The strong growth in EMEA follows the appointment of Dimitris Manikis as president, and managing director for the region in April 2018, when he joined the company to spearhead strategic development and the performance of Wyndham’s brands and hotel portfolio in EMEA. Other key corporate milestones in 2018 included the launch of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts as an independent, pure-play hotel company, the decision to endorse all brands in the portfolio with the powerful ‘by Wyndham’ hallmark, as well as the acquisition of the La Quinta brand – further strengthening the company’s position in the mid-scale segment.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’ expansion included a number of important markets, such as Greece, Germany, Portugal, Austria, the Netherlands, Georgia and Russia, as well as the Middle East, Africa and India. In particular, the company continued to broaden its footprint in Turkey, with 13 new openings - including Ankara, Rize, Isparta, Kayseri as well as Diyarbakir amongst more destinations - which has further strengthened its position as largest international hotel operator in Turkey with 76 hotels.

Manikis commented on the developments, “We are incredibly proud of the impressive growth we have delivered across the EMEA region in the last year. This expansion is a fundamental step in our quest to make hotel travel possible for all, and ensures that wherever adventure leads, there will be one of our hotel brands nearby to welcome travellers of all types. With our robust development pipeline and our solid performance over the past year, we see tremendous potential to further expand our footprint in both new and existing markets across EMEA.”