How Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is incorporating pandemic travel trends into its marketing

Ad Age’s annual 40 Under 40 feature is coming up. Ahead of its publication on Oct. 5, we are checking in with former honorees. Don’t forget to nominate your own rising stars for this year’s list ahead of the Aug. 5 deadline. You can do so here.
As chief marketing officer of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Lisa Checchio is tasked with promoting the company’s 20 different brands, which range from budget chains like Days Inn to the high-end Wyndham Grand, at a time when many are uneasy about travel. However, Checchio is using trends around how and where consumers are traveling, to inform her marketing decisions.

Lisa Checchio, CMO, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.
“There’s this push-pull of people who want to go back out and want to travel and want to take a summer trip but they have inhibitions of making sure it’s safe,” says Checchio in this week’s episode of the “Marketer’s Brief” podcast. The hotelier is releasing a new marketing campaign that focuses on welcoming back guests.
Checchio, who was honored in Ad Age’s 40 Under 40 feature last year, says that she’s noticed that the window for booking hotel stays has decreased—travelers are staying close to home and also deciding on-the-fly when they want to take a trip.
“We’re seeing a different type of traveler now,” she says. “We’re now seeing travel close to home as a means to reconnect with family and friends that people have not been able to see over the last several months.” She notes that Wyndham uses its localized marketing channels to target such travelers—by investing in different regional and localized media as a reaction when the intent to book a hotel arises.
Checchio also discusses how brand loyalty plays a role in the booking process and what lessons she has learned from the pandemic.