Wyndham International, the fifth largest US hotel chain and the largest hotel
\nbrand in the Caribbean, will become a major player in Dominican travel as of 1
\nDecember. Under a 10-year strategic alliance agreement, the seven Viva Resorts
\nproperties in the Bahamas, Mexico and the three in the Dominican Republic are
\nbeing re-branded as Viva Wyndham Resorts and incorporated into the Wyndham
\nmarketing portfolio.
\nFred Kleisner, chairman and CEO of Windham, announced that the marketing
\npartnership will allow them to expand both into new Caribbean and Mexican
\nmarkets, with guests who seek all-inclusive resort experiences. In an interview
\nwith El Caribe newspaper, Kleisner said the DR has all it needs to become a
\nleading destination with US travelers. ?The people are perfect, the beaches are
\nperfect, the resorts are perfect, the destination is perfect, but you can?t keep
\nit all a secret,? he said. He feels more marketing muscle is needed. He said the
\nUS traveler has the perception that the DR is a 3 on a scale of 1 to 10. In his
\nown opinion, after traveling the country, he said the DR deserves a 9.
\n"Building a strong partnership with a brand like Wyndham is the key component to
\nensuring our guests enjoy a consistent, upscale hotel product," said Viva
\nResorts president, Ettore Colussi. The Dominican partners expect Wyndham’s
\nhighly-regarded industry reputation will help them fast-track the chain?s
\nawareness in the US, pulling in more US travelers.
\nRafael Blanco Canto, executive vice-president of Viva Resorts, said the alliance
\nis a big step forward towards delivering what appeals most to the US market.
\nViva Wyndham properties in the DR as of 1 December are:
\n The 500-room Viva Wyndham Dominicus
\n Beach ? La Romana-Bayahibe
\n The 330-room Viva Wyndham Dominicus
\n Palace ? La Romana-Bayahibe
\n The soon-to-open, 223-room Viva
\n Wyndham Tangerine ? Cabarete<\/p>\n
The Viva Wyndham resorts in the
\nDominican Republic and Bahamas bring Wyndham’s Caribbean portfolio to 16
\nproperties on eight islands, including Aruba, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Dominican
\nRepublic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Dutch Antilles and US Virgin Islands.
\nFounded in 1997, Viva Resorts built a reputation on selling value-packed,
\nall-inclusive vacations that provided a culturally-inspired ambience,
\nhigh-energy atmosphere with international accents on food and service.
\nWyndham operates 200 hotels in the US, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom and the
\nDominican Republic, for a global inventory of 42,000 rooms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Wyndham International, the fifth largest US hotel chain and the largest hotel brand in the Caribbean, will become a major player in Dominican travel as of 1 December. Under a 10-year strategic alliance agreement, the seven Viva Resorts properties in the Bahamas, Mexico and the three in the Dominican Republic are being re-branded as Viva … <\/p>\n