Key Takeaways:

  • In the second quarter of 2026,Wyndham Hotels & Resorts' U.S. revenue per available room (RevPAR) increased 2% year-over-year, driven by improved occupancy and average daily rate (ADR) levels. According to the earnings report released Wednesday, the company's global RevPAR decreased 1% year-over-year, with international markets down 6%.
  • During the same period, Wyndham's global system size grew 4% year-over-year and set a record for second-quarter openings, CEO Geoff Ballotti said in the earnings report. The company's global development pipeline also grew 4% year-over-year during the quarter.
  • Given second-quarter results "exceeding expectations," Ballotti expressed confidence in achieving sustainable long-term growth due to "continued strength in domestic RevPAR trends, net room growth, global pipeline development, and ancillary revenue streams." Looking ahead, Wyndham is also advancing initiatives in technology and member loyalty.

Deeper Dive:

Wyndham achieved domestic RevPAR growth in the second quarter, with Ballotti stating on Thursday's earnings call that RevPAR fundamentals "progressively improved" in April, with momentum strengthening through May and June.

Beyond RevPAR growth in Texas, Florida, and California, Wyndham also performed strongly in the "Midwest industrial belt," with states such as Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Ohio outperforming the market. Ballotti noted this momentum "reflects the continued benefits of infrastructure-related demand."

"Many of our hotels are located in markets adjacent to projects,serving large-scale transportation, artificial intelligence, data center, and industrial projects underway across the United States," Ballotti said.

Wyndham also saw sequential improvement in weekend RevPAR during the quarter, which Ballotti attributed tostrong performance in drive-to leisure destinations.

Following second-quarter results, Wyndham raised its full-year 2026 global RevPAR growth guidance, now expecting an increase of 0% to 1% year-over-year. Ballotti noted on the call that leisure and everyday business travel demand across the U.S. has remained robust since July.

During the quarter, Wyndham opened nearly 18,000 rooms, up 7% year-over-year. Ballotti revealed that portfolio growth was primarily driven by "strong conversion activity at higher chain scales," includingthe opening of The Monarch Hotel in New Orleans, a property under Wyndham's Registry Collection's HQ Hotels brand.

On the loyalty front, the company plans to revamp the Wyndham Rewards program in September, adjusting the points redemption framework, Ballotti explained on the call.

"The starting points for free nights will drop from 7,500 to 5,000, while some of the most attractive upper-tier hotels will move from 30,000 to a new 45,000-point tier," he said. In the second quarter, competitorHyatt also restructured its World of Hyatt loyalty program's award chart。

Wyndham alsolaunched a native ChatGPT applicationin the second quarter for conversational search, as consumersincreasingly turn to artificial intelligence for travel searches。

. "About 60% of our guests' travel searches occur within large language models (LLMs) for inspiration, research, or itinerary planning," Ballotti said. "Our focus remains on serving these guests end-to-end to achieve the best booking experience and increase direct booking share."

During the call, Ballotti also mentioned that hewas diagnosed with cancer in the second quarter, and expressed optimism about his treatment plan going forward.