Wyndham creates new accelerator for diverse developers

PARSIPPANY, New Jersey — Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is seeking to improve how it serves franchisees in its existing Black Owner and Lodging Developers (BOLD) and Women Own the Room with a new program called Accelerator Circle, which the company said will improve access to peer-to-peer connections and mentorship.

Galen Barrett, vice president of strategic franchise initiatives for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, said the new initiative came from talking to current entrepreneurs in the program and asking them about their biggest challenges and how the company can best support them.

Galen Barrett

“It was based on an obvious opportunity that we saw in the industry, where, if you look at the demographics, you look at the communities, there was space for us to expand into,” he said.

Barrett said the focus groups found that similar themes began to develop for members of both programs. “One of the themes that was consistent across both platforms, both black entrepreneurs and women entrepreneurs, was the need for a networked community and the support of that community with expertise,” he said.

The Accelerator Circle program will be done virtually every quarter to create long-lasting connections that form during the discussions.

“[They] have an opportunity and a platform to talk to each other and maybe even discover best practices between themselves, but also additionally unlock expert mentorship,” Barrett said. “Ultimately, the goal is to fast-track the individuals looking to open their projects and, once those projects are open, make sure that they are performing as efficiently as possible.”

First speaker for the program

The first session of the Accelerator Circle this fall will feature WaterWalk CEO Mimi Oliver, who will lead a discussion focused on optimizing relationships with franchisors. WaterWalk is a Wichita, Kansas-based company that became Wyndham’s 25th brand earlier this year when the two companies established a strategic partnership.

Mimi Oliver

Oliver said her talk will come from her own experiences in the business. “When I started in the hospitality industry, I frankly had no real idea all the services and resources and everything a franchisor or a brand can really provide to a franchisee,” she said. “Over my years in the business, I’ve learned… there’s so much that a brand can do to support a franchisee and an owner. I’m hoping to touch on some of those.”

Oliver said the relationship between an owner and franchisor should be looked at as a constant partnership.

Mentors have been a driving force in Oliver’s career, but she said she wished she had found them earlier. “I didn’t know a lot, frankly… So, I just truly learned with every deal that came about,” she said. “I wish I had a peer network and more of an advisory network with other females in this industry who have been through that before.”

That’s what Oliver said she has now, even if it’s just to talk through big and small problems. “I have several mentors and advisors that I can pick up the phone now and call again with any question I have about the business and what’s going on or people issues or hotel issues,” she said. “It’s not just about issues, but about thinking big. I have this great idea, but can you help bring me back to Earth? Is this going to work or not?”

Where the programs stand

BOLD and Women Own the Room have resulted in more than 90 hotel deals with Black and women hoteliers and more than 20 hotels are now open. Barrett said the Accelerator Circle program will evolve with member feedback.

It’s those nuanced details that we’re hoping is where we can start to share best practices and make sure that people can peek around corners that they don’t even know. It’s overcoming their issues and giving a platform to share that forward-looking view.

Galen Barrett

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“What we think will be useful about the approach is that you have so many more perspectives to add to that platform, and in that concept that we have, those quarterly meetups and group sessions will facilitate that,” he said.

When asked about what BOLD and Women Own the Room members say is holding them back right now, he brought up an example of a new owner who was having FF&E supplies delivered to the hotel but didn’t realize they needed to own a forklift to unload them.

“It’s those nuanced details that we’re hoping is where we can start to share best practices and make sure that people can peek around corners that they don’t even know,” he said. “It’s overcoming their issues and giving a platform to share that forward-looking view.”

Barrett said he is encouraged by both programs’ momentum and inertia right now and thinks this new program will help continue that.

“Each of these successes is not just a success in the project, but it becomes a way for other people to envision what success can look like for them,” he said. “What we’re hoping to do with the Accelerator Circle and how that plays into that long-term view is that these communities already exist… and the job that we have as an industry, but specifically with this initiative, is to engage that community with a little bit of connective tissue… So, over time, what this community becomes is self-sustaining and self-supporting, and our industry will be better off for it.”