President of Asia Pacific, Wyndham Hotels Resrts
Search every verified Joon Ooi interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Joon Ooi, President of Asia Pacific at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, has emphasized the company's "owner first" business philosophy as central to its growth strategy in the region. In a June 2025 interview, he stated that the company blends its own brand preferences with the realities of different markets and what owners want to decide how and when to grow. He noted that the Wyndham and Ramada tier brands remain strong favorites, accounting for about 50% of annual growth, while the company also introduces new brands. Ooi cited Microtel by Wyndham as an example of a brand adapted to local market nuances while maintaining its core DNA. He described the middle class as a key growth segment and said the company is aligning with consumer trends by focusing on the midscale level. Ooi has also highlighted strong growth metrics for the region. In 2024, he said Wyndham opened 220 hotels and signed 286 in Asia Pacific, and noted that the company now has over 1,800 hotels in the region covering segments from budget to luxury. He pointed to China's domestic travel prospects, citing increased air capacity and infrastructure upgrades, and said China experienced a more than 150% increase in inbound travelers in 2023. In earlier remarks from 2020, Ooi described Vietnam as a market with "phenomenal growth" potential, with more than 10,000 rooms in its executed pipeline. He also discussed undergoing a 14-day quarantine in Shanghai in June 2020, stating that he felt China was "one of the safest places on earth" due to government-imposed processes for international arrivals.
“The growth has been very strong. Overall the market has been very strong and Wyndham has been growing very strong as well. Last year in Asia Pacific, we opened 220 hotels and signed 286, continuing on a strong trajectory of growth aided by the diversity of brands we offer to different markets.”
“We have a business philosophy of owner first. We put ourselves into the shoes of the owners, and it's not just a cliche. We actually do that, and the team listens, reacts, and responds to their needs, which is what gets us ahead and moving forward together with owners.”
“Our strategy of growth is not from a unilateral perspective. We consider which brands to introduce into different parts of any country or market in Asia Pacific, but we also layer on the realities of different markets and what owners want, blending these factors to decide how and when to grow and which brands to introd...”
“The Wyndham tier brands and Ramada tier brands continue to be strong favorites. About 50% of our growth each year belongs to these two categories, while the other third is from new brands we are introducing. These two brands still command about 50% share and remain very popular.”
“Vietnam is a strong foothold for us with a strong pipeline as it has really grown in the last 15 years. We are also strong in Korea, which is a top inbound market, allowing us to bring customers from Korea into Vietnam and introduce different brands to various parts of Vietnam, including coastal areas.”
“The middle class is a big segment and where a lot of growth is going to be. Many hotel brands are shifting to the midscale level, which is where we have been strong and will continue to grow, aligning with consumer trends.”
“Microtel by Wyndham is a good example of a brand present in markets like the Philippines, China, and New Zealand. Depending on market nuances and competitor profiles, we adapt the brand to different markets while maintaining the DNA of the brand, adjusting hardware design, service, and operational standards accordingly...”
“The China hospitality market can be deemed as very dynamic and we have been doing very well in this market; we have a good strategy in place that we have been deploying and a great infrastructure that will help us capture the growth as we go forward.”
“The China market is continuing to have good prospects for the next few decades — the increase in air capacity, the drop in air fare prices and the continuing upgrading of infrastructure around the region fuel domestic travel.”
“Last year China experienced a more than 150% increase in the number of inbound travelers compared with the year before.”
“Our success can be attributed mainly to the deployment of what we call the 'owner first' business philosophy, which is essentially putting owners' interests and concerns at the forefront of everything we do.”
“We have a strong network of business partners around the region and continue to leverage the strength of our brands — we have 25 brands globally of which 19 are already introduced in this part of the world and we continue to refresh existing brands or introduce new brands into the markets.”
“We like to say we have a brand for every occasion — whether you're traveling with family, friends, for a wedding or a business conference — we cover the spectrum from budget all the way up to upscale, upper upscale and even luxury.”
“We have actually over 1,800 hotels in Asia Pacific and we continue to be relevant by going in flow with where the consumers and owners are going.”
“I feel there's a strong need for me to be physically on the ground in Shanghai together with the team to meet a team, to work together with a team and also of course take the opportunity later on to meet the owners who are working together on the various projects.”
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