growth, which has since seen the Wyndham name develop into a well-respected player in the global hospitality industry. But governance for the next generation falls to Ballotti, and his 6,000-strong workforce located around the globe. The group is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, where a number of corporate associates – including Vice President of Global Design George Scammell – are based. Scammell, along with a global team of architects and designers, support all three of Wyndham’s business units. “Within the department we have directors of architecture, interior design and prototype design and then we work in conjunction with and support all the different regional offices,” he explains. “Our focus is currently working with the hotel group, developing our brands, creating a brand essence and enhancing the brand standards as we continue to roll them out nationally as well as internationally.” Much of the day-to-day operations are carried out on the ground in the local offices, with Scammell on hand to support with standards and design concepts to ensure consistency. While some design work is carried out inhouse – including the recently unveiled prototype for economy brand Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham – the majority is outsourced. Scammell and his regional associates are adept at recommending designers and consultants from which the owner can select and they’re open to a variety of talents. Typically, both a local and an international studio are put forward, as well as one that would perhaps understand the objectives for a particular project. “We’re obviously looking for experience but we do consider other sources, especially since the recession when a lot of the young talent was dispersed,” explains Scammell. “We are looking for designers that bring in a different competitive advantage to a project and we work closely with them to ensure they deliver.” Working with an external design firm generally begins with a brand immersion that involves intensive training on brand standards and the brand essence, as well as the appropriateness of the market. According to Scammell, there are
occasions where a pre-defined brand does not translate to a particular market. “What we’ve done is create brand essences that establish the look and feel of a brand,” he explains. For example, a Super 8 hotel in the Middle East may be more of an upscale product than its US counterpart, but the look and feel remains the same. Variations are evident in the performance specifications, stipulated to best support that particular market segment and region. While there are some newbuild projects under way in the vacation ownership side of the business – including a growing number of combined hotel and timeshare developments – in the US, Wyndham’s brands are predominantly conversion
We are looking for designers that bring in a different competitive advantage to a project and we work closely with them to ensure they deliver. George Scammell
products. “All of our standards are designed with conversion in mind and we’ve adopted the philosophy that we only want to ask the owners to do what makes good business sense for them,” continues Scammell. “The standards are written to be flexible so that they’re adaptable to the needs of the market while maintaining the qualities and consistencies expected within that product.” As of 30 June 2014, the group’s development pipeline included over 970 hotels and approximately 117,000 rooms globally. There are plans to expand into Kenya after the signing of a franchise agreement for Ramada Nairobi, Wyndham Hotel Group’s first property in the country. The group’s portfolio of hotels in Germany has grown to more than 100, following
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the recent openings of a further eight hotels across the country in association with hotel management company Grand City Hotels. A major refresh to significantly elevate the Howard Johnson brand is under way in the USA, and Wingate has unveiled a new-construction prototype that evolves the guest experience to better meet travellers’ needs while lowering development costs and capturing greater efficiencies for hotel owners. One of the most exciting developments in EMEA is the first TRYP by Wyndham hotel in the Middle East. With 672 guestrooms, the property is currently planned to be the select-service brand’s largest in the world upon opening in Dubai in 2017. Heading up this region, Rui Barros, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, believes there is still plenty of room for growth. “My responsibility is to look after our portfolio of brands across the territory, ensuring that we continue to grow the brands that we currently have, and introduce new brands when the need arises,” he explains. “The other part of my role is to drive organic growth through our existing portfolio of properties, which is around 400 throughout the region. “We had record growth in 2013 so the intent in 2014 is to build on the momentum that we’ve created,” he continues. “Our goal is to focus on growing, not only in emerging markets such as Turkey, the Middle East and Eastern Africa, we are also focused on mature markets such as Germany, where we opened a significant amount of properties last year.” Responsible for driving such growth in EMEA, is Nima Davoodzadeh, Vice President of Development, UK and Western Europe, and Bani Haddad, Regional Vice President, Middle East and North Africa. Within the region, there are currently seven brands operating including Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, Howard Johnson, TRYP by Wyndham, Days Inn, Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham, Super 8 and Ramada, the latter of which has the largest presence. Also reporting to Barros and working closely with Davoodzadeh and Haddad is Brian Watson, Vice President for Architecture, Design & Construction in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Indian Ocean. An