Dive Brief:
- Wyndham Hotels & Resorts saw global RevPAR decrease by 1% year over year in the first quarter of 2026, due to flat U.S. RevPAR and a 1% decline internationally, according to an earnings report published Wednesday.
- After facing some of the industry’s steepest RevPAR declines in Q4 2025, Wyndham pointed to faster-than-expected RevPAR recovery for its U.S. select-service brands, CEO Geoff Ballotti said on a Thursday earnings call. Wyndham’s development pipeline grew 3% year over year and reached a record of more than 2,200 hotels and more than 259,000 rooms.
- Looking ahead into 2026, Wyndham expects global RevPAR to fall in a range between down 1% and up 1%, and U.S. RevPAR to remain flat, “until we gain further visibility into the peak summer months,” Amit Sripathi, the company’s newly appointed chief financial officer, said on the call.
Dive Insight:
The results come after New Jersey-based Wyndham posted the steepest U.S. Q4 RevPAR decline compared to competitors at 8% year over year. But Q1’s flat U.S. RevPAR, which was 250 basis points ahead of midpoint expectations, signals the firm’s continued optimism for the rest of the year.
"As U.S. RevPAR in our economy and midscale segments continues to recover ahead of expectations, we approach the peak leisure summer season with increasing optimism,” Ballotti said in a statement.
Additionally, Wyndham’s development momentum continued. The hotelier posted net room growth of 4% and ancillary revenues growth of 21% year over year.
So far, April is largely riding the same momentum, significantly driven by out-performance in Texas, which had a 700 basis point improvement, as well as improvement in the Midwest, Ballotti said on the call.
Ballotti also noted that lengths of stay are getting noticeably longer, even compared to pre-COVID, with travelers willing to drive farther to their destination.
“Whether it’s a C-shaped or E-shaped economy with middle income consumers – our sweet spot – feeling better, they are regaining confidence in purchasing power, and our franchisees across the country are feeling it,” he said. “Those second-half tax refunds absolutely have the potential to unlock further discretionary spending.”
The U.S. Travel Association published a research report earlier this month, estimating that about 9% of each additional refund dollar will be spent on travel. That equals roughly $5.1 billion in domestic leisure spending.
Wyndham also expects a stronger June and July due to the 2026 FIFA World Cup and America’s 250th anniversary celebrations, per Ballotti.
Ballotti also highlighted the potential of artificial intelligence technologies across Wyndham’s properties, touting its efficiency and cost-saving qualities.
“By embedding AI across the full guest engagement journey and leveraging our partnership with Adobe, we are dramatically increasing personalization, while keeping guests engaged longer, driving higher conversion rates, shifting demand into direct booking channels and improving the foundational profitability of our business,” he said.
During an earnings call earlier this week, Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta also spoke about how the hotel giant is embracing AI technology, which he feels certain will bring a productivity boon.
