Wyndham International Hotels: Fostering High-Touch With High Tech

Wyndham International Hotels: Fostering High-Touch with High Tech

What is WyndamÐŽ¦s GoalЎЁ

ÐŽ§To become the lodging brand of choice for business and leisure travelers in the upscale and high-upscale segments of the market?ЎЁ pg. 1

Who Is WyndamÐŽ¦s Competition?

Six Continents

Holiday Inn (especially Crowne Plaza)

Hilton Hotels

Marriott

Starwood Hotels

Sheraton

Westin

Four Points

In summary, Wyndham is much small (in terms of numbers of hotels and numbers of rooms) than their competition in this market segment. They have a problem overcoming this disadvantage.

What is the Basis of Competition in the Hotel Industry?

Start to generate general list and then focus on WyndhamÐŽ¦s segment (what is this and how might it differ from other segments?) See pg. 7

Wyndham targeted the upscale and luxury travelerÐŽXfrequent business traveler

12-14 trips per year (pg 13)

See Exhibit 6 (pg. 27 & pg 26))

Critical Factors for this market segment

Clean rooms

Service

Safe

Location

Previous experience

Value for price

Reputation of chain

Room price lower

How does Wyndham intend to compete?

What are WyndhamÐŽ¦s major problems?

Low brand recognition among business and leisure travelers (pg 7)

WyndhamÐŽ¦s name did not appear in the list of the top 20 most recognizable brands to business travelers.

Issue of hotel rooms as a commodity

Offer a similar product making their value propositions indistinguishable and leading to within-segment competition increasingly based on PRICE

To be successful a firm must develop inimitable and sustainable differentiators and know their customers intimately

Thus, Wyndham must:

ÐŽ§Build a RECOGNIZED BRAND, CHANGE THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT, AND CARVE A PROFITABLE NICHE THAT WE CAN DEFEND?

What are rules of engagement?

What is the solution?

Guest recognition or guest loyalty programs

What is the difference?

See Exhibit 7 pg. 30

Part of WyndhamÐŽ¦s answerÐŽXThe BY REQUEST program.ÐŽXA Strategic Initiative

What is this?

Introduced in 1999 to shareholdersÐŽX

Provides popular perks for members:

Registration free check-in

Room upgrades

Late checkout

Free telecom services

Complimentary products

All to the guestÐŽ¦s preferences

Supported by Kleisner and Teng (CEO and CFO)

Focused on customization, not points as would be a rewards program

Gathered data from registration to add desired features such as reading materials,