KUTA, INDONESIA (MAY, 2022): Three Wyndham resorts in Indonesia and Thailand have cemented their status as green champions by implementing a range of best practice sustainability initiatives.

Wyndham Grand Phuket Kalim Bay, Wyndham Casablanca Jakarta and Wyndham Garden Kuta Beach Bali have all recently been given certifications under the Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Wyndham Green program for implementing leading sustainability initiatives.

All three hotels and resorts are managed by local subsidiaries of Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific, a preferred management partner of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in the Asia Pacific region.

“People stay in our hotels to discover beautiful places and it is important that we play our part to act sustainably to ensure those destinations are preserved for future generations,” said Michael Burchett, Head of Hotel and Resort Operations Asia Pacific, Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific.

“These three properties have implemented better procedures, improved tracking of resource usage and committed to sourcing sustainable products. It has been encouraging to see how our staff have supported the changes,” he added.

Wyndham Casablanca Jakarta’s engineering secretary was recently named a global winner in Travel + Leisure Co.’s internal recognition program for quarter one, for her work ensuring the hotel’s transition to digital documentation was successful. The hotel’s gardener was also acknowledged for his management of the hotel’s organic compost fertiliser system, which recycles about 200 kilograms of kitchen waste per month as fertiliser for gardens, saving about IDR29 million in per year.

With level 3 Wyndham Green certification, Wyndham Casablanca Jakarta has introduced water efficient flush systems in common areas, air sealing, controls on lights in low traffic areas, water refill stations and has purchased green cleaning products.

As part of level 2 certification, Wyndham Grand Phuket Kalim Bay has installed water efficient shower heads, controls for all heating and cooling, conducted preventative maintenance and recycled hazardous materials. The resort’s team – which has received the Thai Green hotel silver certification previously – cleans local beaches, recycle, plants herb gardens and will soon roll out bulk amenities bottles for all resort apartments.

Wyndham Garden Kuta Beach Bali has started its sustainability journey by hitting level 1 certification, which involves energy efficient lighting, recycling, tracking of utilities and employee education.

Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific manages 10 properties across Indonesia and one in Thailand, including in Bali, Lombok, Jakarta, Solo, Palembang, Surabaya and Phuket.

Rapid Recruitment Day will be held at Gold Coast Resorts This Wednesday, May 25 to fill Hotel, Sales Hospitality and Corporate Positions

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA (May 24, 2022) – More than 100 roles are on offer at Club Wyndham, Ramada and Wyndham resorts across the country, along with corporate and sales roles available with hospitality giant, Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific.

On the Gold Coast alone, there are close to 30 roles available at Wyndham Hotel Surfers Paradise, Club Wyndham Kirra Beach and Wyndham Destinations head office in Bundall.

Wyndham Destinations’ Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Customer Experience, PR & Communications, Bruce Harkness said: “We have some incredible people working in our hotels and resorts across Australia and Asia Pacific, many of whom have worked all over the region providing first class service to our vacation club members and guests.

“During our Rapid Recruitment Day, we hope to attract new talent and start some more people on their own incredible career journey with Wyndham Destinations. We encourage all potential new team members to come to one of our many recruitment events across the country to find out more about the roles available and hopefully join our team.”

Both casual positions and permanent roles are available in cities including the Gold Coast, Sydney and Melbourne, with many more in regional resort destinations across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia. Jobs include bartenders, chefs, resort staff, customer service staff, maintenance crew, room attendants, sales and marketing roles, and more.

The company is offering a host of benefits to successful candidates including:
• A generous starting bonus for eligible roles
• Paid parental leave for full-time employees
• Subsidised private health cover for full-time employees
• A free 2-night stay
• Ongoing discounted resort stays
• Professional development funding

Gold Coast jobseekers should attend the Rapid Recruitment Sessions this Wednesday, May 25 between 11am and 2pm (local time) at Wyndham Surfers Paradise or Club Wyndham Kirra Beach.

All Rapid Recruitment Day candidates will receive 20% off a resort stay simply for attending on the day.

Candidates should be aware that some jurisdictions in Australia require all hospitality workers to be fully vaccinated or may do so in the future.

Interested applicants should visit https://careers.wyndhamdestinations.com

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA (MAY 6, 2022): Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific’s Legal Team has been recognised as the best legal team in the global timeshare industry at the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) Awards.

The team – domiciled in the company’s offices in Singapore; Shanghai, China; and the Gold Coast, Australia – won the Legal and Regulatory Manager, Team Member or Team category at the ceremony, held yesterday at the Diplomat Hotel in Florida, USA.

“We are a multi-faceted, international company operating vacation clubs, managed hotels, corporate offices and service centres, and providing consumer lending within multiple Asia Pacific markets, all with their own regulatory complexities,” said Liz Collinson, Senior Vice President of Legal and Compliance. 

“In the last two years, the team has had the additional task of ensuring our operations have been compliant with the constantly changing COVID-19 restrictions. Our team members also regularly support our industry by providing expertise to industry bodies, attending government working groups and meeting with regulators, all while taking leadership roles within our business supporting our charitable arm, diversity resource group and our regional Women in Travel chapter.

“I am immensely proud that our team has been recognised for their technical expertise, can-do attitude and their solutions-oriented approach to providing the best outcomes for internal stakeholders and business customers,” Ms Collinson added.

The Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific legal team is seen as a valued resource within the business and

has previously been recognised at an international level through the Perspective Magazine Awards, winning the Best Legal Services category for four consecutive years.

Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific was also recognised with five other finalists at this week’s ARDA awards:

• Club Wyndham Flynns Beach’s stage two development
• Travel + Leisure Co.’s Philippines Global Support & Operations Team
• Emma Todd, Resort Manager at Club Wyndham Seven Mile Beach in Tasmania
• Club Wyndham digital magazine
• Exclusive virtual events for top tier vacation club members

Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific is part of Wyndham Destinations, the vacation ownership arm of Travel + Leisure Co. (NYSE: TNL) – the world’s leading membership and leisure travel company. Travel + Leisure Co. won 13 ARDA awards in total. The ARDA Awards are the most prestigious accolades in the timeshare industry and recognise outstanding work through categories that include overall professional excellence, sales and marketing, product design, advertising, promotion and communications and resort design.

Gourmet temptations and perfectly grilled Australian and US steaks are returning at Riva Grill Bar & Terrace, at Wyndham Casablanca Jakarta

Jakarta, Indonesia (DECEMBER 16, 2021) The award-winning Riva Grill Bar & Terrace, a premier dining establishment situated at Wyndham Casablanca Jakarta, is reopening with a brand new menu as the local tourism and hospitality sectors begin to recover from COVID-19.

For years, the restaurant has been renowned for its Australian and US beef steaks, quality seafood and a mouth-watering selection of entrees. Continuing this focus on modern Western food – particularly steak – Riva has launched an expanded menu full of classic lunch and dinner options. Desserts are still made onsite with the utmost attention to detail by the restaurant’s pastry chef.

“Our mainstay, the “Tomahawk” steak, is a prominent part of this new menu. The “Tomahawk” is a top-of-the-line cut of rib beef with sharp flavour thanks to its marbled texture and intramuscular fat, while its 30 to 60-ounce size means it is big enough to share,” said Deden Gumilar, Culinary Director at Riva.

“One of the new highlights on our menu is a range of classic gourmet sandwiches. RIVA now serves the Classic Croque Monsieur, a baked layered sandwich with cooked ham, gruyere and parmesan cheese; the double decker Reuben Sandwich with corned beef, swiss cheese, gruyere and sauerkraut on brown bread; and Norwegian Salmon Panini, grilled bread stuffed with smoked salmon, onion and tomato jam, horseradish mayonnaise and cream cheese. We anticipate these will be popular and they represent excellent value for money.”

RIVA’s new menu will constantly evolve with Monthly Chef’s Signature dishes. In November/December, they include Duck Magret, the rich breast of a moulard duck in a mushroom barley risotto with grilled asparagus, berries and duck jus, and the Medallion of Norwegian Salmon, served with mashed peas, shimeji mushrooms, potato cake and hollandaise sauce.

The signature dessert at RIVA is the classic lava chocolate cake “Valrhona” served with fresh espresso gelato or the traditional Cointreau souffle and baked using a flaming rum technique. Other tantalising dessert dishes include the apple cobbler with rum raisin gelato, cherry clafoutis and pastries for two.

RIVA has also designed a new drinks list, featuring wines from renowned growing regions including France, USA, New Zealand, Australia and Chile, along with local vineyards in Indonesia. RIVA offers a range of classic cocktails along with a signature range designed by its team, including the Raulitaquila, which blends tequila, vodka, mint jelly, triple sec and orange sorbet. Signature Mocktails include Melon Grass, Casablanca Splash, Sweet Home Banana and Classic Mojito Iced Tea.

“Our new menu focuses on popular tastes, classic dishes and prime cuts of meat sourced from high quality producing areas like Australia and the United States, cooked to perfection. While the menu is ambitious, we have also worked hard to keep our food as affordable as possible,” said Chef Deden.

In addition to enjoying the new menu, guests can relax and enjoy live music every weekend. The updated website at riva.co.id provides event information, special promotions and information about RIVA.

For reservations and further information please call +62 21 8228 2000, WhatsApp +62 811 1612 115 or email riva@wyndhamcasablancajakarta.com

RIVA Operating Hours:
Monday – Sunday: 11.00 WIB – 21:00 WIB

GOLD COAST, QUEENSLAND (7 December 2020): Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific and its top performers have been recognised at this year’s HM Awards for Hotel and Accommodation Excellence, including one team member took out a major gong for the second year in a row.

The weekend’s awards were the leading hospitality industry awards in the region for the year and were designed to recognised the best of the best in hotels, resorts, brands and people over the Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific region.

For the second year in a row, Simon Tufrey, Director of Human Resources at Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific, received the HR Associate of the Year award.

Simon is responsible for the Human Resources operations of the business in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific region, which includes 28 resorts, a corporate office, sales sites and 1,100 employees.

Over the course of the year, Simon spearheaded a massive recruitment drive in response to a booming demand in travel, which recruited more than 100 new employees for skilled and entry-level posiitons. He was also the architect behind a permanent hybrid work-home model designed to help employees maximise productivity while maintaining connection, which was rolled out for approximately 200 staff in the Gold Coast Corporate office.

“We are immensely proud of our people at Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific and it is always satisifying to see them acknowledged in front of their peers. Our teams have shown continued commitment and dedication over a difficult two years and we are thankful for their efforts,” said Senior Vice President of HR, Brand Communications and Customer Experience, Bruce Harkness.

Highly commended nods went to:

• Wyndham Surfers Paradise for Serviced Apartment Property
• Club Wyndham Denarau Island for Fijian Property
• WYNDGreen for Environmental Program
• Chris Logan for Communications Associate
• Curtis Harris for Finance Associate
• Kaydee George for South Pacific General Manager (Club Wyndham Denarau Island)
• Wishes by Wyndham for Service to the Community

PORT MACQUARIE (December 2, 2021) – The Port Macquarie region is preparing for a summer tourism boom as visitors from Greater Sydney and regional New South Wales will soon arrive in droves for the festive season.

The 113-room Club Wyndham Flynns Beach is booked out until February.

“This is wonderful news for the region’s economy, which is now in recovery mode following this year’s state-wide lockdowns,” said Barry Robinson, President and Managing Director International Operations, Wyndham Destinations. 

The resort recently doubled in size after a $25 million development that added 53 one to four-bedroom villas, with 20 designated as Deluxe, 25 as Grand and eight as Presidential. The four-bedroom Presidential villas in particular are designed as an unparalleled product within the region, featuring four spacious bedrooms, four bathrooms, full kitchen, laundry, a private ground floor deck with outdoor spa and a large upper balcony.

“These large apartments are a drawcard for families and groups,” said Mr Robinson “Most have been booked by Club Wyndham South Pacific members, so their holidays have been largely pre-paid and they typically spend more locally when holidaying,” said Mr Robinson.

With an average $3,538 spend in the region, per party per trip, and 1,230 bookings over December and January, Club Wyndham holidaymakers will provide a boost of over $4.3 million into the Port Macquarie region this summer alone.

The resort’s redevelopment project also saw the addition of Henry’s Restaurant & Bar, a games area, kids’ pool, common area pavilions and car parking, as well as a refreshed gym and remodelled reception.

Club Wyndham Flynns Beach employs 70 staff. There are 30 positions currently available, for food and beverage attendants, housekeeping, maintenance, front office and sales staff.

“It is wonderful to see our resorts operating at full capacity once more. Our hygiene standards are stringent to ensure peace of mind for travellers. The challenge right now is filling all the roles we have vacant to ensure we have enough staff to support this tourism boom,” said Mr Robinson.

Club Wyndham Flynns Beach is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, just a one-hour flight or four-hour drive from Sydney. It offers a host of facilities and complimentary hire of a range of outdoor equipment and games including electric bikes, pushbikes, body boards, surfboards, beach equipment and fishing rods.

Club Wyndham South Pacific is part of Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific, part of the world’s largest timeshare company, Wyndham Destinations – a business unit of Travel + Leisure Co. (NYSE:TNL).

PHUKET, THAILAND (NOVEMBER 17, 2021) – Loy Krathong celebrations will be in full force at the award-winning Wyndham Grand Kalim Bay this week and the resort is inviting its guests and the public to be part of this special occasion.

The resort will be giving guests the opportunity to make their own Krathong with guidance from the resort team, using traditional banana stalks, banana leaves and flowers with a candle and incense sticks. The onsite Latitude 98 restaurant will also offer a special set menu only available on Friday night which includes a number of classic full-flavour Thai dishes.

“Due to the restrictions on travel and movement to combat COVID-19, this week’s Loy Krathong festival is the first special occasion in some time we have been able to celebrate alongside international travellers,” said Dominic Egger, General Manager of Wyndham Grand Kalim Bay.

“In the morning, our resort team will help guests make their own Krathong to participate in this tradition and, in the evening, we will all launch them in the Inifiniti Lobby Bar’s pond and celebrate with Latitude 98’s specially crafted menu. As there are COVID-19 restrictions on crowd numbers at the larger festivities over the island this year, we are confident that our more intimate setting will be an exciting and authentic alternative,” he said.

Latitude 98’s set menu for the night will include Thai classics tod mun goong (deep fried fish cake), gai hor bai toey (Pandan chicken), tom yum goong (sour and spicy lemongrass shrimp soup) and khao neeo manuang (mango sticky rice). Meanwhile, the Infiniti Lobby Bar will offer a huge Sunset Happy Hour between 6pm and 10pm, where patrons can buy one drink and get another free. Members of the public or tourists from outside the resort are able to participate in the event, book in at Latitude 98 or visit the Infiniti Lobby Bar to take advantage of the special prices.

With Phuket now accepting international travellers and Thailand opening its borders to more countries, the resort has also observed a noticeable uptick in occupancy.

“Travel is a robust industry and we are looking forward to building on the numbers we have for this weekend – one of our highest occupancies since COVID-19 began. Our team is excited and well-prepared to welcome the increased visitors this weekend and we take this higher occupancy as a sign that travel is beginning to get back to normal,” said Mr Egger.

The 214-key Wyndham Grand Kalim Bay is perched on the side of a spectacular cliff with sweeping views of the Andaman Sea and features two outdoor pools, a full-service spa offering traditional Thai therapies, fitness centre, kids’ club, restaurant Latitude 98, bar Infinity Lobby Bar and café Thabtim Café, and a large ballroom with sweeping views of the bay.

The resort offers 152 private pool suites and villas, each with their own personal six or nine-metre pool overlooking the resort gardens or the Andaman Sea. Guests can book in for private cooking, cocktail making or fruit carving classes with the resort’s highly skilled culinary team.

For more information, please call +66-765-62000 or visit wyndhamgrandphuket.com

NADI, FIJI (NOVEMBER, 2021) – Club Wyndham Denarau Island has achieved 100 per cent vaccination status and is considered a fully vaccinated business under Tourism Fiji’s CareFiji Commitment, after its staff completed their COVID-19 vaccination.

The “100% vaccination stamp” is an add-on feature to Tourism Fiji’s CareFiji Commitment program which demonstrates an intent to prioritise health and safety. Fiji has required hospitality businesses to be fully vaccinated in order to follow global best practice for travel.

“We are proud of our staff for completing their vaccinations. We believe this demonstrates to our guests that we value their health and safety, and we hope the accreditation system will help encourage domestic travel in earnest and international travel to resume sooner,” said the resort’s General Manager, Kaydee George.

Club Wyndham Denarau Island has also undergone an extensive renovation program since COVID-19 hit. Works include repairs to the beachfront rock wall and beach, re-thatching bures, a new pizza bar, updated playground equipment, a cinema at the kids’ club, rustproofing, re-painting the exterior of buildings, renovation of the restaurant kitchen and swim-up pool bar, refurbishment of the gym and more.

Despite spending much of the past 18 months closed, the resort was once again named in the Top 25 South Pacific resorts in TripAdvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Awards earlier this year.

Port Macquarie resort almost doubles in size with villa accommodation added

PORT MACQUARIE, NEW SOUTH WALES (OCTOBER, 2021) – Club Wyndham Flynns Beach is poised to bring more travellers to the Port Macquarie region, after concluding an expansion that nearly doubles the size of the resort.

The development added 53 one to four-bedroom villas, with 20 designated as Deluxe, 25 as Grand and eight as Presidential. The four-bedroom Presidential villas in particular are designed as an unparalleled product within the region, featuring four spacious bedrooms, four bathrooms, full kitchen, laundry facilities, a private ground floor deck with outdoor spa and a large upper balcony, and superior fittings and finishes.

Over almost two years, the $25 million development provided employment to 220 tradespeople and professionals and expanded the resort’s accommodation to 113 apartments and villas. The project also saw the creation of a new café, games area, kids’ pool, common area pavilions and car parking, as well as a refreshed gym and remodeled reception.

“Prior to this development and the COVID-19 pandemic, the resort enjoyed occupancy levels of more than 90 per cent on average and contributed an estimated $20 million per year to the local economy directly or indirectly through guest spending – a number which we now expect to increase,” said Barry Robinson, President and Managing Director, International Operations of Wyndham Destinations.

“By adding this premium accommodation, creating new resort facilities and enhancing existing ones, we believe it will attract greater demand for our resort and, in doing so, promote the beauty of Port Macquarie, which will provide a boost to the region’s post-COVID-19 recovery.”

The project began in May 2019 but the developer, Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific, decided to forge ahead with the works during the COVID-19 pandemic with the expectation that the area will experience a full recovery.

The villas are being progressively added to the portfolio of Club Wyndham South Pacific, a leading timeshare club in the Asia Pacific region with close to 60,000 owners. The club is a modern and flexible timeshare program with a network of quality resort accommodation across Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Indonesia, Thailand and Hawaii in the US. The resort also changed its name to Club Wyndham Flynns Beach, to reflect the fact most of the accommodation is owned by the timeshare club.

Henry’s Restaurant and Bar recently launched at the resort offering Australian favourites for breakfast, lunch and dinner, a diverse beverage menu that can be enjoyed poolside, and a click-and-collect service for guests. The resort has also enhanced its offerings further by including complimentary hire of bikes, fishing equipment, body boards and a beach cricket set for Club members.

“This development of over $25 million demonstrates the confidence Wyndham Destinations has in the Port Macquarie Hastings as a leading tourism destination in New South Wales,” said Mayor Peta Pinson.

“The project has provided an economic stimulus that was greatly welcomed by our community, more local jobs and a new attraction for our visitors. This is a great addition to our region, in conjunction with a number of multi-million dollar projects our region is seeing at this time.”

Club Wyndham Flynns Beach is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, just a one-hour flight or four-hour drive from Sydney. It offers an array of amenities, family-friendly initiatives and complimentary hire of a range of outdoor equipment and games.

Club Wyndham South Pacific is managed by Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific, part of the world’s largest timeshare company, Wyndham Destinations – a business unit of Travel + Leisure Co. (NYSE:TNL).

SINGAPORE (JANUARY 22, 2020) – President and Managing Director of International Operations for Wyndham Vacation Clubs, Barry Robinson, has been selected to lead the Asia Pacific Resort Development Organisation (APRDO), the industry body for timeshare in the Asia Pacific region. Mr Robinson now serves as President of the APRDO Executive Committee.

APRDO formed in 2019 to represent and advocate for its member businesses and enhance the success of the timeshare or vacation ownership industry, while also building consumer awareness and confidence in timeshare as an alternative to traditional holiday products. Its members include Hilton Grand Vacations, Anantara Vacation Club, Karma Group, Classic Holidays, Interval International, Marriot Vacations Worldwide, Wyndham Destinations and RCI, among others.

“I am honoured to have been chosen to lead the APRDO body and continue on its work in this diverse part of the world, where we are truly beginning to see consumers recognise the fantastic benefits and lifestyle that timeshare can provide its owners,” Mr Robinson said.

“The multitude of languages and cultures and the differences in legal systems between the many markets can make working in this region both an exciting and challenging experience, so it is important that our member businesses have the ability to work together to protect both industry and consumer interests.

“I would like to pay tribute to the work that our previous APRDO President, Bill Minnock, former Managing Director Asia Pacific at Marriot Vacations Worldwide, did with APRDO before his recent retirement and I am committed to further raising the profile of APDRO and the timeshare industry in Asia,” Mr Robinson added.

Other leadership appointments, effective from January 1, this year, include:

• Vice President – Jeff Bernier; Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing Asia, Hilton Grand Vacations
• Treasurer – Joe Hickman; Vice President/Executive Director, Interval International Asia Pacific
• Director – Martin Tolan; Regional Vice President of Marketing & Sales Asia Pacific, Marriott Vacation Club
• Secretary – Paul Mulcahy; Managing Director, RCI Asia Pacific, India & EMEA

To find out more about APDRO, please visit www.aprdo.org.