Does Wyndham franchise in the UK?

Wyndham is a chain of hotels and resorts operating worldwide in over 110 countries. The hotel industry giant holds a portfolio of 20 different brands that cater to a variety of different markets. These include Wyndham Grand, a network of premium hotels that offer a first-class service in international holiday destinations, as well a number of budget brands.

Across America and Europe, Wyndham hosts a list of well-known hotel chains. Days Inn is possibly its most internationally recognised franchise. After finding its feet and growing into an industry leader in the US, Days Inn branched out to European markets to compete with brands such as Travelodge and Premier Inn. Today, Days Inn has 17 hotels in the UK alone, many of which are conveniently located just off the country’s main motorways.

Another Wyndham brand that has crossed the Atlantic into Europe is Ramada. The first Ramada hotel was opened in Arizona in 1954 and there is now over 800 of them across the world. Wyndham acquired Ramada in 2006 from rival hotel chain Cendant; since then it has opened flagship destinations in Brazil and New Zealand.

After being founded in the early 1980s in Dallas, Wyndham Hotel Corporation grew in the 1990s by acquiring a broad portfolio of hotel brands. This was the decade that saw the launch of Summerfield Suites by Wyndham and Wyndham Garden Hotels. Later, the company would develop into the Wyndham Hotel Group and – as it’s known today – Wyndham Destinations.

Read more:

• Top 3 Hotel Franchises
• Best Hotel Franchise Opportunities in the UK
• Hotels for Sale in the UK

If you are interested in pursuing a Wyndham franchise, it is important to be up to date with the company’s brand architecture. It is important to distinguish Wyndham Hotels and Resorts from Wyndham Destinations. In 2018, Wyndham Worldwide transferred Wyndham Hotels and Resorts into an independent entity and renamed itself as Wyndham Destinations.

Wyndham Hotel Franchise

If you want to become Wyndham’s latest franchise partner, you need to be aware of the company’s expansion policy. The company sells and supports franchises across America. It offers assistance with building a Wyndham franchise from scratch or with converting an existing property. Many of Wyndham’s sub-brands offer a full customer experience in their hotels, including restaurants, bars, gyms and conference facilities. All of these services offer additional streams of revenue to the successful franchisee.

The hotel group offers franchisee training through its School of Hospitality Operations (SoHO) to help partners to nail the Wyndham brand. A five-day programme is accompanied by online tuition which is carried out through the SoHO learning zone. If you would prefer to receive training on-site at your hotel premises, Wyndham can organise visits to educate you and your staff on the Wyndham approach to front desk, restaurant, reservations and housekeeping.

Wyndham also offer territorial protection for your hotel premises. Though this is not contained within the franchise package, Wyndham does organise agreements with partners to guarantee that the franchisor will not open competing hotels under the same brand in your area.

The tenure of the Wyndham franchise package depends on the type of franchisee. If a Wyndham hotel is constructed from scratch, the standard term lasts for 20 years. Alternatively, if the franchisee converts an existing property into a Wyndham hotel, the standard length is 15 years. After the original tenure comes to an end, Wyndham does not offer any renewal guarantee.

It is unclear whether Wyndham is currently looking for franchise partners in the UK. To find out, it is best to get in contact with the brand via its website.

Wyndham Franchise Fees

It difficult to find out what fees are contained within the Wyndham franchise package without contacting them directly. The company does not publicly advertise franchisee costs and they vary depending on location. That being said, it has been estimated that the initial franchise fee for a 301-room Wyndham Hotel new-build stands at $150,500 (£114,425). This is believed to be followed by an integration fee of $37,400 (£28,435) and a market study priced on average between $12,000 and $50,000 (£9,123 and £38,015). Though start-up costs can seem astronomical, such a big investment can yield large revenues in the long-term.

Hotel Franchise Opportunities

Travelodge

The UK-based hotel chain Travelodge is looking for new partners here on Point Franchise. The budget franchise has over 500 branches spread out across the UK from the Scottish Highlands to the Cornish coast, and is the second largest hotel brand in the UK. Aimed at the weary traveller, Travelodge offers home comforts in cities and rural locations at a low cost.

Travelodge welcomes almost 18 million guests every year into its 40,000+ hotel rooms. It employs over 10,000 staff that man its check-in desks, restaurants and bars. These numbers are set to increase with the constant expansion of the Travelodge network across the UK; the brand has recently opened branches in East Grinstead, Dover, Ashford, Lincoln, Gainsborough and Telford.

Travelodge is evolving its brand to meet the demands of an increasingly globalised market. In 2016, the chain opened its first hotel in Bicester aimed at Chinese tourists who come to visit the nearby Bicester Village designer shopping outlet. The hotel’s staff took crash courses in Mandarin and its rooms include amenities such as noodle kettles.

Travelodge has also taken big strides in recent years to reduce its environmental footprint. The Travelodge Green programme has reduced each hotel’s energy consumption by introducing energy efficient lighting, biomass boilers and environmental thermostats that make sure that the heating is switched off when the room is unoccupied.

Travelodge can be contacted via Point Franchise to supply more information on franchisee start-up costs. The company is looking for partners who can grasp the Travelodge mentality and commit to a long-term business project.

Other Hotel Franchise Opportunities

Other than Travelodge, hotel franchises such as easyHotel, Best Western, Choice Hotels and Radisson Blu also offer franchising opportunities in the UK.