Industry veteran to lead Wyndham’s newly unified, technology-driven commercial organization

PARSIPPANY, N.J. (April 9, 2024) – Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: WH) appointed Scott Strickland Chief Commercial Officer reporting to the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Geoff Ballotti. In this newly created leadership role, Strickland and his team will continue delivering the best value and experiences to Wyndham’s owners and guests across its 25 brands through a united commercial organization.

“Over 7 years ago we recruited Scott from the private equity world where he led the information systems, eCommerce and business transformation teams at many great companies including D+M Holdings, Nissan, and Black & Decker. Under Scott’s thoughtful and strategic guidance – including managing and deploying our $275M investment in best-in-class technology, digital, and franchisee opt-in services over the past five years – Wyndham has taken a leadership position and delivered multiple industry innovations for its owners,” said Ballotti. “In this new role, Scott and his expanded team will continue to build our brands, drive direct revenue, and advance our value proposition through a newly combined, tech-forward commercial organization.”

As Chief Commercial Officer, Strickland continues his responsibilities for enhancing and implementing Wyndham’s technology and distribution strategy and will add oversight of global sales; revenue generation; marketing; communications and the award-winning loyalty program, Wyndham Rewards.

“Combining this group of cross-functional leaders enables us to continue delivering owner-first tools, technology and marketing innovations,” said Strickland. “These tools allow our franchisees to run their hotels more efficiently and profitably today and into the future. Integrating best-in-class technology, marketing, and sales teams into a single organization enhances the Wyndham Advantage.”

With the creation of this new organization, Lisa Checchio, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer, will depart Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. During her tenure Lisa launched the Company’s “by Wyndham” endorsement strategy, played a large role in the introduction of new hotel brands, and grew Wyndham Rewards – the award-winning loyalty program, which doubled in size in five years and has surpassed 100 million members. Lisa also led the creation of the industry’s first-ever program dedicated to women’s advancement in hotel ownership, Women Own the Room, which recently celebrated 15 open hotels, more than 50 signings, and a community of more than 550 members.

“Lisa’s leadership and expertise spanning marketing, consumer engagement, digital commerce, global sales, and more has helped us better fulfill Wyndham’s mission to make hotel travel possible for all,” said Ballotti. “We are grateful for her significant contributions to Wyndham and the broader hotel industry and will miss her many talents.”

Images associated with the above release can be downloaded here.

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About Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: WH) is the world’s largest hotel franchising company by the number of properties, with approximately 9,200 hotels across over 95 countries on six continents. Through its network of approximately 872,000 rooms appealing to the everyday traveler, Wyndham commands a leading presence in the economy and midscale segments of the lodging industry. The Company operates a portfolio of 25 hotel brands, including Super 8®, Days Inn®, Ramada®, Microtel®, La Quinta®, Baymont®, Wingate®, AmericInn®, Hawthorn®, Trademark Collection® and Wyndham®. The Company’s award-winning Wyndham Rewards loyalty program offers over 106 million enrolled members the opportunity to redeem points at thousands of hotels, vacation club resorts and vacation rentals globally. For more information, visit www.wyndhamhotels.com.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. (April 8, 2021) – Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest hotel franchising company with over 8,900 hotels across 95 countries, today announced that the International Franchise Association (IFA) has appointed Marcus Banks, Senior Vice President of Litigation, Employment Law, Government Relations & Information Management, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts to its Board of Directors.

Banks’ appointment is part of a larger unveiling of seven new members of IFA’s, Board of Directors, which includes top leaders representing franchisors, franchisees, and suppliers from leading organizations across multiple industries.

“I am thrilled with the addition of Marcus Banks to our Board of Directors,” said IFA Board Chair Catherine Monson. “His legal and business experience representing one of the largest hotel franchisors in the world, Wyndham Hotels, will provide invaluable experience to our board.”

“It is an incredible honor to be joining IFA’s board of directors along with such a distinguished group of professionals as franchise businesses emerge from the global pandemic,” said Banks. “IFA does tremendous work on behalf of the franchise community and I look forward to supporting them as they provide industry-leading events, advocacy, education and growth opportunities to the franchise community.”

Prior to Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’ spin-off from Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (WWC) in 2018, Banks served as Senior Vice President – Litigation, Employment Law and Intellectual Property, for WWC. Banks started his franchise career at the Hospitality Division of Cendant Corporation in May 2001. He has written and spoken about various franchise law topics, including litigation management, vicarious liability defense, bankruptcy and mediation.

To view IFA’s full announcement of its seven new, Board of Directors, click here.

About the International Franchise Association
Celebrating 60 years of excellence, education, and advocacy, the International Franchise Association is the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations, and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising and the more than 733,000 franchise establishments that support nearly 7.6 million direct jobs, $674.3 billion of economic output for the U.S. economy, and 2.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees, and companies that support the industry in marketing, law, technology, and business development.

About Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: WH) is the world’s largest hotel franchising company by the number of properties, with over 8,900 hotels across nearly 95 countries on six continents. Through its network of approximately 796,000 rooms appealing to the everyday traveler, Wyndham commands a leading presence in 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®, La Quinta®, Baymont®, Wingate®, AmericInn®, Hawthorn Suites®, Trademark Collection® and Wyndham®. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is also a leading provider of hotel management services. The Company’s award-winning Wyndham Rewards loyalty program offers 86 million enrolled members the opportunity to redeem points at thousands of hotels, vacation club resorts and vacation rentals globally. For more information, visit www.wyndhamhotels.com.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts today announced the promotion of its human resource leader for managed hotel operations in North America, Monica Melancon, to Chief Human Resource Officer, effective March 1.

 

PARSIPPANY, N.J. (December 15, 2020) – Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: WH) today announced that Mary R. Falvey, its Chief Administrative Officer, will leave the Company on March 1, 2021.

“During her 22 years at Wyndham Worldwide and its predecessor companies, Mary was absolutely instrumental in building the best culture in this industry and helping us transition that culture to Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.  We are tremendously grateful for all that Mary has achieved during her distinguished career at Wyndham along with her leadership in setting up our teams around the world for success in our new company.  I know I speak on behalf of our over 10,000 team members when I say we will miss Mary immensely,” said Geoffrey A. Ballotti, Chief Executive Officer.

“I thank my friends and colleagues at Wyndham. It has been an honor and a privilege to work with our team members around the globe and with the best leadership team in the industry,” said Ms. Falvey. “I have enjoyed our teamwork and I am proud of what we accomplished together over the past two decades, particularly building a strong values-based culture that embraces our power to make change in the world and celebrates the diversity of our people.”

The Company also today announced the promotion of its human resource leader for managed hotel operations in North America, Monica Melancon, to Chief Human Resource Officer, effective March 1.  Ms. Melancon spent 15 years in increasing roles of responsibility at Target, rising from HR executive at the unit level to a senior regional HR executive overseeing a region with $3 billion of annual sales and over 15,000 team members.  In 2015, she joined La Quinta Management LLC and has been consistently promoted since Wyndham’s acquisition of La Quinta to lead human resources operations for all Wyndham managed hotels in North America and over 8,000 Wyndham team members.  Ms. Melancon holds a Bachelor of Business Administration, Management & Marketing degree from East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, Texas. She is currently based in Wyndham’s Irving, Texas office and will be relocating to Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’ world headquarters in Parsippany, N.J.

Mr. Ballotti commented, “Monica is an exceptional leader whom I’ve had the pleasure to work with since our acquisition of La Quinta more than two years ago.  She personally knows our ownership groups and leadership teams on the ground who deliver our Count on Me service daily.  She understands our business, our company and our people, and I’m confident she is the right leader to drive our culture and business forward.”

About Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: WH) is the world’s largest hotel franchising company by the number of properties, with approximately 9,000 hotels across approximately 90 countries on six continents. Through its network of 804,000 rooms appealing to the everyday traveler, Wyndham commands a leading presence in 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®, La Quinta®, Baymont®, Wingate®, AmericInn®, Hawthorn Suites®, Trademark Collection® and Wyndham®. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is also a leading provider of hotel management services. The Company’s award-winning Wyndham Rewards loyalty program offers 85 million enrolled members the opportunity to redeem points at thousands of hotels, vacation club resorts and vacation rentals globally. For more information, visit www.wyndhamhotels.com.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. (December 9, 2020) – Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest hotel franchising company with approximately 9,000 hotels across 90 countries, today announced the 2-year appointment of Chief Marketing Officer Lisa Checchio to the Board of Directors for the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA).

Checchio’s appointment is a part of a larger unveiling of AHLA’s 2021 Officers, Board of Directors and Executive Committee, which includes top leaders representing all segments of the hospitality industry. The 2021 AHLA leadership team includes the most diverse group of industry leaders in the association’s more than 100-year history.

“It is an incredible honor to be joining AHLA and such a distinguished group of professionals during what is the most pivotal time in the history of our industry,” said Checchio. “AHLA does tremendous work on behalf of hoteliers across the country and I look forward to joining them as we collectively work to serve, support and advocate on behalf of the American hospitality industry.”

AHLA recognizes the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace and has committed to advancing women and minorities in the industry, especially at the top levels. In the past two years, AHLA has increased the number of women and minorities represented on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee by 42% and 33%, respectively. This comes on the heels of AHLA’s successful ForWard initiative, which the association launched in 2018 as a forum of dialogue and leadership development for women across the hotel industry.

“I am pleased to welcome Lisa to the AHLA Board,” said Chip Rogers, president and CEO of AHLA. “We are grateful to members such as her who volunteer their time and energy to ensure that AHLA is successful and represents the hotel industry with one unified voice both in and outside Washington, D.C.”

Checchio has served as chief marketing officer at Wyndham since mid-2018. She joined the Company in 2015 as vice president, Brand Marketing, following 11 years at JetBlue Airways, where she oversaw brand strategy and marketing.  Named to Ad Age magazine’s “40 Under 40” in 2019 and one of Hotel Management’s Most Influential Women in Hospitality, she is a Member of the Board for both HSMAI Americas and the HSMAI Foundation. She also serves as a Member of the Board for Raritan Valley Habitat for Humanity.

To view AHLA’s full announcement of its 2021 Officers, Board of Directors and Executive Committee, click here.

About Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: WH) is the world’s largest hotel franchising company by the number of properties, with approximately 9,000 hotels across approximately 90 countries on six continents. Through its network of 804,000 rooms appealing to the everyday traveler, Wyndham commands a leading presence in 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®, La Quinta®, Baymont®, Wingate®, AmericInn®, Hawthorn Suites®, Trademark Collection® and Wyndham®. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is also a leading provider of hotel management services. The Company’s award-winning Wyndham Rewards loyalty program offers 85 million enrolled members the opportunity to redeem points at thousands of hotels, vacation club resorts and vacation rentals globally. For more information, visit www.wyndhamhotels.com.

SINGAPORE (January 20, 2020) – Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest hotel franchising company with more than 9,200 properties across over 80 countries, has appointed Andy Flaig as Head of Development for the South East Asia and Pacific Rim (SEAPR) region.

Based in Singapore, Andy will lead a team of developers to drive the development strategies for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts through the expansion of its brands and portfolio of managed and franchised hotels across the SEAPR region. Andy replaces David Wray who has completed his transition agreement with the hotel company and will remain with Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific.

“Andy comes to Wyndham with a proven track record in the areas of hotel development, investment, and asset management. Along with his strong leadership and extensive regional connections, he is well-positioned to lead our development team in accelerating our growth across the region,” said Joon Aun Ooi, President and Managing Director SEAPR, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.

“The South East Asia and Pacific Rim is a dynamic region brimming with potential and home to emerging markets like Vietnam and Myanmar that are starting to attract tourists in unprecedented numbers. I am excited to lead Wyndham’s development strategy in the region and look forward to building new relationships with owners and partners to drive strong returns under the Wyndham portfolio of hotel brands,” said Andy Flaig, Head of Development, SEAPR, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.

Andy joins Wyndham Hotels & Resorts with more than three decades of experience in the hospitality sector. He served in multiple senior leadership roles within the industry and was most recently the Group Chief Development Officer at Next Story Group where he was responsible for the growth of their hotel and lifestyle co-working brands. Previously, Andy spent four years with Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group as Executive Vice President, Development and Technical Services for Asia Pacific, and eight years as Managing Director of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Hotels and Hospitality Group’s Advisory business in Asia.

 

About Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: WH) is the world’s largest hotel franchising company, with approximately 9,200 hotels across more than 80 countries on six continents. Through its network of approximately 817,000 rooms appealing to the everyday traveller, Wyndham commands a leading presence in 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®, La Quinta®, Wingate®, AmericInn®, Hawthorn Suites®, 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 over 77 million enrolled members the opportunity to redeem points at tens of thousands of hotels, vacation club resorts and vacation rentals globally. For more information, visit www.wyndhamhotels.com.

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“Confidence is on the rise at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts – not just among the executive team, but with franchisees who feel pretty good about its direction.” Read Full Story