by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 12:30 AM ET, Thu February 23, 2023
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has announced that it signed deals for eighteen hotels across the United States for its BOLD (Black Owners and Lodging Developers) by Wyndham program, which was designed to promote Black hotel ownership and accelerate the path towards ownership.
According to the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators and Developers, Black individuals comprise nearly 20 percent of all employees in the hotel industry, but less than 2 percent of all hotel owners are Black. That's where BOLD by Wyndham comes in.
"There's an immense gap when it comes to the representation of Black hotel owners, which is why it's crucial that players like Wyndham find and champion new opportunities to drive diversity," said Galen Barrett, vice president, Strategic Development, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. "With agreements for nearly 20 hotels in our pipeline, BOLD by Wyndham is proving there is opportunity in our industry for Black entrepreneurs and that our industry will be all the better for it."
Among the eighteen hotels that were signed in just over six months are ten ECHO Suites Extended Stay by Wyndham-branded hotels, owned by twin brothers Dubi and Chuchu Ajukwu, Co-Managing Partners of VANA Partners and graduates of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School. After supporting their parents' independent hotel in Nigeria, they found the BOLD by Wyndham program.
"Chuchu and I are well-versed in the worlds of residential and commercial real estate and for years, our vision was to build a company leveraging our institutional experience in those sectors," said Dubi Ajukwu. "That vision still holds true but has since evolved to have extended stay and hospitality at its center. Participating in BOLD by Wyndham has not only enabled us to break into competitive markets with immense growth potential but also allowed us to leverage the scale and resources of the world's largest hotel franchising company."
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