As President and Managing Director for EMEA of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Dimitris Manikis is responsible for the development of the group’ brands in the EMEA region. He reflects on the group’s achievements including the acquisition of the Vienna House brand, ahead of his participation to the International Hospitlaity Investment Forum (IHIF) in Berlin.
In January of this year you made the bold claim that you would ‘do all we can to change the narrative, to turn challenges into opportunities and ensure any chance to grow is maximized to its full potential’. As the IHIF 2023 theme says, do you see that ‘fortune favours the bold’ so far for Wyndham and how?
Dimitris Manikis: We continue to see strong growth potential with our current conversion strategy, this is demonstrated by our track-record for supporting hospitality businesses benefit from the brand recognition that comes from joining the world’s largest hotel franchising company.
Last year we acquired Vienna House, our 23rd brand, and we have an ambition to double the size of the brand portfolio in the next five years, in Europe but also into other markets.
We are focussing on growing our talent and investing in the people that make Wyndham Hotels & Resorts so successful. We invest in our employees and are committed to attracting, motivating, and retaining team members who align with our company's core values.
We have seen great progress on our sustainability programme, Wyndham Green, a five-level certification scheme that helps reduce a hotel’s environmental footprint and improve energy efficiency, reduce emissions, conserve water, and reduce waste. We have seen incredibly strong engagement from our hotel partners in EMEA in the programme.
In a nutshell, our focus continues to be changing the narrative and explore every opportunity through engagement with our owners, our team members and make travel accessible to all.
What part does the EMEA region play in Wyndham’s development pipeline? Which markets are most promising and why?
Dimitris Manikis: In 2022, approximately 60% of Wyndham’s development pipeline is international including EMEA amongst other international divisions, so we are seeing a lot of opportunities for growth.
In India, we currently have approximately 60 open hotels and 30 in the pipeline. The Middle East and especially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are also particularly promising due to increasing demand for these regions.
Central Europe, including Germany, Poland and other neighbouring markets have enormous potential especially for our Vienna House by Wyndham brand, which we expect to continue to grow alongside other brands like Ramada, our largest midscale brand, as well as our upscale offerings.
What initiative or new openings are you most proud of in 2022-2023 and why?
Dimitris Manikis: 2022 was a particularly strong year for Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, reaching over 550 hotels across the EMEA region. We were particularly proud of Wyndham’s expansion including the debut of some of our brands in more countries, including the stylish TRYP by Wyndham Corfu Dassia (Greece), Wyndham Garden in Florence (Italy) and a new Trademark Collection in Porto (Portugal).
In 2023, we are excited to have opened our first Dolce in Italy, Dolce by Wyndham Milan Malpensa, as well as the upcoming Dolce Versailles, which will be a stunning property opening in the second half of 2023. We have also seen huge expansion in India, having opened Ramada by Wyndham Murree Lower Topa Resort, Ramada by Wyndham Karapinar, Ramada Encore by Wyndham Bareilly Civil Lines and Ramada Encore by Wyndham Indore Nipania this year. We are looking to expand further into India with brands like Trademark Collection and Wyndham Garden.
Our rapid expansion was accelerated by the acquisition of the Vienna House brand, which added approximately 40 upscale and midscale hotels across the region. We have recently signed a new hotel at Vienna Airport expected to open in 2025. Our continued expansion across EMEA is testament to the strength and the resilience of our industry, and our commitment to make hotel travel possible for all, which is particularly relevant in a diverse region like the EMEA.
Recently we have achieved 100 million members enrolled into our award-winning loyalty programme Wyndham Rewards. This milestone is not only a great testament to our programme’s dedication to providing the best member experience and attracting travellers to our diverse hotel offering, but also the commitment of our hotel owners who see its value, engage with it and help champion the everyday traveller every single day.
And lastly what I am very proud of is our team across EMEA who have navigated our company through challenges, the biggest crisis our industry has seen, and have continued to build the foundations of our growth for the years to come.
What are your looking forward to with regards to your participation to IHIF?
Dimitris Manikis: I’m very much looking forward to reconnecting with industry friends and colleagues and discussing important topics and issues facing hospitality today. I am particularly excited to join other hospitality peers in a thought-provoking panel discussion on the franchising model, and exchange views on its future growth and opportunities.
Dimitris Manikis will be joining a panel on ‘Franchising: A Golden Era of Growth?’ at IHIF on Tuesday 16th May. View the programme here