Travel + Leisure Co. Explained

Travel + Leisure Co.
Former Name:Wyndham Worldwide (2006–2018)
Type:Public
Hq Location:Orlando, Florida
Hq Location Country:United States
Industry:Hospitality
Products:Timeshare, vacation rentals, resorts
Revenue: [1]
Num Employees:22,500[2]
Num Employees Year:2019
Subsid:RCI
WorldMark by Wyndham
Footnotes:[3] [4]

Travel + Leisure Co. (formerly Wyndham Destinations, Inc., and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation) is an American timeshare company headquartered in Orlando, Florida.[5] It develops, sells, and manages timeshare properties under several vacation ownership clubs, including Club Wyndham and WorldMark by Wyndham, and provides timeshare exchange services, primarily through RCI.

The company operates three business lines: Wyndham Destinations, the world's largest vacation ownership business; Panorama, operating vacation exchange, membership travel, and travel technology businesses; and Travel + Leisure Group, offering consumer travel products, including online and subscription travel services and product licensing.[6]

Wyndham Worldwide was formed as a spin-off from Cendant Corporation in 2006, with ownership of Cendant's hotel and timeshare businesses. In 2018, Wyndham Worldwide spun off its hotel division as Wyndham Hotels & Resorts and changed its own name to Wyndham Destinations and then to Travel + Leisure in 2021 following the acquisition of the brand from Meredith Corporation, later known as Dotdash Meredith. The Travel + Leisure magazine is published independently by Dotdash Meredith under a long-term license agreement.[7]

History

The company's origins can be traced to the founding of Hospitality Franchise Systems (HFS) in 1990, created as a vehicle to acquire hotel franchises. By 1995, it had acquired the Days Inn, Howard Johnson, Ramada, and Super 8 brands. HFS then expanded into other businesses. In 1996, it acquired the timeshare exchange service Resort Condominiums International. In 1997, HFS merged with CUC International to form Cendant Corporation. Cendant increased its involvement in the timeshare business by buying Fairfield Communities in 2001 and Trendwest Resorts in 2002. In 2005, Cendant bought the Wyndham hotel brand from the Blackstone Group.

On July 31, 2006, Wyndham Worldwide was created as a spin-off from Cendant with ownership of its hotel and timeshare businesses, as part of a plan to break Cendant up into four separate companies.

In 2013, Wyndham acquired Shell Vacations Club for $102 million plus $153 million of assumed debt.[8]

In August 2017, Wyndham announced plans to spin off its hotel division to shareholders as a separate publicly traded company, thereby becoming a pure timeshare company.[9] The spin-off of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts occurred on May 31, 2018, and what remained of Wyndham Worldwide was renamed as Wyndham Destinations the same day.[10] [11]

Wyndham Destinations

Wyndham Destinations, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, is the largest vacation ownership program in the world.[12] It includes a network of more than 245 properties, 25,000 individual units, and over 867,000 property owners.[13] Locations are in North America, the Caribbean, and the South Pacific. Wyndham Destinations includes marketing and sales of vacation ownership interests, consumer financing in conjunction with the purchase of vacation ownership interests, property management services to property owners' associations, and development and acquisition of vacation ownership resorts.[14]

Wyndham Destinations brands

Panorama

Panorama was formed in 2020 to manage the company's timeshare exchange and membership travel and technology businesses, including RCI. This division operates the businesses formerly part of Wyndham Destination Network. Wyndham Exchange and Rentals officially changed its name to Wyndham Destination Network on January 1, 2016, and formerly operated over 110,000 vacation properties worldwide in more than 100 countries.[16] To help diversify from its traditional exchange business, the company bought Love Home Swap in 2017.[17] On May 9, 2018, Wyndham Worldwide Corporation completed an agreement to sell its European vacation rental business, which included cottages.com, Hoseasons, James Villa Holidays, Landal GreenParks, Novasol, and several others to Platinum Equity for around $1.3 billion[18] Wyndham Destinations sold its North American Vacation Rental business and associated brands to Vacasa in July 2019[19] and purchased Alliance Reservations Network in August 2019 for $92 million.[20]

Panorama brands

Sales practices

Wyndham Vacation Resorts was the focus of investigations regarding their sales practices in 2016 in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The Real Estate Commission for Pennsylvania fined Wyndham and their broker at their Shawnee-on-Delaware location, Craig Roberts, a total of $15,000. Eight months earlier, Wyndham settled similar allegations in Wisconsin paying $655,000 in restitution to 29 consumers.[21]

Also in 2016, a San Francisco jury awarded $20 million to Trish Williams, a former Wyndham timeshare sales representative, who was wrongfully terminated in 2010 for reporting timeshare fraud on the elderly.[22]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Wyndham Destinations Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2019 Results . February 2020 . Wyndham Destinations . 2020-05-06 . 2021-04-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210414135439/https://s22.q4cdn.com/457996430/files/doc_financials/2019/q4/WYND-4Q-2019-Earnings-Release.pdf . live .
  2. Web site: Wyndham Destinations Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2019 Results; Increases Dividend 11% and Provides Full-Year 2020 Outlook . 31 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210414135439/https://s22.q4cdn.com/457996430/files/doc_financials/2019/q4/WYND-4Q-2019-Earnings-Release.pdf . 14 April 2021 . 26 February 2020.
  3. Web site: Wyndham Worldwide Corporation. Google Finance. 2008-08-26. 2008-10-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20081007164933/http://finance.google.com/finance?q=wyn. dead.
  4. Web site: Wyndham Worldwide: At a Glance. Wyndham Worldwide. 2008-08-26. 2008-08-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20080820205414/http://wyndhamworldwide.com/about/at_a_glance.cfm. dead.
  5. "Contact Us ." Wyndham Destinations. Retrieved on August 3, 2009.
  6. Web site: Travel + Leisure Co. Debuts Today, Reveals First Look at New Travel Products & Services. 2021-04-20. investor.travelandleisureco.com. en-US. 2021-04-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20210420205750/https://investor.travelandleisureco.com/news-and-presentations/press-releases/news-details/2021/Travel--Leisure-Co.-Debuts-Today-Reveals-First-Look-at-New-Travel-Products--Services/default.aspx. live.
  7. Web site: Wyndham Destinations Acquires Travel + Leisure Brand from Meredith Corporation in Strategic Alliance; Wyndham Destinations to Be Renamed Travel + Leisure Co.. 2021-04-22. investor.travelandleisureco.com. en-US.
  8. Web site: Wyndham buys Shell Vacations for $102M in cash. www.businessweek.com/. 2 September 2014. 2013-05-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20130521060619/http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-09-14/wyndham-buys-shell-vacations-for-102m-in-cash. dead.
  9. News: Wyndham timeshare will spin off from parent company. Orlando Sentinel. August 4, 2017. NewsBank. November 30, 2020. August 25, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220825174413/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&docref=news/1661142EAE960680&f=basic. live.
  10. Form 8-K: Current Report. Wyndham Destinations. May 31, 2018. EDGAR. November 30, 2020. June 10, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220610053612/https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1361658/000110465918037246/a18-14563_18k.htm. live.
  11. June 1, 2018 . Wyndham Worldwide Completes Spin-Off Of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts; Becomes Wyndham Destinations . 2018-12-31 . 2018-12-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181231194154/http://www2.wyndhamdestinations.com/news-media/press-releases/wyndham-worldwide-completes-spin-wyndham-hotels-resorts-becomes-wyndham . live .
  12. Web site: Wyndham Timeshares. VacationOwnership.com. December 25, 2014. December 25, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141225173433/http://www.vacationownership.com/resorts/wyndham/. live.
  13. Web site: March 2021. Travel + Leisure Co. 10K. live. 2021-04-20. 2021-04-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20210420205741/https://s22.q4cdn.com/457996430/files/doc_financials/2020/q4/TNL-2020-10K.pdf.
  14. Web site: Wyndham Destinations: Form 10-K. 2020-02-25. Wyndham Destinations. 2022-06-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20220609220640/https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001361658/a4671971-b22d-4854-83c5-1e487212a2c7.pdf. live.
  15. Web site: Australia's Largest Timeshare Club has Rebranded to Club Wyndham South Pacific . 2019-08-21 . 2019-08-21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190821203644/https://www.wyndhamdestinations.com/news-media/press-releases/australias-largest-timeshare-club-has-rebranded-to-club-wyndham-south-pacific . live .
  16. Web site: Wyndham Exchange and Rentals. Wyndham Destinations. 20 November 2015. 21 November 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151121165216/http://wyndhamworldwide.com/category/wyndham-exchange-rentals. live.
  17. Web site: RCI. RCI Expands Offerings for Global Travelers with the Acquisition of Love Home Swap. 2021-04-20. www.prnewswire.com. en. 2021-04-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20210420205740/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rci-expands-offerings-for-global-travelers-with-the-acquisition-of-love-home-swap-300496822.html. live.
  18. Web site: Wyndham Worldwide Announces Completion of its Sale of its European Vacation Rentals Business. Corporation. Wyndham Worldwide. www.prnewswire.com. en. 2019-02-19. 2019-02-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20190220002940/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wyndham-worldwide-announces-completion-of-its-sale-of-its-european-vacation-rentals-business-300645984.html. live.
  19. Web site: Vacasa Signs Agreement with Wyndham Destinations to Acquire Wyndham Vacation Rentals. Inc. Wyndham Destinations. www.wyndhamdestinations.com. en. 2019-07-30.
  20. Web site: RCI Acquires Alliance Reservations Network to Accelerate Growth through New Travel Services. 2021-04-20. www.travelandleisureco.com. en. 2021-04-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20210420205743/https://www.travelandleisureco.com/us/en/news/press-releases/2019/rci-acquires-alliance-reservations-network-to-accelerate-growth-through-new-travel. live.
  21. Web site: Muschick. Paul. Settlement reached in probe of timeshare sales in Poconos. 2021-04-20. mcall.com. 2021-04-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20210420211244/https://www.mcall.com/news/watchdog/mc-wyndham-timeshare-sales-watchdog-20160130-column.html. live.
  22. News: 'My Soul Feels Taller': A Whistle-Blower's $20 Million Vindication . The New York Times . 25 November 2016 . April 22, 2021 . Morgenson . Gretchen . 22 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210422141451/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/25/business/my-soul-feels-taller-a-whistle-blowers-20-million-vindication.html . live .

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