Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has opened 11 new hotels in the Mediterranean so far this year, including the first Ramada by Wyndham in Portugal, which opened in September. The momentum is poised to continue in 2019, with anticipated openings in Cyprus and Crete, marking the company’s first hotels in each of these destinations.
Here are some other updates from across the region.
Greece
In less than two years, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’ portfolio has expanded to include seven hotels and more than 1,300 rooms in the country. In 2018 the company brought two firsts to this market, opening Dolce Attica Riviera, the first Dolce Hotels and Resorts by Wyndham hotel in Greece, and Wyndham Athens Residence, the first mixed-use hospitality development for the Greek market. An additional hotel in Crete, Wyndham’s first on a Greek island, is expected by 2019.
Turkey
Wyndham is the largest hotel company in Turkey, with 69 hotels across the country. This year new hotels have opened in Rize, Izmir, Hendek and Isparta, with plans to open six more hotels in Turkey before the end of 2018. By 2020 Wyndham plans to have 100 operational hotels in Turkey.
Israel
Like Greece, Israel is a fast-growing market for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. The company’s current presence is made up of five hotels, including two beach resorts in Hadera and Netanya, two hotels in Jerusalem and one in Nazareth.
Cyprus
Wyndham will enter the market in 2019 with a central location in Nicosia, the largest city on the island.
“Cities across the Mediterranean are growing rapidly, not only as destinations for leisure travelers, but also as new business centers and as locations for corporate meetings and events,” said Geoff Ballotti, Wyndham's president and CEO, addressing the Mediterranean Resort & Hotel Real Estate Forum in Athens, Greece. “Last year we introduced nine brands to 21 new markets around the world, including bringing our best-known midscale brand, Ramada, to Portugal and introducing our signature meetings and events brand, Dolce, in Greece. We will continue to seek out opportunities to introduce more of our brand portfolio to the region, and it is our aspiration to bring our first La Quinta hotel to Europe by the end of this year.”