Known for its more economical hotels such as La Quinta, Days Inn, and Ramada, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: WH) is benefiting from the high demand in leisure travel.
Travelers have been resilient and have continued to drive and fly to their favorite destinations despite some economic roadblocks. In 2025, the Transportation Security Administration screened over 904 million air travelers, a slight increase of 2.57 million passengers compared with 2024.
World Cup fans traveling to North America
Appealing more to leisure and price-conscious travelers, Wyndham has a good foothold in the economy and midscale branded hotel sector, capturing 50% of all U.S. hotels in that price range, according to Dan Wasiolek, a senior equity analyst for Morningstar.
Hotels will see hundreds of thousands of travelers occupy their rooms in 2026, with North America hosting the FIFA World Cup in 16 cities across Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. Eleven of the locations occur in the U.S., two are in Canada, and three are in Mexico.
One added benefit is that the World Cup runs from June 11 to July 19, which means fans might be taking longer vacations in order to see their teams advance in each round and visit popular tourist sites.
More people could embark on road trips or weekend getaways this year as U.S. tax policy changes resulted in some taxpayers receiving higher refunds this year.
While shares of hotel companies tumbled after the start of the war against Iran on February 28, their stocks have started to rebound slightly.
Major U.S.-based hotel companies only have a small percentage of their hotels in the Middle East. Wyndham, which has a total of 8,300 hotels in its portfolio, has a much smaller number of hotels in the region compared to its competitors. Wyndham has 57 hotels in the Middle East, according to its website.
Even Wyndham’s larger competitors, Marriott International (NASDAQ: MAR) or Hilton Hotels (NYSE: HLT), have a low exposure to the Middle East, meaning only 3% to 5% of their global rooms or fee revenue is generated from travel in the region.
Marriott said about 4% of its global rooms are located in the Middle East, which accounts for 4% of its global fees, Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano said at a JPMorgan conference, according to Barron’s.
Hyatt Hotels (NYSE: H) reported that less than 5% of the company’s fee revenue is produced from the Middle East, Chief Financial Officer Joan Bottarini said at a JPMorgan conference, while about 3% of Hilton’s global rooms are in the Middle East and Africa region, according to its latest annual filing.
Expansion in Spain, Portugal, Australia, Hong Kong
Wyndham does face some challenges as shares of the company only rose by 3.7% year-to-date, while its revenue per available room, known as revPAR, decreased 6% during the fourth quarter due to an 8% decline in the U.S.
But the company reported some positive factors — adding 4% global net room growth, opening a record of 72,000 rooms, and reported adjusted EBITDA increased by 3% to $718 million, generated adjusted free cash flow of over $430 million, and returned nearly $400 million to shareholders in 2025.
In 2025, the company grew its pipeline of new hotel projects by 3%, with 70% of that occurring in the midscale and above segments, which also increased 3% year-over-year. The growth includes 42% in the U.S., with 77% of the pipeline being new construction, and approximately 36% of these projects have broken ground.
The company plans to add more hotels globally, especially in Europe and Asia, while also increasing its extended stay segment, which saw a 17% increase in the pipeline.
Wyndham is expanding outside the U.S. with deals to add hotels globally in Portugal, Spain, Australia, and Hong Kong. In 2025, the company signed a development agreement with Soliteight Hotel Projects to introduce its Super 8® by Wyndham brand to develop and open 40 Super 8 hotels over the next decade in Spain and Portugal.
Investors will likely have to wait until 2027 to see significant growth in the occupancy of its rooms. Wyndham’s revPAR will improve to flat levels in 2026 and 3.5% growth in 2027 from a 3% decrease in 2025, wrote Dan Wasiolek, a senior equity analyst for Morningstar.
“We see improved revPAR in 2026 and 2027, helped by easier comparisons (2025’s government shutdown and the April 2 tariffs), the tailwinds of this year’s World Cup and U.S. economic stimulus, and the start of a multiyear onshoring and infrastructure spending cycle,” he said. “Rooms in the company’s U.S. and international pipeline are expected to produce revenue 30% and 17%, respectively, above the existing portfolio. This supports our view of revenue growth accelerating to about 6% in 2026 and 9% in 2027 from 1.5% growth in 2025.”
The location of hotels is always a critical factor for the industry, especially when the properties could persuade road trip dwellers or last-minute travelers to book a room. Wyndham has been strategic about the location of its hotels – 90% of the hotels in the U.S. are located near interstates since visibility helps with marketing and brand recognition.
The company will also benefit from the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that was passed in 2021 and the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act that was signed into law in 2022, since more construction workers will need temporary housing.
The company’s strategy includes branching out to building more midscale hotels, which attract more business travelers, as its rivals, Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt Hotels, have also added a portfolio of less expensive hotels.
Along with lower interest rates and the enthusiastic and dedicated soccer fans who will be pouring into the U.S., Canada, and Mexico this summer to see their teams, Wyndham could gain more new customers who will become loyal to the brand.
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