Dive Brief:
- Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’ Women Own the Room initiative drove 15 hotel openings and more than 50 signings over two years, the hotel company announced today.
- The program, which launched in early 2022 to foster greater diversity within the hotel industry, now boasts a network of more than 550 current and prospective women hotel owners.
- Though women account for 60% of the hospitality industry workforce, they hold one in 10 leadership positions, according to a 2022 report by the AHLA Foundation and the Castell Project. Women Own the Room is one of several initiatives by major hotel groups to attempt to reverse that trend.
Dive Insight:
Women Own the Room offers financial solutions, operational support and a community for women in the hotel industry.
The 50-plus signings the program has led to since its 2022 launch account for more than 4,000 rooms across the U.S. and Canada. Of those, 16 are open, spanning the Days Inn, Baymont, Wyndham and Trademark brands. Between five and 10 additional hotels are slated to open within the next year, Wyndham said.
Christina Lambert, a Wyndham franchisee and Women Own the Room member, said the program has “played a pivotal role in my success as a first-time hotelier.”
In a statement, she added that she credits her success “not just to the accessibility and responsiveness of [Wyndham] leadership, but their willingness to work with me on an individual basis to help my hotels thrive.”
Women Own the Room is one of several corporate initiatives created in recent years to increase diversity in hotel ownership.
Also in 2022, Marriott International announced Bridging the Gap, which aims to address the barriers to entry that historically underrepresented groups face in owning and developing hotels. And this January, Hilton launched Unlocking Doors, which offers potential owners educational programs, networking opportunities and access to affordable capital.
Wyndham also operates Black Owners and Lodging Developers, which similarly provides capital and assistance to aspiring Black hotel owners and developers.
