Wyndham Hotel Group has marked a new milestone, becoming the first global hospitality company to reach the 1,000 hotel mark in Greater China.

A key region of focus for more than a decade, this landmark achievement comes after years of accelerated growth and the strategic roll-out of six of the company’s 15 brands throughout more than 260 cities and 30 provinces.

“As the largest hotel company in the world and the leading international player in Greater China, today serves as an incredible testament to the strength of the Wyndham Hotel Group portfolio and highlights the increasing significance that China continues to play, not just for our organisation but the industry as a whole,” said Geoff Ballotti, Wyndham Hotel Group president.

“China continues to be on the rise and with a booming middle class that is traveling more and more, we believe there’s no better company as uniquely positioned as we are today to meet their evolving needs.”

Complementing years of strong, steadfast interest in its economy and midscale brands, Wyndham Hotel Group is now seeing increasing demand for the upper end of its portfolio.

This week alone, the company announced the opening of two new hotels under its Wyndham Hotels & Resorts brand flag.

They include the 227-room Wyndham Urumqi North, which is situated along China’s strategic Belt and Road initiative and the first internationally branded hotel in Wajaiqu City; as well as the 389-room Wyndham Qingdao, which is located in Qingdao’s Chengyang economic zone and is the second Wyndham hotel to open in the city.

Later this year, the company expects to introduce its TRYP by Wyndham, Wyndham Garden and Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham brands to the region.

To cap the historic accomplishment of reaching 1,000 hotels in Greater China, Wyndham brought together more than 1,500 partners, guests, and associates yesterday for an ambitious run and climb at Mount Tai in East China’s Shandong Province - an effort symbolic of the company’s soaring development and desire to continue reaching for new heights in the growing region.

Leading the way were members of Wyndham Hotel Group’s senior leadership team, who celebrated with Chinese actor and singer, Han Geng.

The most famous of the five sacred mountains in China, Mount Tai is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage List and is known for its exceptional historical, cultural, aesthetic and scientific value.

The evening hike, which took more than 4,000 steps, ensured Wyndham and its team reached the summit of Mount Tai in the early hours, just in time to welcome the first gleam of dawn.

“Because this is such an incredible milestone for our organisation, we wanted to mark it with an event that truly epitomised our continued determination and on-going commitment to this remarkable region,” said Leo Liu, president and managing director for Wyndham Hotel Group in Greater China.

“As we stood on the top of the summit at sunrise, all of us had a moment to reflect upon not only that which we’ve achieved, but more importantly the incredible opportunities that still lay before us.”

Wyndham Hotel Group first entered the Greater China region in 1998 with the introduction of its Howard Johnson hotel brand, and it supercharged its focus in 2004 with the introduction of Days Inn and Super 8.

In just over 10 years, the company has gone from a handful of properties in the region to 1,000 hotels and counting.