With properties in approximately 90 countries worldwide according to its own figures, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (WH 0.64%) said today it plans to open hotels in two more nations where it has had no presence up to this point: Nepal and Bhutan. One of the hotels is slated to open this summer, while another will start accepting guests in March 2021 and more are apparently on the way.
The first Wyndham hotel in Nepal will be a Ramada Encore in Kathmandu, the country's capital city. The mountain city, approximately four-fifths of a mile above sea level, is an extremely popular tourist destination thanks both to its historic architecture and its views of the Himalayas. The Ramada will open in August of this year. Another Ramada will be built in Bhutan's Thimpu valley, with a projected opening date of March 2021. A third location will open on the Mussoorie Mall Road in northern India in late July 2020.
Image source: Getty Images.
"Bhutan and Nepal have seen a steady increase in tourism, making them ideal destinations for us to expand into," said Wyndham's area director, Nikhil Sharma. "What's more, they perfectly complement the opportunity and uptick of the midscale market in India." The press release describes the openings as part of the company's initiative to "expand its footprint across the Indian subcontinent and are complemented by additional properties in the region that either recently opened or are slated to open over the next nine months."
Wyndham's flexible business model has allowed it recover significantly from COVID-19 lows, though it has not yet reached pre-coronavirus share price levels.
