Our target and commitment to growth have not changed: Nikhil Sharma

From lockdown to survival, how has Wyndham evolved due to the pandemic?

Despite the unprecedented challenges our industry is facing in the wake of COVID-19, our business has showed remarkable resilience.  Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have focused on protecting our teams, stabilising our business and operations to reflect the new normal. We have focused on the rebound with more agile and innovative solutions. As of October 2020, over 97 per cent of our global portfolio remains open, and our economy and midscale brands continue to gain momentum. Our focus is on the long-term success of our brands and our partners, and we have rolled out a number of important initiatives to continue to perform through the recovery and into the future. It is absolutely crucial that hotel guests feel safe as well as welcome. Like never before travellers now look for brands that they can trust not only for quality but also for cleanliness and safety. We have further elevated our health and safety protocols with new long-term initiatives to welcome travellers again. Flexibility and loyalty have also been extremely important to us, to build consumer confidence in this new era of travel, while we continue to inspire them as travel gradually resumes. 

How are you leveraging your diverse experience of working with major players across portfolios in the hospitality industry to stay relevant in the current times? 

2020 has been like no other for many industries, and we have learnt many lessons as we navigated these uncertain times. From the outset, our key focus has been, and still is, on the safety and well-being of our partners and team members, whilst working to restore our guests’ confidence and excitement in travel. We have remained relevant by responding to market changes, adhering to governments’ advice and listening to our partners. We have conducted several surveys across consumers, sales, business partners and our own Wyndham Rewards loyalty members in EMEA to evolve and adapt our approach. Building trust is crucial, with businesses pivoting towards presenting their services in a way that makes the guest, and the staff who take care of them, feel comfortable, confident and protected. Last but not least, we have introduced various promotions to inspire travellers and welcome them back to our hotels, from discounted rates to giving extra free nights and more flexibility to give our guests peace of mind. We have leveraged the diversity of our destinations to continue to inspire travellers. Wyndham includes approximately 9,000 hotels across 90 countries and many of these destinations already attract domestic travellers, who we have put a strong focus on. We have promoted remote destinations across EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Eurasia and Africa), drive-to locations that make for scenic road trips, as well as encouraged travellers to explore their own countries through various commercial initiatives, from digital marketing, social media, PR and more channels. As part of our on-going digital investment strategy, we recently introduced a new Wyndham mobile app combining best-in-class design with personal experiences, gamification and more features reimagining the user experience and adapting to users’ real-time needs. The new Wyndham app provides travellers with a reimagined user experience to inspire upcoming getaways and 2021 travel plans and comes at a critical time as both travellers and hoteliers look for innovative, digital solutions to help navigate the new normal.

Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Dwarka

In the face of the pandemic, how have you managed to cement your relationships with the different stakeholders?

Throughout these challenging times, our focus at Wyndham has been on the health, safety and wellbeing of our guests, team members and partners and we remain committed to this as we continue to navigate the new normal.COVID-19 has essentially stopped most travel around the world, with an unimaginable impact on the industry. Our partners are top of mind and we have taken proactive steps to support them, create a robust response plan for all hotels in the region, aimed at restoring consumer confidence and driving recovery. These include operational as well as commercial best practices, tools and cross-functional initiatives to ensure the smoothest transition possible. We are taking a phased approach that is designed to be flexible, adapt and evolve over time. Safety is absolutely crucial. In order to build confidence among travellers and to support our hotel partners to prepare to welcome back guests, we launched Count on Us, a new hygiene and safety initiative focused on further enhancing our broad range of health and safety protocols across properties in the EMEA region. It includes the consistent use of top-of-the-range disinfectants at hotels, the introduction of robust new training and guidelines, and on-going access to critical health essentials through trusted suppliers. 

We have focused on supporting everyday travellers.  We recently launched Wyndham Easy Book, a powerful business-to-business solution to support small to mid-size businesses in India and the whole EMEA region with discounted rates and a large variety of destinations. To overcome restrictions in travel and meeting size, we also introduced a new Hybrid Meeting offering, providing corporates with an alternative solution until conventional face-to-face events are possible again.

With the current change in market dynamics, what are the top trends that you have noticed in the hospitality sector?

In India we see a younger demographic searching for more adventure-focused holidays. This group is expected to be among the first to travel again and are deal oriented. Bleisure has certainly continued to evolve in India, with remote working expected to continue into 2021. Travellers are searching for opportunities to combine remote working with time to explore exciting destinations across the country. Lastly, the use of mobile and digital has seen a huge uptick. The pandemic has propelled digital adoption and travellers now expect even more streamlined experiences. In response to this trend, we recently launched our new Wyndham app with various features that are designed to create a seamless guest experience. 

Ramada by Wyndham Lucknow

According to you, how can the hospitality industry regain its prominence in times ahead?

While these are extraordinary times, we remain confident in the strength and resiliency of our industry. I believe the industry will be flexible in adapting to the new trends and demands of business ever more than before. The recovery is going be gradual and likely vary by location as markets reopen at a different pace. Proactively managing inventory and rates will be extremely important. The recovery is going to be a journey. For some it will be quicker, for others, it may take longer. As we build our way back, the focus will remain on safety and our important relationships with our guests. It is about re-building confidence in travel and letting guests know that we will be here to welcome them when they are ready to travel again.

In this revival phase, what strategies have you adapted to expand Wyndham’s footprint? 

Our focus is to attract, develop and retain our hotel partners through high-quality brands and systems, loyalty, sales and marketing capabilities and technology. Our focus is to grow where we know travellers want to be, to ensure that whenever and however guests want to travel, there is a Wyndham hotel to suit their needs. Our target and commitment to growth have not changed. Now more than ever brands are proving particularly important as they provide hotel owners with quality assurance, enhanced support and access to measures that ensure operational excellence.

How would you say was the year 2020 for Wyndham Hotels in terms of occupancy and RevPAR?

RevPAR varied by destination and often fluctuated in 2020 due to changes in seasonality, air travel and government restrictions with market variations. Since the state governments in India began lifting restrictions in June, we have started to see demand for hotel rooms gradually improved. In August, we observed a positive increase in demand for leisure travel, with visible weekend spikes. As travel gradually picks up in 2021, we expect a positive trend to continue across India.

Ramada by Wyndham Mussoorie Mall Road

With the year 2020 coming to an end, what major plans and developments have you set in motion for Wyndham in the year 2021?

We remained committed to our growth and have started to see a gradual uptick in openings and signings starting from the summer. This year we had a number of openings in Mussoorie, Pune, Aligarh and Dwarka, our first Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham brand in India. We are continuing to see growth opportunities and interest from independent hotel owners in our brand offering. Now more than ever brands are proving particularly important as they provide hotel owners with quality assurance, enhanced support and access to measures that ensure operational excellence, and we are looking forward to continuing to grow our presence in India in the future.

What do you feel can be done to grow brand ‘Incredible India’ especially post Covid-19?

Incredible India is an extremely strong brand, which helps shape the face of India to promote tourism internationally. Incredible India showcases different aspects of Indian culture and history such as yoga and spirituality along with much more. As we continue to see an uptick in demand for domestic travel, focusing on highlighting locations for travellers seeking adventure, nature and heritage closer to home will be key in helping to grow the Incredible India brand.