As Wyndham Hotel Group ramps up its presence in the Middle East, president and CEO Eric Danziger speaks exclusively to Hotelier Middle East about his bullish and aggressive approach to further development in the region
Eric Danziger is one of the leaders in the global hotel industry. As president and CEO of the Wyndham Hotel Group — a role that follows similar leadership positions at the likes of Carlson Hotels and Starwood — he is responsible for a massive 7000 hotels across 11 brands.
But instead of sitting in a swanky corporate office overseeing his empire from afar, Danziger is the man on the ground, travelling the globe in search of new opportunities and meeting personally with hotel owners to discuss their needs.
He paid his second visit to Dubai at the end of last of year — following an appearance as a key panelist at the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference in May — and, in between signing deals and meeting partners, took time out to meet with Hotelier Middle East to outline his “aggressive, bullish” Middle East campaign.
Sat in a penthouse at the new Ramada Downtown Burj Dubai — which Danziger was to cut the ribbon later that day — and accompanied by senior members of the Wyndham management team for the region (see over), Danziger’s passion for the company’s potential in the region came across loud and clear.
“We’re out here in force for lots of reasons. When you saw me in May, I think I told you how excited and bullish I was about the future here and all that has happened has been doubled,” says Danziger.
“I have made the number one strategic initiative of the Wyndham Hotel Group international growth and within that, a specific focus on Middle East and Asia as the principal growth markets.
“Now when I say principal, keep in mind we are a global hotel company with 11 brands and 7000 hotels so we’re in 100 countries, so there’s growth all over the world but in a prioritisation manner, it’s Middle East and Asia,” he explains.
“We have spent a lot of time during the week on a lot of new opportunities, so I only say that to reinforce our sincere and very thoughtful aggressive, bullish campaign against the Middle East growth. And that’s why I’m here twice a year myself and will be more,” asserts Danziger.
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Achievements so far
To say that Danziger’s December visit to Dubai and the wider GCC was productive would be an understatement, with several Wyndham stories making the headlines following the trip.
The group celebrated breaking ground on its first five-star hotel in the Middle East, the Wyndham-branded hotel located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This will join the Ramada portfolio steadily being built up in the region — there are now three in Dubai, one in Ajman, 10 operational in Saudi Arabia, two in Bahrain, one in each of Doha, Jordan and Beirut and two under construction in Abu Dhabi.
Danziger also signed for the introduction of one of the Ramada tiers in Doha, the Ramada Encore, and has another sub brand, the Ramada Plaza, underway in Kuwait.
Adding the Wyndham brand to this collection is obviously a major scoop for Danziger, but by no means will the growth of the company be limited to these two brands.
“One of the exciting features of having 11 brands is we believe that many of those brands have a place of great importance in the Middle East,” he says. “Dubai as an example has had many years of luxury growth; well what about the mid-market? There’s always a market for people who might want the comfort or the cost of a mid-market.
“Well, we happen to have many of those brands so we’re going through a process and a study of which of those brands should be introduced. Is it a Howard Johnson, Days Inn, Wingate, Hawthorn Suites, a Super 8 etc?”
The Super 8 concept might work, continues Danziger, in Saudi Arabia, which has a latent demand for roadside motel-type properties. The country is a strong market for the company — a nearly 1000-room Ramada in Mecca was another signing during Danziger’s visit — and there is scope to increase the Wyndham Hotel Group presence there.
“The reason there are so many new Wyndhams and Ramadas in the process now is that we’ve a little bit of a head start on those, we’ve been doing those for a couple of years around here. But if you think about Super 8 for instance — now I’m not announcing a Super 8 programme, I’m just discussing the logic — on the roadways in all of Saudi Arabia, there’s no roadside properties so people have nowhere to stop at safe, secure comfortable accommodation.
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