Wyndham Hotels makes major market move.

Hotel operator/owner signs up six new properties

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, the Dallas-based hotel owner and operator, has moved into Los Angeles County with a sizable investment in new properties.

To date, the company has signed up six hotels in the county. Fourteen months ago Wyndham had one hotel in Los Angeles County and three years ago the company did not have a presence at all.

Most of the deals involve only management contracts in which the hotel owner has hired Wyndham to operate the property. But a few of the deals also include equity positions for Wyndham. In one case, Wyndham has purchased a hotel, the Wyndham BelAge in West Hollywood.

Rebound investment

Wyndham officials said the company has made a $70 million investment in a local industry that is on the rebound after a four-year decline.

"We believe that, despite its problems, Los Angeles is a dynamic market, and it will come back as a predominant force in the industry," said Eric Danziger, president of the Wyndham luxury and resort division.

He said the company, which has interests in 64 properties in the United States, the Caribbean and Bermuda, does not have any immediate plans to add to its local inventory of properties.

Wyndham's latest and biggest move into the local hotel market occurred earlier this month when it announced that it will take over the management and name of the Hyatt Hotel at Los Angeles International Airport later this spring.

With 600 rooms, the hotel is one of the largest in Los Angeles County.

Hyatt Hotels Co. has managed the hotel, which is along the Century Boulevard strip leading to LAX, for almost 20 years. As part of the management change, Wyndham will spend $10 million on a renovation of the property, which will change its name to Wyndham.

Other properties in Los Angeles County that have assumed the Wyndham name are the former Checkers hotel in downtown Los Angeles, plus properties in Culver City, Monrovia and the City of Commerce.

Business focus

Most of the new Wyndham properties in Los Angeles County cater to business travelers with nightly room rates that range from $70 to $190.

Danziger said the company's plan in moving into the area was to establish a presence in the county's major commercial sub-markets of downtown Los Angeles, LAX and the Westside.

While other operators may have had difficulties at the company's newly acquired local properties, Wyndham expects to succeed for various reasons, he said.

The primary reason, he said, "is that Wyndham is a sales-oriented organization. We don't wait around for the phone to ring. Everybody in our organization sells."