The Corinthia San Gorg and Marina Resort in St Julians, Malta,  has welcomed 200 Wyndham Hotel Group executives, hotel managers and franchisee partners, to the American hotel group’s “International Franchisees’ and General Managers’ Conference 2006”. Attending the conference was a high-powered delegation from Wyndham Hotel Group’s headquarters in Parsippany, New Jersey, USA, led by company president and chief executive officer Steven A. Rudnitsky and vice-president and managing director Reas M. Kondraschow.

The choice of Malta and the Corinthia Hotels for this Wyndham conference was the result of a new joint venture agreement between Wyndham Hotels Group International of the United States and International Hotel Investments plc, the hotel investment company with interests across Europe. These two companies jointly acquired full ownership of CHI Limited, a hotel management company operating hotel properties on behalf of investors and third-party owners in several countries.

By virtue of the joint venture agreement, CHI is henceforth licensed to operate hotels in Europe, Africa & the Middle East under the Wyndham, Ramada Plaza and Corinthia Brands. The objective of the formation of the joint venture in CHI is to rapidly grow CHI into one of the region’s leading multi-brand hotel operator.

CHI’s seven top hotels will retain the Corinthia brand, redefined to represent a luxury, five-star brand in association with Wyndham’s new ‘Grand Collection’ tier.  The remaining hotels in CHI’s portfolio will be re-flagged under the Wyndham or Ramada Plaza brands.  All hotels will continue to be operated by CHI Ltd.

Welcoming the delegates to the hotel, Corinthia Group chairman and chief executive officer Alfred Pisani said “We are particularly excited about this new joint venture. Our synergies will undoubtedly provide an ideal platform for our ambitious upmarket expansion into the EMEA region and will be the catalyst for CHI’s aspirations of becoming a leading upscale international hotel operator.”

The conference is also being attended by CHI Ltd’s top executives, led by the company’s chairman, the Hon Karmenu Vella and newly appointed chief executive officer Tony Potter.

Karmenu Vella commented “We firmly believe that the vast experience in the hospitality industry and the solid reputation for quality and standards that the Corinthia Group has built over the years have been major factors for Wyndham in choosing CHI as their management partners. CHI has ventured successfully and has demonstrated its ability to operate hotels successfully in many diverse and challenging business environments. Now, with the strength of Wyndham’s global distribution network and international brand recognition behind it, CHI stands to profit from the many international growth opportunities that will undoubtedly present themselves, thus stepping-up its success to a new global level.” 

Wyndham Hotel Group, one of three principal components of Wyndham Worldwide, is the largest hotel company in the world with more than 6,400 franchised and managed hotels and 535,000 hotel rooms operated under one or the other of its eight renowned brands across the world. Wyndham Worldwide, headquartered in Parsippany, N.J., USA, employs approximately 28,800 employees globally.
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