PARSIPPANY, NJ—Continuing its expansion momentum, Wyndham Hotel Group has inked an agreement with American Hotel Income Properties REIT Inc. (AHIP) to convert 44 existing hotels across the United States to several Wyndham brands, including Baymont Inn & Suites, Travelodge and Super 8.
AHIP, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, also recently acquired two additional hotels, which will join the Wyndham portfolio as well.
All 46 hotels will become part of Wyndham’s global distribution network and loyalty program by year’s end, according to the chain.
The agreement expands Wyndham’s presence in the domestic midscale and economy segments with locations near Nashville, TN; Kansas City, KS; Jefferson City, MO; Lincoln, NE; and Buffalo, NY.
Under the agreement, the 44 existing hotels, currently operating under the Oak Tree Inn brand, will convert to Wyndham’s brands: 14 hotels will convert to Baymont Inn & Suites, 28 to Travelodge, and two to Super 8. Of the two newly acquired hotels, one recently converted to a Days Inn; the other will be rebranded later this month.
“Rob O’Neill and his team at AHIP have built a tremendous collection of clean, comfortable and affordable accommodations, which guests have come to love. We could not be prouder to partner with them to help drive incremental revenue to their hotels,” said Chip Ohlsson, Wyndham’s EVP/chief development officer.
The hotels will continue to be managed by ONE Lodging Management Inc., AHIP’s external hotel manager, and a wholly owned subsidiary of O’Neill Hotels & Resorts Ltd.
“This agreement furthers our strategic plan to curate a robust portfolio of premium-branded, select-service hotels poised for optimal success under strong, recognized brands with national awareness that will empower them to flourish,” said AHIP’s CEO Rob O’Neill.
As previously reported in Hotel Business, AHIP enjoyed a robust first-half, meeting its mission goals of expanding its investment in U.S. hotels with the acquisition of 18 properties for $407.4 million from Texas-based MCR Development.
Those properties are located primarily in the Northeast in secondary markets. The so-called Eastern Seaboard portfolio is a combination of Marriott International (10) and Hilton, Inc. (eight) products, representing 2,187 guestrooms in Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
The move came on top of an acquisition of five hotels made earlier this year.
The REIT owns 114 hotels, the majority in larger secondary markets under brands affiliated with Choice Hotels International, Hilton, IHG, Marriott International and Wyndham.
The Wyndham/AHIP deal adds to the growth momentum the global lodging chain has been generating. Last month, Wyndham Hotel Group closed on its acquisition of AmericInn, a midscale brand with close to 200 hotels, most concentrated in the Midwest.
Year-to-date, the franchisor has added nearly 200 hotels to its North American portfolio. Its domestic pipeline includes nearly 700 hotels representing 63,000 rooms.
