Creating opportunities is one of the hallmarks of the hotel industry and more and more companies in and out of hospitality are ramping up their efforts in pursuit of diversity, equity and inclusion. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, which debuted its Women Own the Room program last August to boost the number of women owners in its system, today is announcing its newest opportunity—BOLD by Wyndham.
BOLD—Black Owners and Lodging Developers—aims to expand awareness for the unique challenges faced by Black entrepreneurs while using the scale and resources of Wyndham to help address those challenges and increase the number of Black hoteliers.
A culture of diversity and inclusion is in Wyndham’s DNA, according to Galen Barrett, Wyndham’s VP of strategic development.
“What we wanted to do when we were building BOLD was to go out and listen to entrepreneurs themselves and understand the stories that they have and the experiences that they have gone through and the challenges so that we could build something that was uniquely positioned to solve those challenges, and partner with them to find solutions,” he said. “It's obvious—the value of hotel ownership and entrepreneurship in general—and so it is painful to see that there is a gap between a community that we know could benefit from this specific product and our relationship and just the lack of traction.”
The program was developed with insight and support from existing and aspiring Black hoteliers, including Andy Ingraham, founder, president and CEO of the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators and Developers.
“It's always been, very simply, how do we change the face of the hospitality industry and specifically, the ownership?” Ingraham said. “So I was delighted when I was invited by Wyndham to add my comments and my commitment. We spent some time just trying to figure out what makes sense, what will work and how do we grow the numbers that we currently have.”
Ingraham said he’s excited about this program in particular.
“It's innovative, it's new, it's fresh, but much more importantly, it seems that we have a committed group of executives that starts at the top with [Wyndham President and CEO] Geoff Ballotti, who really wants to make a difference,” he said. “Not all hotel companies have the same vision or leadership as Wyndham so we're privileged to be part of this deal.”
Program Details
BOLD is founded on two key building blocks, according to Wyndham: attracting more Black entrepreneurs to hospitality by promoting hotel ownership as a vehicle for potential wealth creation and accelerating the path to hotel ownership.
The first step in creating more Black owners involves education and outreach. Through BOLD, Black entrepreneurs can participate in Wyndham-sponsored networking and educational events and receive resources designed to help explore if hotel ownership is right for them and what it takes to be a successful hotelier. During each event, participants will learn more about ownership, common barriers (and how to overcome them) as well as tips for securing financing.
For Black entrepreneurs who already know that hotel ownership is the right choice for them, BOLD aims to eliminate barriers and help expedite the route to ownership. Wyndham will provide qualified members with access to enhanced capital and operational support; financing opportunities, including lender introductions; and discounts with preferred suppliers.
Qualified members also will be invited to participate in BOLD Incubator events, connecting them with committed lenders and brokers and offering the opportunity to explore partner/joint venture opportunities and package development deals that come with additional capital support. The company is in the process of organizing the first Incubator gathering.
“We're going to bring in prequalified individuals, entrepreneurs, Black entrepreneurs who have demonstrated the resources and the experience to be able to get a project done,” according to Barrett. “We’ll bring them into direct connection with brokers and lenders who have real projects ready to develop and do some matchmaking.”
Barrett said that brokers and lenders have proven excited to attend the upcoming Incubator.
“They have opportunities that they want to market—brokers and lenders clearly want to be in the market of financing hotels,” he said. “I think the gap that we are helping to solve is adding credibility and really standing behind the Black entrepreneurs and qualifying them so that these opportunities are given the due commitment from all of the participants that may not otherwise be happening for the Black entrepreneurs.”
The BOLD program is for those at any stage of their career in the hotel industry, as well as those who have no experience with hotels.
“We want to make sure that we're meeting entrepreneurs wherever they sit, entrepreneurs who may be early on in their career. They're not even aware of [hotel ownership] because hotel ownership may just not have been part of their family or part of their community,” Barrett said. “We want to make sure that we lay the foundation for understanding what hotel ownership looks like. But even for someone who has already been in the industry and may already even own a hotel, understanding the challenges for owning their next hotel or for expanding out of a junior partner within a larger investment group. What we want to do is accelerate the path for those individuals to hotel ownership.”
Inaugural Project
The first participant in the new program is Vaughn Irons, principal of Stonecrest Resorts. He recently was awarded a franchise for a new-construction, 110-room Tryp by Wyndham in the Atlanta suburb of Stonecrest. The hotel will be part of Stonecrest Resorts’ $17 million adaptive reuse project, Priví, which is turning The Mall at Stonecrest into an entertainment and lifestyle destination.
Stonecrest Resorts has already developed the 25,000-square-foot SeaQuest Aquarium in the first phase of the project, which opened in November 2021. The second phase is underway and will add a health and wellness complex, a fine-art gallery, a bookstore, a coffee shop, an incubator for creatives and a 5,000-square-foot events facility.
The hotel is a cornerstone of the project’s next phase, which will introduce new lifestyle elements, including a 50,000-square-foot chef-driven food hall, a history museum, a fashion designer emporium and expanded family entertainment. These elements will increase the total investment of the Priví project to $35 million, with the hotel expected to break ground in early 2023.
“We’re not just creating a new one-of-a-kind gathering place for those in east metro Atlanta,” said Irons, a first-time hotelier. “Priví is an economic development project solidifying Stonecrest as a tourism destination and drawing visitors from all around the Southeast and eventually internationally. Throughout each and every interaction Wyndham has been a true partner in listening to fully understand our tourism potential and delivering on our needs to offer a lifestyle brand experience in Stonecrest.”
In a statement, Ballotti said Wyndham has championed diversity, equity and inclusion both within the company and throughout the greater travel industry: “Earlier this year we launched Women Own the Room—the industry’s first-ever program targeting women’s advancement in hotel ownership—and now have more than a dozen by-Wyndham hotels under development with women owners. With today’s debut of BOLD by Wyndham, we’re looking to further leverage the power of Wyndham and create even more development opportunities for underrepresented ownership groups.”