With an overarching goal of “building on the consumerization of IT,” Wyndham Hotels & Resorts recently tapped company veteran Scott Strickland as its new chief commercial officer, forging a unified commercial strategy designed to bring all 25 of its brands together.
In his previous role as chief information officer, Strickland managed and deployed the company’s $275 million investment in technology, digital, and franchisee opt-in services over the course of the past five years. Promoted to his new post in April, Strickland—who has been with Wyndham for seven years and now reports directly to President/CEO Geoff Ballotti—is charged with shaping the mega brand company’s technology strategy and overseeing global sales, revenue generation, marketing, and loyalty programs.
He offered his perspective on the new position and the technology structure of the Parsippany, New Jersey-based, publicly traded company.
“I’m very excited to assume the chief commercial officer role; I think it points to the value that Wyndham is placing on technology that enables the business outcomes for our guests and franchisees. It’s a natural evolution of our strategy,” he said.
Strickland went on to point out that Wyndham has been on a “multiyear digital transformation,” which has resulted in the company being “at a point where we can take advantage of new trends faster.”
Migrating to a New PMS
He addressed several key areas of technology advancement for the company, one of which is the recent completion of a next-generation PMS (property management system) rollout from Sabre Hospitality. Wyndham migrated more than 5,000 hotels to SynXis Property Hub, including the transition of 550 hotels in a single month, nearly one year ahead of schedule. Strickland attributed that rapid rollout, at least in part, to the company’s previous investment into building “integrated systems” over the past few years. “We’re able to roll out this technology much faster than others because we don’t have to build as many interfaces. If you’re only running one central reservation system you only need one interface, as opposed to having to build and certify multiple systems,” he stated.
He further detailed some of the positive feedback the company has received from hoteliers regarding the new PMS. “What we like about our new property management systems is 30 days after we’ve implemented them, people are calling in for support half as much as they used to. So, you always hear about ease of use; well, that’s the metric that proves they really are [easy to use],” he said, adding the systems are mobile-enabled and provide additional convenience for management.
Guest Engagement Platform
Another key integration of the PMS is Wyndham Connect, an owner and guest engagement platform that was launched last year at the company’s annual global conference. Powered by Canary technologies, the platform comes at no additional cost to franchisees. Wyndham Connect enables AI-driven text messaging, digital tipping, mobile check in and check out, as well as other upselling solutions.
As an example, Strickland noted franchisees can reach out to guests through text messaging and offer additional benefits such as early check in or late check out, which represents a significant revenue opportunity. “Some of our franchisees are seeing $1,200 to $1,400 of monetization opportunity a month on early check ins and late check outs,” he said.
Strickland went on to detail the broad application of the text messaging platform within the company’s diverse brand lineup. “It’s pretty exciting to have those capabilities available for your roadside Super 8 and, of course, we take it all the way up to our Registry brand,” he said.
A host of different upselling opportunities can be offered through Wyndham Connect, according to Strickland, including charging a premium for different room types. As an example, a corner room or a room with a view—which can be illustrated through pictures—could yield a higher rate.
Strickland added regarding fully leveraging the Wyndham Connect platform, “it’s an investment in time. If you do that now you can start to monetize upgrade opportunities.”
For example, digital tipping—a feature which would typically cost franchisees as much as $150 a month—is offered to them at no cost as part of Wyndham Connect. Strickland noted digital tipping increases ancillary revenue for the property as guests generally tip more than they would with cash. He added that the average tip on the digital platform is $9.20. In addition, the system can be set up to offer reminders to guests as they check out.
“That is real money for that housekeeper for that day. For us to be able to prompt the guest at the time of check out increases, of course, the propensity to tip there as well,” said Strickland.
With the ability to upsell as a continued point of emphasis, Strickland also touted the benefits of an AI-enabled technology known as Nor1, which is offered for free to Wyndham’s franchisees who utilize the Opera Cloud system. “It uses the AI-based algorithms to determine what types of offers to make to a guest, when to make those offers in the guest journey, and to really optimize that upgrade experience,” he said.
In addition, Wyndham franchisees can use the Oracle Hospitality Integration Platform within OPERA Cloud to connect with RevIQ, the company’s cloud-based, mobile-first revenue management system.
RevIQ was created in collaboration with IDeaS. Leveraging real-time data and analytics to make automatic pricing recommendations and adjustments, the platform integrates with Wyndham’s property management systems.
Tech Amenities for Guests
With an eye on sustainability as well as revenue generation, Strickland further added that EV charging stations are a “really big deal for our guests right now.” The company has updated its website so that guests can now use it to determine which hotels offer EV chargers. Furthermore, there are different tiers of product offered to hoteliers depending on their need, also providing them with additional upsell opportunities.
Strickland reinforced the revenue opportunity for hoteliers. “It may cost the hotel $3, but the guest is happy to pay the $4 because they were able to get their EV charge and get it done in a safe, secure environment,” he said, adding that over time these chargers “can become a profit center” for the property.
system within the guestroom. For example, Strickland noted guests can sign into the WiFi and be automatically signed into the TV as well. They can also stream different networks with no additional log in required.
Another value-added feature from Wyndham is wireless access points within the guestroom that automatically turn off after a period of non-use, reducing electricity costs for hoteliers. “If you’re running 80 of those in an 80-room hotel and you’re able to know when they’re not being used and nobody is in close proximity to that access point, then you decrease the electricity consumption,” he said.
Strickland also highlighted the value of an OTA commission payment reconciliation service, which franchisees can opt in to, at no additional cost. He noted the company has built interfaces with Expedia for a system that will be set up to receive the refunds on commission overcharges automatically. He described it as a “big issue” for hoteliers. “There’s real money and we’ve seen it range from $600 to $6,000 a month in OTA reconciliations that we can provide back to those franchisees,” he said.
Finally, Strickland emphasized the versatility of the company’s technology initiatives and how they can be applied throughout Wyndham’s brand lineup regardless of price point. He referred to it as “the democratization of travel” and discussed its overall impact.
“That Days Inn hotel in Nebraska on the side of the road is now going to have texting, mobile check in, late check out monetization opportunities, EV charging, and Wi-Fi authentication all available on their TV because they’re part of the Wyndham brand. It’s us bringing some of these features that used to be luxury-based down into mass availability,” he concluded.
