Cendant Timeshare Becomes Wyndham

The final organizational piece of the puzzle is in place for Cendant's timeshare operation. Last month, the Cendant Timeshare Resort Group became Wyndham Vacation Ownership, reflecting the upcoming spin-off of Cendant Corp.'s hotel and timeshare operations into a separate public company, Wyndham Worldwide.

"We're

still figuring out what the name change will mean for us," says Franz Hanning, president & CEO of Wyndham Vacation Ownership. "While we've been very successful without the benefit of having a household brand name, the power of a brand like Wyndham will definitely add to what we're already doing very well."

Last year, Cendant consolidated its two timeshare development and ownership companies, Fairfield Resorts and Trendwest, under one banner with Hanning at the helm. Together, the two firms have 140 resorts with 18,000 units and more than 750,000 owners.

As a result of the Wyndham branding, some future resorts will be developed as mixed-use projects with both WVO units and a traditional Wyndham Hotel. For example, a Wyndham Hotel is in the works at the company's very successful Fairfield Orlando at Bonnet Creek Resort on Disney World grounds in Florida. Also, some Fairfield and Trendwest resorts may be rebranded with the Wyndham name, says Hanning. He adds that the firm has no plans to franchise the concept.