Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest hotel franchisor with approximately 9,200 hotels and 20 iconic brands, continued strengthening its bench of La Quinta by Wyndham destinations in key U.S. markets with eight new openings in the fourth quarter of 2018. The latest additions culminated a strong year of growth for the brand which saw nearly 30 new hotels – anchored by 16 new construction locations – join the La Quinta family.
The newly built hotels in Waco and Richmond, Texas, and Greensboro, N.C.; and transformational conversions in Jamestown, N.Y.; Raleigh, N.C.; Aurora, Colo.; Seattle, Wash.; and Madera, Calif., widened La Quinta’s presence in the U.S., bringing its footprint to just under 900 hotels nationwide.
The newly opened La Quinta hotels all embody elements of the brand’s guest-inspired, owner-friendly Del Sol prototype design, which combines clean geometric lines, bold colors, and varying textures with iconic brand elements and guest-centric offerings to enhance the experience while helping maximizing revenue-generating space for hotel developers. Thirty-five Del Sol-designed hotels are currently under construction across the U.S., with 43 already open and operating.
Wyndham made additional strides in furthering La Quinta’s expansion by executing 14 franchise agreements between October 1 and December 31, 2018, all but one of which were new construction deals. New construction development is a major force behind the brand’s growth trajectory, accounting for 91 percent of the 261 hotels in its pipeline as of December 31, 2018.
The brand’s steady openings rate through the back half of 2018 is testament to Wyndham’s strategic efforts to expand the brand in key markets throughout the U.S. with high quality hotels that drive a consistent portfolio. Seventeen hotels – equating to more than half of La Quinta’s 2018 additions, and ten of which were newly constructed hotels – opened under the Wyndham umbrella since the Company acquired the brand in May of last year, strengthening the Company’s position as a midscale and upper-midscale lodging leader in the U.S.
“We’re putting our guests, franchisees, and hotel developers first by adding high-caliber hotels in underrepresented markets across the country, growing our footprint to serve their needs while staying true to the elevated quality, service, and performance which have become synonymous with this brand,” said Rajiv Trivedi, president, La Quinta by Wyndham at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.
“La Quinta’s historically solid reputation and Wyndham’s broad scale and consumer affinity have played significant roles in the brand’s evolution since joining the Wyndham family,” he continued. “The continued onslaught of new openings and new deals demonstrates the ongoing fervent demand for this brand among owners and travelers.”
Like each of its nearly 915 hotels in North and Latin America, La Quinta’s newest additions offer the brand’s signature pillow-top Bright Morning Bed®, free Bright Side Breakfast®, and spacious in-room work areas with ample charging stations. Additional features include comfortable social gathering space in each hotel’s Great Room; a sizable state-of-the-art fitness center; an on-site Bright Side Market®; free high-speed Wi-Fi; and meeting space.
