WYNDHAM HOTELS & RESORTS recently named Amit Sripathi as chief development officer, taking over from Chip Ohlsson, who exits the company in June. Sripathi, who previously was Wyndham’s senior vice president of strategic and corporate development, will head the company’s North American franchise sales team.
Before his tenure at Wyndham, he served as vice president of finance and capital markets at RLJ Lodging Trust, and as vice president of global investment banking at Deutsche Bank, Wyndham said in a statement.
“Amit’s deep experience in mergers and acquisitions and capital markets focused on the real estate and hospitality sectors at Deutsche Bank and RLJ Lodging are instrumental as we increase our focus on growing our midscale-and-above portfolio while reinforcing our leading position in the resilient select-service segments,” said Geoff Ballotti, Wyndham’s president and CEO. “Since joining Wyndham, Amit has demonstrated a strategic approach to growth. He’s helped divest our owned and managed segments leading to a pure-play U.S. franchise business and worked with our sales teams across the country and around the world deploying over $250 million in development support for our owners. He hits the ground running, knowing what our franchise sales teams need to continue outperforming expectations.”
Sripathi said the company is in a strong position.
“With 15 consecutive quarters of organic net room growth and our largest development pipeline ever, it’s clear that existing and prospective franchisees appreciate Wyndham’s market-share leading brands and the world-class sales, marketing and distribution systems curated for their individual needs,” Sripathi said. “Together with the best franchise sales team Wyndham has ever assembled, we will help even more owners discover the power of partnering with Wyndham and experiencing our owner-first approach.”
Saying farewell after three decades
With a career spanning more than 30 years, starting in 1993 with Wyndham’s predecessor company, Hospitality Franchise Systems, Ohlsson played a role in expanding the Wyndham portfolio from 14 to 25 brands, including ECHO Suites Extended Stay by Wyndham, the statement said. He promoted diversity within the franchise sales team and among owners, spearheading programs such as Women Own the Room and BOLD by Wyndham, the company said. These initiatives boosted diversity in the industry and drew new owners to the Wyndham community.
“From launching his sales career with us in 1993 to returning nearly ten years ago to lead our North America franchise sales teams, Chip has shown unwavering commitment to Wyndham and our franchisees,” Ballotti said. “We are extremely grateful for his proven leadership and ability to attract, promote and develop a best-in-class sales team that consistently delivers, and we wish him all the best.”
Wyndham recently posted a first-quarter net income of $16 million for the period ending March 31, a decline from $67 million in the same period last year. The drop was mainly due to transaction-related expenses stemming from an unsuccessful hostile takeover attempt by Choice Hotels International.
