PARSIPPANY, N.J. (Oct. 1, 2018): Wyndham Grand is creating new VIP areas at its pools and restaurants with perks promoting quality time for guests at five of its hotels. The catch?
You can’t check your phone.
An expansion of its innovative Reconnected Family Experience, the unique hotel family program encouraging quality time over screen time, Wyndham Grand is now challenging guests to go phone-free at its pools and restaurants. Today through November 12, the brand will offer optional Phone-Free Zones for guests who wish to spend time unplugged. Guests who participate will have access to special perks, amenities and prizes, including the chance to win 75,000 Wyndham Rewards Points – enough for a future five-night vacation.*
Wyndham Grand is collaborating with Yondr – which creates phone-free spaces using a unique locking phone case – to free guests from the temptation of checking their screens during family time, empowering them to enjoy their vacations. Wyndham Grand is the first hotel brand to partner with Yondr creating physical tech-free spaces within its hotels.
“Before the pull of technology, we would never dream of wasting time on our phones instead of jumping straight into the pool and soaking up every minute of our vacation,” said Lisa Checchio, Chief Marketing Officer for Wyndham. “But today, adults and kids are so glued to their devices that we’ve had to add more pool chairs to accommodate all the poolside swiping. With these Phone-Free Zones, we’re creating new unplugged oases and tech-free tables that challenge families to consciously put the phone away for an afternoon – or just a meal – and make memories simply being together.”
Personal devices are impacting the way today’s families travel, with 53% of people never unplugging or reducing their phone usage on a trip. The average American looks at their screen once every 12 minutes on vacation. Wyndham Grand hotels have seen the effect, witnessing guests toting more than 12 devices per family on a trip – which impacts hotels’ Wi-Fi needs, lobby traffic patterns and pool operations, including added supply of pool chairs.
Power Down, Please
To opt in to a Phone-Free Zone, guests can check in with an attendant at the pool or restaurant, or ask any Wyndham Grand team member about going phone-free. The process is simple:
Guests can visit the Phone-Free Zone and check in with a Wyndham Grand team member at the pool or restaurant to receive a Yondr case.
A Wyndham Grand team member will help the guest insert their phone in the Yondr case, which will remain locked while the guest is in the Phone-Free Zone. The phone will remain in the guest’s possession at all times while the case is locked.
When ready to access their phone again, guests can simply visit the nearest unlocking station, and with a simple tap, unlock their Yondr case.
Guests who participate will receive access to the space, which includes special perks – think exclusive pool floats and off-menu treats – along with a copy of The Nocturnals: The Mysterious Abductions and a chance to win 75,000 Wyndham Rewards points which they can later redeem for a vacation.*
Phone-Free Zones are available from October 1, 2018 through November 12, 2018 at the following Wyndham Grand hotels offering the Reconnected Family Experience: Wyndham Grand Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort in Orlando, Fla.; Wyndham Grand Clearwater Beach Resort in Clearwater, Fla.; Wyndham Grand Chicago Riverfront in Chicago, Ill.; The Mills House, a Wyndham Grand Hotel in Charleston, S.C.; and Hotel Galvez & Spa, a Wyndham Grand Hotel in Galveston, Texas.
The Reconnected Revolution
Wyndham Grand is bringing quality time back to family vacations with Reconnected, a Wyndham Grand Family Experience, a unique family program addressing the dire need for quality time over screen time. While most family travel programs separate parents and kids, Reconnected enables imaginative play time together. Be it building the ultimate blanket fort, creating shadow-puppets or taking a literary adventure with The Nocturnals: The Mysterious Abductions by Tracey Hecht, this new offering reminds families to slow down and enjoy time together, without the distraction of a screen.
Travel is the best excuse to enjoy the grand things in life. With locations in some of the world’s most sought after vacation destinations – including Shanghai, Istanbul, Doha, Salzburg and Orlando – Wyndham Grand® hotels transform ordinary moments into unforgettable experiences. Decidedly not stuffy, but approachable by design, this upper-upscale hotel brand helps travelers make every moment count. Follow @WyndhamGrand on Facebook and Instagram.
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: WH) is the world’s largest hotel franchising company, with nearly 9,000 hotels across more than 80 countries on six continents. Through its network of more than 792,000 rooms appealing to the everyday traveler, Wyndham commands a leading presence in both the economy and midscale segments of the lodging industry. The Company operates a portfolio of 20 hotel brands, including Super 8®, Days Inn®, Ramada®, Microtel Inn & Suites®, La Quinta®, Wingate®, AmericInn®, Hawthorn Suites®, The Trademark Collection®, and Wyndham®. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is also a leading provider of hotel management services, with more than 400 properties under management. The Company’s award-winning Wyndham Rewards loyalty program offers approximately 58 million enrolled members the opportunity to redeem points at thousands of hotels, condominiums and holiday homes globally. For more information, visit www.wyndhamhotels.com.
Yondr creates phone-free spaces for artists, educators, organizations and individuals. In our hyper-connected world, Yondr provides a haven to engage with what you’re doing and who you’re doing it with. In physical space and real time. To learn more, visit overyondr.com.
* NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. Sweeps begins 10.1.18 & ends 11.12.18. Open to U.S. residents, 21+, who participate in the Phone-Free Zones at participating hotels. Subject to complete official rules, available onsite near the Yondr phone case locking & unlocking stations at participating hotel pools and restaurants, and at wyndhamgrand.com/phonefree. Void where prohibited.
Wyndham Rewards Expands PGA TOUR Presence, Introduces New $10 Million Bonus Raising
the Stakes for Players Heading into the Wyndham Championship and FedExCup Playoffs.
Wyndham and PGA TOUR officials celebrate the unveiling of the Wyndham Rewards Top 10 at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga. From left: Bobby Long, Chairman of the Piedmont-Triad Charitable Foundation; Eliot Hamlisch, Vice President and Leader of the Wyndham Rewards program; Jay Monahan, PGA TOUR Commissioner; Mark Brazil, Tournament Director of the Wyndham Championship; and Steve Holmes, Chairman of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts and Wyndham Destinations.
PARSIPPANY, N.J. (September 18, 2018) – Wyndham Rewards®—the world’s most generous guest rewards program spanning more than 25,000 hotels, club resorts, affiliated resorts and vacation rentals globally—today unveiled plans to expand its presence on the PGA TOUR with the introduction of the Wyndham Rewards Top 10.
A new $10 million bonus to be split among the PGA TOUR’s top 10 regular season finishers, the Wyndham Rewards Top 10 is designed to add a new layer of drama over the course of the regular season, which culminates with the Wyndham Championship, the final event before the FedExCup Playoffs.
While Wyndham has been a proud sponsor of the Wyndham Championship since 2007, this year marked the first year that Wyndham Rewards took the role of proud title sponsor following the split of Wyndham Worldwide into two separate public companies earlier this year: Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest hotel franchise company, and Wyndham Destinations, the world’s largest vacation ownership and exchange company and North America’s largest professionally managed rental business.
“The Wyndham Championship plays a pivotal role in the regular season as it’s the last chance players have to secure a spot in the FedExCup Playoffs,” said Eliot Hamlisch, vice president and leader of the Wyndham Rewards program. “In joining with the PGA TOUR to introduce the Wyndham Rewards Top 10, we’re not only elevating the significance of our own tournament, but also placing a premium on great golf all season long. What’s more, as the world’s most generous rewards program, we couldn’t think of a more fitting way to recognize the PGA TOUR’s best of the best than by saying, ‘You’ve earned this.’”
The Wyndham Rewards Top 10 leader will earn a prize of $2 million, followed by $1.5 million for the runner-up, with decreasing amounts based on position from there. The 10th place finisher will receive $500,000. News of the Wyndham Rewards Top 10 was shared at a PGA TOUR press event earlier today, as the organization kicks off the finale of the FedExCup Playoffs at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga. The announcement was complemented with the introduction of a simplified, strokes-based scoring system for the TOUR Championship beginning next season, and the doubling of the total FedExCup bonus pool available to players, which now totals $70 million, inclusive of the prize money from the Wyndham Rewards Top 10.
About Wyndham Rewards Consistently named a best travel rewards program by U.S. News and World Report, Wyndham Rewards® is the world’s most generous loyalty program offering members a simple earning structure of a guaranteed 1,000 points for every qualified stay, along with a flat, free night redemption rate of just 15,000 points per room per night – the first of its kind for a major rewards program. Wyndham Rewards members can enjoy the benefits of the program at more than 8,000 Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: WH) properties, as well as tens of thousands of vacation club resorts, affiliated resorts and vacation rentals worldwide in partnership with Wyndham Destinations (NYSE: WYND). Join for free today at www.wyndhamrewards.com. You’ve earned this.®
About the Wyndham Championship Contested annually on the Donald Ross-designed course at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C., the Wyndham Championship was founded in 1938 and is the sixth-oldest event on the PGA TOUR excluding the Majors. The tournament thanks title sponsor Wyndham Rewards and presenting sponsor BB&T for their continued support. Additional tournament information is available at www.wyndhamchampionship.com and the tournament’s social media channels, including the Wyndham Championship Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram.
Days Inn by Wyndham Forecasting Bright Skies All Summer Long Thanks to “Days InnBrella”
Custom-created umbrella innovation shields from vacation rain while beaming happiness-inducing rays
Parsippany, N.J. (June 12, 2018) – April showers may bring May flowers, but across much of the U.S. June stakes claim as the rainiest month of the year, bringing unwelcome gloom at the start of the popular summer travel season. Days Inn® by Wyndham won’t stand for it: the iconic economy hotel brand is protecting summer trips from ill-timed drizzle with its exclusive Days InnBrella, a first-of-its-kind umbrella that blocks rainfall while simultaneously emitting lit-from-within LED beams to brighten even the dreariest days.
This custom-created portable beam of happy is an overcast day’s worst enemy, thanks to light therapy-like illumination radiating from the inside. Rain stays out and sunshine stays in, making for brighter days no matter where your travels take you.
“Each day has so much to offer and at Days Inn we believe nothing—not even gloomy weather—should ruin a hard-earned vacation,” said Patrick Breen, senior vice president, brand operations for Days Inn by Wyndham. “A little travel confidence, like the promise of sun-inspired rays at your fingertips, can go a long way in helping travelers seize every day and max out their travel fun. With Days InnBrella, if it rains, it can still shine.”
At its nearly 1,500 hotels across the country, Days Inn’s warm hospitality helps make guests’ days brighter and emboldens travelers to take advantage of every possible moment, and the Days InnBrella helps do just that. This “Inn-ovation” is the first-ever umbrella to emulate the principles of LED light therapy, which research shows can help boost energy levels and improve mood. Each generates more than 4,000 LUX, giving guests boosts of energy and perking up gray days through uplifting illumination.
Beginning today, guests at Days Inn hotels in some of America’s rainiest cities can power up the Days InnBrella during their stays when the weather tries to dampen summer fun:
The brand is also giving away a limited number to travelers on its Twitter handle (@DaysInn) now through June 26, 2018. For more information and full terms and conditions, visit www.daysinn.com/innbrella.
About Days Inn by Wyndham
Part of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Days Inn by Wyndham is a globally recognized hotel brand with nearly 1,800 economy to upper-midscale properties located throughout the globe. Most properties offer free Wi-Fi, complimentary DayBreak® continental breakfast, meeting rooms, banquet facilities, copy and fax services, fitness centers and more. Travelers also have the opportunity to earn and redeem points through Wyndham Rewards®, the brand’s guest loyalty program, which can be joined for free at www.wyndhamrewards.com.
About Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: WH) is the largest hotel franchising Company in the world, with nearly 9,000 hotels across more than 80 countries on six continents. Through its network of approximately 790,000 rooms appealing to the everyday traveler, Wyndham commands a leading presence in both the economy and midscale segments of the lodging industry. The Company operates a portfolio of 20 hotel brands, including Super 8®, Days Inn®, Ramada®, Microtel Inn & Suites®, La Quinta®, Wingate®, AmericInn®, Hawthorn Suites®, The Trademark Collection® and Wyndham®. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is also a leading provider of hotel management services, with more than 400 properties under management. The Company’s award-winning Wyndham Rewards® loyalty program offers more than 56 million enrolled members the opportunity to redeem points at thousands of hotels, condominiums and holiday homes globally. For more information, visit www.wyndhamhotels.com.
