Strengths
Great Performance in New Markets and Innovations
Wyndham World has penetrated several different kinds of markets and has been successful in doing so. They have gotten better and better over the years in penetrating different markets successfully. With this being said they’re expansion has been a strength in their internal strategies. Their expansion has helped diversify their sources of income, including 21 brands competing in markets ranging from economy to upscale instead of primarily upscale like previous years. These brands consist from a lot of recent mergers and acquisitions like AmericInn and US Franchise Systems, Inc. It’s also been doing great at developing new brands like Trademark Hotel Collection.
Strong Brand Portfolio and Name
They’ve created a strong brand name and portfolio. With properties ranging from economy to upscale and having a good performance in all their properties they’ve been able to brand themselves in the hotel industry with a known name which is helpful when and if they decide to create new lines of hotels and have their name present with it.
Company Consistency
The company has been consistent in keeping up with all of their brand’s quality no matter what kind of brand it is whether mid-scale or luxury brand. This kind of consistency motivates consumers to come back because consistency is important with receiving a product. When consumers are satisfied with a product and they want it again they expect the same kind of service and Wyndham has done a good job at creating that. La Quinta CEO said he would be satisfied with being acquired by Wyndham, “we provide the same consistency in product. We want to make sure we can continue to provide resources to our franchise partners that make them successful” (Fox 2018). It’s created a great network for its market to be able to reach them and even more consumers.
Training
Several different training programs have been invested in by Wyndham to provide their employees with the best level of training. Professionals in the business provide courses, online hospitality resources, and effective on the job training. Denis Dorbek, the director of their Revenue management states, “Wyndham is invested heavily in technology but cannot stress enough the importance of people entering the right figures and data, and taking the time to properly analyse the outcome….training is crucial.” (Eye for Travel 2016). They know that the amount of money they invest into the quality of their employees is crucial to the success of their business like the service profit chain states.
Weaknesses
Investment in Research and Development is not up to par with competitors
Wyndham did a good job investing into research and development however they’re spending above the industry average and still aren’t able to compete with other companies within the industry. Their innovations in hotels have proven to be successful but in terms of research and development they’re below average in the industry. This is seen as a weakness with all the money they’ve been investing in an area they’re failing in.
Need more investment in new technologies.
Wyndham Worldwide has a distinct vision for their company yet the company is not performing to that standard. They lack a lot of the technology that other companies like Marriott and Intercontinental have been able to provide their consumers. In this day and age, consumers are looking for a hotel that can fulfill all their needs including technological that can make their stay easier. They should be looking to invest more in new technologies. A rising trend has been to avoid person to person contact especially within business travelers and Wyndham needs to be able to accommodate these needs.
Opportunities
Environmentalism
A big trend in hospitality currently is sustainability and environmental friendliness. Along with that new environmental policies have been implemented. This can give Wyndham an opportunity to compete with other hotels in an innovative standpoint. It can promote sustainability in different ways that get consumers to interact with environmental friendliness and portray the company in a positive light.
Increase in Consumer Spending
As we move into households with 2 incomes, spending increases as well. Millennials and baby boomers being the biggest age groups and the highest spenders this is looking well for the hotel market. According to 2018 statistics, “U.S. economic activity, rose 0.4 percent last month after advancing by the same margin in June. Households spent more at restaurants and on accommodation last month” (Reuter 2018). The U.S economy is doing well, along with our spending. Consumers’ higher disposable incomes have been fueling into the hospitality industries steadily since the recession.
New Trends in Consumer Behavior
New trends in consumer behavior include the increase of spending but also the increase in travel. Millenials have adopted a new lifestyle where they rather spend money on travel versus materialistic things. It’s interesting to see this contrast from previous generations, “Their demand for memorable moments and activities over material goods has created what many call the experience economy” (Fromm 2018). Consumers interested in travelling is important to hotels and Wyndham can take the opportunity to attract these younger consumers with different innovations whether in technological savviness or different affordable options, Wyndham can take advantage of these consumer trends.
Threats
Rising Pay Levels
Many American competitors are increasing their pay levels to $15.00 steadily. With that being said, quality workers will be interested to work in other hotels unless Wyndham is willing to increase pay levels as well which could alter their financial situation. It’s going to be a hard decision for Wyndham to make whether or not to be pay leaders or followers could influence their workers’ performance.
Fierce Competition
Strong competitors like Marriott, Hyatt, and Hilton are going to be threats to the company’s performance as a business and as an employer. These companies have a lot innovations that go the extra mile unlike Wyndham. Wyndham needs to set standards that will differentiate them significantly from these brands.
Not Consistently Releasing Innovative Products
This is a big issue with their competitors and the travel market. Wyndham has a lot of successful products and brands but they need to be constantly releasing new products or additions that set them apart and make their name more noteworthy in the travel industry instead of just another hotel to overlook. They’ve released a lot of acquisitions and mergers that have been successful but nothing that the public has been really wowed over. They came up with one particular promotion, “Wyndham Grande have offered promotions to guests willing to give up their devices and go “off the grid” during their stay” (Kobres 2018). If they consistently came up with different ideas, promotions and strategies like this, consumers would be more impressed by the brand.
Products within the Hospitality Industry can be Seen as Seasonal
A big concern within the hospitality industry is the fluctuation with travelling. There’s always different times of the year where the market drops and rises for vacationing. It’s important for Wyndham to keep this into consideration to make interesting promotions and begin to strategize during these “slow seasons”.