Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest hotel franchisor with over 9,300 hotels across more than 80 countries, and leading provider of hotel management services, today announced the appointment of Joon Aun Ooi as President, Asia Pacific, effective 1 June 2020.
This appointment follows the restructuring of the hospitality giant’s South East Asia and Pacific Rim (SEAPR) and Greater China region to form a new operating region which will be collectively known as Asia Pacific (APAC), as part of the Company’s wider initiative to realign its global business operations and maximise its competitive advantage.
Under this new regional structure, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts APAC will become one of the region’s strongest operating hospitality portfolios with more than 1,700 hotels in approximately 16 countries and territories across 13 of its industry-leading brands including Wyndham Grand®, Dolce® by Wyndham, Wyndham®, Wyndham Garden®, La Quinta® by Wyndham, Ramada® by Wyndham, Ramada Encore by Wyndham, TRYP by Wyndham®, Howard Johnson® by Wyndham, Wingate® by Wyndham, Microtel by Wyndham, Days Inn® by Wyndham, Super 8® by Wyndham.
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts APAC will continue to operate with regional offices in Singapore and Shanghai, and supported by its satellite offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Xi’an, Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Bangkok, Seoul, Jakarta, Manila and Kuala Lumpur which will enable the Company to maintain its strong relationship with its owners, hotels and partners.
“These are extremely challenging times for the hotel industry and it is more crucial now than ever for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts to be agile in adapting to the evolving situation to be able to drive greater value for our owners and partners. Across APAC, the consolidation will enable the Company to leverage on a broader pool of resources – allowing it to strengthen its strategic positioning to support existing operations, drive further expansion and create additional opportunities for cross-border collaborations. Our focus in the region and continued commitment to making hotel travel possible for all remains unchanged,” said Joon Aun Ooi, the newly appointed President for the APAC region.
Newly Appointed President of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Asia Pacific, Mr. Joon Aun Ooi
In his new role, Joon Aun will continue to chart the growth of the Wyndham Hotels & Resorts portfolio of brands across the APAC region and drive its strategic objectives, especially as the tourism industry recovers from COVID-19. Leo Liu, President of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Greater China, will be stepping down from the Company.
“Leo has laid a strong foundation for the Greater China region across the last six and a half years. I am privileged to have had the opportunity to work alongside him, and have the utmost respect and appreciation for his contribution to the Company. I look forward to working closely with the talented teams across Greater China and South East Asia and the Pacific Rim, as we continue our focus and in preparing them for recovery and long term success,” said Joon Aun.
With nearly two decades of experience in the hospitality industry, Joon Aun brings with him a depth of regional expertise and operational experience across China and South East Asia and the Pacific Rim. Joon Aun joined Wyndham in 2013 as Vice President, Openings and Operations, Greater China. During this time, he successfully introduced four new brands to the market and played a pivotal role in doubling the combined franchise and management portfolio to over 1,400 hotels. In 2018, he was appointed President and Managing Director for SEAPR and led the Wyndham Hotels & Resort’s regional growth and development after its spin-off from Wyndham Worldwide. Under his leadership, the South East Asia and Pacific Rim region became Wyndham’s fastest growing region achieving 22% growth year-on-year in 2019, and drove the launch of five brands in six new markets.
Prior to Wyndham, Joon Aun held leadership roles across Asia and Greater China including: Vice President Strategy at InterContinental Hotels Group in 2002. He moved to China in 2005 to take on the role of Vice President, Hotel Openings (Greater China) where he played a key role in establishing and implementing the China growth strategy for the group. In 2009, he was appointed Vice President Strategy and Hotel Openings (Asia Pacific) at Hilton Worldwide where he oversaw the successful growth of the Hilton portfolio in China.
Before joining the hospitality industry in 2002, Joon Aun spent more than 7 years at The Boston Consulting Group where he was a Principal and is a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford Business School.
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