PARSIPPANY, N.J., 2014-5-14 — /Travel PR News/ — Focused on maintaining its vigorous development strategy and growing its presence in Latin America, Wyndham Hotel Group, the world’s largest hotel company with approximately 7,500 hotels and part of Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (NYSE: WYN), today announced the appointment of Paulo Pena as senior vice president and managing director, Latin America.
Pena is responsible for leading Wyndham Hotel Group’s development efforts in Latin America, an integral region in the company’s international plans, as well as providing operational, marketing, revenue management and sales services to the company’s franchisees and robust network of multi-unit development partners. He is based in Wyndham Hotel Group’s Parsippany, New Jersey, offices.
Pena joins Wyndham Hotel Group from Starwood Hotels & Resorts where he held various roles in operations, strategy, marketing and global partnerships throughout his ten year tenure. Most recently, he served as vice president, global partnerships, responsible for developing,
negotiating and executing cross-functional strategic alliances and partnerships.
“Wyndham Hotel Group continues to target Latin America as a crucial region for growth and Paulo will be an excellent leader for this charge,” said Bob Loewen, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Wyndham Hotel Group. “His experience with strategic relationships combined with his broad industry knowledge will be fundamental to our development in the region as we continue to collaborate with key development partners to drive accelerated growth in Latin America’s emerging markets.”
Wyndham Hotel Group is pursuing growth for its broad portfolio of brands in key cities and markets throughout Latin America, with particular focus on Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Peru, as well as fulfilling the growing demand for mid-scale and economy hotels throughout the region. In addition to seeking new partnership prospects, the company also prioritizes ongoing support for existing franchisees whose continued collaboration affords mutual opportunities for expansion.
As of March 31, 2014, Wyndham Hotel Group’s portfolio consists of 122 properties and over 15,000 rooms throughout Central and South America, Mexico and the Caribbean.
The company achieved several important milestones in Latin America last year, including the opening of the first Super 8 hotel in the region, the Super 8 Aeroporto Confins in Lagoa Santa, Brazil. Several brands entered new markets, including Wyndham Hotels and Resorts in Venezuela and Peru, Days Inn in Brazil and Ramada in Colombia. Additionally, the midscale Howard Johnson brand celebrated the opening of its 30th hotel in Argentina, the Howard Johnson Resort and Convention Center, Ezeiza.
Pena previously held several international finance positions for The Coca-Cola Company across Asia Pacific, Europe and the United States. He began his career in the audit division of Ernst & Young. Pena is fluent in Spanish and holds a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia and a master’s of business administration from Harvard Business School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is also a member of the Australian Institute of Chartered Accountants.
About Wyndham Hotel Group
Wyndham Hotel Group, part of the Wyndham Worldwide (NYSE:WYN) family of companies, is the world’s largest hotel company with approximately 7,500 hotels and 646,900 rooms in 69 countries under 15 hotel brands: Wyndham Hotels and Resorts®, Ramada®, Days Inn®, Super 8®, Wingate by Wyndham®, Baymont Inn & Suites®, Microtel Inn & Suites® by Wyndham, Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham®, TRYP by Wyndham®, Howard Johnson®, Travelodge® and Knights Inn®. In addition, the company has license agreements to franchise the Planet Hollywood Hotels, Dream® and Night® brands and provide management services globally.
All hotels are independently owned and operated excluding certain Wyndham, Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham and TRYP by Wyndham hotels, as well as certain Ramada, Days Inn and Super 8 hotels outside of the U.S., which may be managed by one of the affiliates of Wyndham Hotel Group.
Wyndham Rewards, the guest loyalty program of Wyndham Hotel Group, is the world’s largest lodging loyalty program as measured by number of participating hotels. The program offers over 8.8 million active members the chance to earn and redeem points for stays at over 7,000 hotels throughout more than 50 countries worldwide.
In addition to free stays, members may redeem their points for hundreds of reward options. For more information, visit www.wyndhamrewards.com.
Wyndham Hotel Group is based in Parsippany, New Jersey, U.S. Additional information is available at www.wyndhamworldwide.com. For more information about hotel franchising opportunities visit www.whgdevelopment.com. For Wyndham Hotel Group “@ a Glance”, click here.
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Wyndham Hotel Group names Paulo Pena as SVP and managing director, Latin America