Wyndham Hotel Group is bringing its economy and midscale brands together with one of the largest name changes in the history of the hospitality industry, the company announced this week.
At least a dozen brands will add the "by Wyndham" suffix to their names in a move aimed at uniting hoteliers under a common mission and improving brand awareness.
The 12 brands receiving the new moniker include Super 8, Days Inn, Howard Johnson, Travelodge, AmericInn, Baymont, Ramada, Ramada Encore, Dolce, Dazzler, Esplendor and Trademark. The Wingate, Microtel, Hawthorn Suites and TRYP brands already feature the "by Wyndham" tag.
In total, 7,074 properties around the world will undergo the name change.
Starting April 16, the new brand names and logos will be reflected across Wyndham's digital placements, including brand websites, mobile sites and third-party listings. New signs are already available for order for hoteliers in North America. However, the updates aren't expected to be completed globally until December 2022.
"This new designation for our brands is a celebration of the accomplishments we've made in our mission to make travel possible for everyone, revolutionizing Wyndham Rewards and elevating our brands through a laser focus on quality, technology, and sales and marketing," said Barry Goldstein, Wyndham's executive vice president and chief marketing officer, in a statement.
"In a world with thousands of hotel brands available, guests look to names they trust, like Wyndham, which they know means a quality experience and exceptional service," added the company's senior vice president of Global Brands, Lisa Checchio. "Putting that powerful name on the front door drives trial and builds tremendous awareness. Think of how many potential guests drive past our signs: 80 percent of the U.S. population is within a 10-mile radius of one of our hotels, and between our scale and our broad geographic reach, our signs generate more than 500 billion roadside impressions in the U.S. alone."
According to research cited by Wyndham, 45 percent of consumers "feel better" about an endorsed brand and nearly one-third anticipate a better quality experience.
The name change comes as Wyndham prepares to spin off its hotel business into a new publicly traded company, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc.
Overall, 2018 has been a busy year for the hotel group, which recently enhanced its rewards program and is expanding the U.S. footprint of its Trademark Hotel Collection.
