Wyndham hotels acquires La Quinta franchise in $1.95B deal

Wyndham Worldwide Corporation will acquire La Quinta Holdings Inc.’s hotel management business in a $1.95 billion cash deal announced Thursday.

The acquisition will be completed in the second quarter of this year, bringing Wyndham’s portfolio of hotels to more than 9,000 properties and 21 brands.

La Quinta has about 900 managed and franchised hotels.

The hotel industry has seen massive consolidations and acquisitions in recent years. Last year, Marriott International bought Starwood Hotels and Resorts, making Marriott the largest hotel company in the world. InterContinental Hotels Group acquired Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants. And AccorHotels bought the Fairmont, Raffles, and Swissotel brands.

“We really believe this industry will continue to consolidate and that size has never mattered more,” says Geoff Ballotti, president and chief executive officer of Wyndham Hotel Group.

Ballotti says the acquisition of La Quinta, considered an upper midscale brand, will complement its portfolio, which is heavy on economy, or budget, hotels.

“This is a brand that is in and will become our flagship upper midscale brand in a space in the market we want to grow in,” he says. “We are very large and very present in the economy space. This brand with 900 hotels does so many things for us from a growth perspective and does a lot from a consumer perspective with our loyalty program.”

Wyndham Rewards has 53 million members while La Quinta has 13 million.

“It will make it such a great value proposition for our consumers at a time when loyalty has never mattered more,” Ballotti says.

Source USA TODAY