideal position, as it operates six of the top 10 budget brands In North America, according to J.D. Power & Associates. The firm also found Windgate is one of the region’s top midscale brands. As one of the fastest-growing brands in Wyndham’s portfolio, Windgate has 85 hotels in the pipeline. About one-third of its guests are Millennials.

The other demographic Wyndham is looking to is the global middle class, which is expected to more than double from 2 billion to 4.9 billion over the next 10 years.  “We’re transforming at a time when the $7.2 trillion dollar global travel and tourism industry is growing faster than the global economy, fueled largely by Millennials and an increasingly travel-curious middle class,” said Geoff Ballotti, CEO of Wyndham Hotel Group.

Wyndham is adding more than 650 new-construction hotels to its pipeline, including hotels under its Days Inn, Super 8, Microtel Inn & Suites, and Wingate brands. The company operates more than 8,000 hotels worldwide.