Increased spending on U.S. infrastructure projects and data center construction is boosting spending at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts properties, executives said during a Thursday earnings call, leading to an increase in the company's fourth-quarter revenue per available room.
Systemwide fourth-quarter RevPAR increased 5.3 at Wyndham properties, a figure inflated by the effects of multiple damaging hurricanes in the U.S. Southeast in the third quarter. Without the storm impact, Q4 RevPAR growth would have been 3.9 percent.
The infrastructure-related spending that comprises the vast majority of Wyndham's business travel volume proved a boon in the fourth quarter, Wyndham CEO Geoff Ballotti said. At least one Wyndham property is near about 80 percent of more than 2,200 active U.S. infrastructure projects, he said. "Wyndham franchisees in these markets experienced a RevPAR increase of more than 6 percent in the fourth quarter alone, contributing 140 basis points to our overall fourth quarter U.S. RevPAR growth."
Ballotti pointed specifically to data center construction in areas like Silicon Valley, Calif.; Dallas; Columbus, Ohio; and Jackson, Miss., as drivers of travel spending. Fourth-quarter RevPAR at Wyndham hotels near those projects increased "nearly 500 basis points"—5 percent—compared to the rest of the company's U.S. portfolio, he said, "with about half of this market share gain coming from increased demand and the remainder resulting from improved pricing power driven by occupancy gains."
Wyndham's fourth-quarter midweek occupancy increased 5.7 percent year over year—4.6 percent outside of the hurricanes—which reflects infrastructure-related gains, according to Wyndham.
Infrastructure-related travel bookings made up 22 percent of Wyndham's 2024 gross room revenues, according to a presentation for investors, with "logistics and other" adding another 6 percent and corporate transient accounting for 2 percent.
Wyndham CFO and head of strategy Michele Allen said the company projected 2025 midweek spending to outperform weekend spending, "driven by blue-collar and infrastructure-related demand in the U.S, which should also provide a modest pricing boost."
Wyndham projects systemwide 2025 RevPAR to increase 2 percent to 3 percent year over year on a constant-currency basis, Allen said.
Wyndham Q4, Full-Year Metrics
Wyndham's fourth quarter systemwide RevPAR increased 5 percent year over year to $40.01, while U.S. RevPAR also increased 5 percent to $46.41. Full-year systemwide RevPAR increased 2 percent from 2023 levels to $42.91, while U.S. RevPAR held about steady at $50.37.
Fourth-quarter net revenue was $341 million, compared with $321 million the year prior. Net income was $85 million, up from $50 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Wyndham at the end of 2024 had about 903,000 rooms in its system globally, up about 3.6 percent year over year, with total U.S. rooms up about 0.8 percent to 501,800.
Wyndham's development pipeline at the end of 2024 included about 2,100 hotels and 252,000 rooms, the latter figure up 5 percent year over year.
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