Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) advised boutique hotelier Ovolo Group (“Ovolo”) on a strategic partnership with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (“Wyndham”) that will see five Ovolo hotels join the Wyndham portfolio, and Wyndham rolling the brand out in Asia Pacific.
Under the agreement, Ovolo retains brand and operational control of the hotels whilst exclusively partnering with Wyndham for distribution and to pursue franchised growth opportunities throughout the Asia Pacific region. The five hotels – one in Hong Kong and four across Australia – will be integrated into Wyndham’s global sales, marketing and distribution platforms, including its 120 million-member Wyndham Rewards loyalty programme.
Hong Kong-based Ovolo is an independent hospitality company known for its innovation and disruption, owning and operating a collection of award-winning and individually designed lifestyle hotels and serviced apartments. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is the world’s largest hotel franchising group by number of hotels, with over 9,200+ hotels in over 95 countries on 6 continents.
The cross-border WFW team that advised Ovolo was led by Sydney Hotels & Hospitality Partner Robert Williams, supported by Sydney Corporate and M&A Consultant Chris Greiner and Singapore Corporate Associate Meryl Tan.
Robert commented: “We are delighted to have supported Ovolo on this innovative and transformative transaction, which reflects the growing appetite for experiential travel and the increasing relevance of lifestyle brands in the global hospitality landscape. This transaction highlights the focus even the biggest global players have on genuine lifestyle brands and platforms, and WFW’s continued commitment to supporting hospitality entrepreneurs and ventures break the mould across the Asia Pacific region and beyond”.