Wyndham Hotels & Resorts continues its growth programme.....

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest hotel franchising company by number of properties with over 8,900 hotels across nearly 95 countries, continues to cement its presence across Europe, Middle East, Eurasia and Africa (EMEA) with a series of recent hotel launches and a strong line-up of openings for 2021.

In a year of historic challenges for the travel industry, in 2020 Wyndham achieved 38 new hotel signings in the region, a host of important openings, in addition to launching multi-faceted initiatives to support and empower hotel partners across EMEA to help re-build demand in response to changes and on-going travel restrictions.

Some of Wyndham’s key 2020 openings included the European expansion of Ramada by Wyndham in Madrid, Valencia, Leeds and Budapest and continued momentum in India and Pakistan. Other highlights included the expansion of La Quinta by Wyndham in Turkey, and the debut of the Super 8 by Wyndham brand in the UAE alongside more openings in Germany.

Hollywood Beach redevelopment gets top ranking.

A top 10 ranking in Conde Nast Traveler, AAA Four Diamond status and resilience through the pandemic have proven the Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort to be one of the best public/private redevelopment projects in the nation.

Margaritaville looking east from the Intracoastal. (Photo: Lojeta Group of Fla. Inc.)

Best Practice Cities (www.bestpracticecities.com) Founding principal Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark, while serving as City Manager for Hollywood Florida, steered the project through uncharted and difficult waters. Her leadership created not only the #7 resort among all Florida resorts ranked by Conde Nast readers but also an anchor for redevelopment and reinvestment that has kept hundreds of small businesses on Hollywood Beach alive even in unmatched challenges during COVID-19. The Margaritaville development created hundreds of jobs, a revenue stream for the city that will be worth hundreds of millions and an activity generator that has boosted tourism in the historic beach district between the Atlantic Ocean and Intracoastal Waterway.

Air Canada and AirTransat merger now off

Air Canada and Transat A.T. Inc. announced today that they have mutually agreed to terminate the Arrangement Agreement for the proposed acquisition of Transat by Air Canada.

Air Canada and Transat had originally agreed in June 2019 on the acquisition, the terms of which were subsequently amended in August 2019 and then revised in October 2020 as a result of the severe economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As previously disclosed, the acquisition was conditional on the approval of various regulatory authorities, including the European Commission ("EC"). In order to meet that key condition, Air Canada offered and enhanced a significant package of remedies, which went beyond the commercially reasonable efforts required of Air Canada under the Arrangement Agreement and what has been traditionally accepted by the EC in previous airline merger cases. Following recent discussions with the EC, it has become evident, however, that the EC will not approve the acquisition based on the currently offered remedy package.

Hyatt continues to expand brand presence of independent hotels in Canada with new hotel joining JdV by Hyatt brand this week and another slated to join later this year

Loft king at The Anndore House (Photo: Business Wire)

Hyatt Hotels announced the continued expansion of the JdV by Hyatt brand with The Anndore House joining the brand this week and plans for The Walper Hotel to join the brand later this year. This milestone signifies the JdV by Hyatt brand’s intentional growth in a new market while offering experiences in places that matter most to guests, members, customers and owners. While the brand has 14 properties across the United States and China, The Anndore House marks its debut in Toronto today, and The Walper Hotel is currently slated to join the JdV by Hyatt brand this May.

Hyatt Hotels expanding in India

Hyatt expects to grow its Indian brand portfolio by more than 70% through 2023, with six new hotels set to open in 2021 across the Hyatt Regency and Hyatt Place brands

Hyatt Hotels Corporation today announced plans to grow its brand footprint in India – one of Hyatt’s top three growth markets globally – by more than 70% by 2023. With over 20 executed managed and franchised agreements, Hyatt will add more than 3,600 keys to its existing portfolio of 32 Hyatt-branded hotels across eight distinct brands in the country, including the Andaz, Alila, Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt, Hyatt Centric, and Hyatt Place brands.

This ambitious growth in India is fueled by an ever-increasing demand from guests, World of Hyatt members, customers, and owners to offer unique and differentiated hotel experiences. This announcement signals significant intentional growth plans for Hyatt, bringing the number of Hyatt-branded hotels in India to more than 50 by the end of 2023, resulting in a more diverse portfolio of hotel offerings in new and existing markets.