Wyndham Worldwide, one of the world’s largest hospitality companies, has been ranked by DiversityInc as one of the top 10 companies (#5) for supplier diversity, and exceeded its 2011 goals in strengthening the diversity of its global supply chain and delivering on its core values. With total diverse spending at over 15% of its overall purchases, Wyndham Worldwide increased spending with diverse suppliers by 49% compared to the previous year.
“While we are proud of our 2011 results, we do not view diversity as something to be achieved, but rather as an important part of our culture as a global company operating in nearly 100 countries,” said Stephen P. Holmes, chairman and CEO of Wyndham Worldwide. “By continually increasing the diversity of our people, including the vendors we partner with, we add great value to our business, and the experience we provide our customers around the world.”
With a wide range of global hospitality brands, Wyndham Worldwide includes Wyndham Hotel Group, the world’s largest hotel company based on number of properties; Wyndham Exchange & Rentals, the world’s largest member-based vacation exchange network and marketer of serviced vacation rentals; and Wyndham Vacation Ownership, the world’s largest vacation ownership business.
During the past three years, Wyndham Worldwide has continued to formalize its supplier diversity program; by including diverse suppliers when possible in each request for proposal and bid notice; mentoring existing and potential suppliers; building partnerships one supplier at a time; increasing internal and external awareness of its supplier diversity program; and expanding its supply diversity outreach around the globe. The program focuses on nine groups: African-American; Hispanic-American; Asian-American; Native-American; gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered; women; veteran and disabled-veteran; and disabled-owned businesses.
“Increasing diversity throughout our entire company, including our supply partners, is the right thing for us as a global corporate citizen, but also the right thing for our business,” said Paul Davis, senior vice president, Strategic Sourcing at Wyndham Worldwide. “By supporting a rich diversity in our suppliers, we see great benefits in the expanded variety of experience, knowledge, and ideas that allow us to best meet our needs as we grow across six continents.”
“The diversity of our suppliers is a natural reflection of our diversity as a global company,” said Jose Nido, vice president of Global Supplier Diversity at Wyndham Worldwide. “We take pride in maintaining a culture where diverse suppliers are not only welcomed, but highly valued as part of our strategic growth.”
The supplier diversity initiative at Wyndham Worldwide has received numerous accolades, including being named Corporation of the Year by the Florida Minority Supplier Development Council and the Morris County, New Jersey Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce; and Outstanding Corporate Partner by the Florida Minority Business Opportunity Center. Additionally, Jose Nido, vice president of Global Supplier Diversity was named among the Top 100 Most Influential Hispanics by Hispanic Business magazine and as Minority Business Advocate of the Year by the Florida Minority Supplier Development Council.
In addition to requiring third-party or government certification of their diversity status, companies requesting diversity supplier status with Wyndham Worldwide must have been in business at least three years, offer competitive pricing, have proven financial viability and meet the Company’s stringent service and quality standards, among other criteria. Vendors interested in becoming a part of the Wyndham Worldwide supply chain, can begin the registration process online at suppliers.wyndhamworldwide.com.
About Wyndham Worldwide
As one of the world’s largest hospitality companies, Wyndham Worldwide offers individual consumers and business-to-business customers a broad suite of hospitality products and services across various accommodation alternatives and price ranges through its premier portfolio of world-renowned brands. Wyndham Hotel Group encompasses 7,205 hotels with approximately 613,100 rooms worldwide. Wyndham Exchange & Rentals offers leisure travelers, including its 3.7 million members, access to approximately 100,000 vacation properties located in approximately 100 countries. Wyndham Vacation Ownership develops, markets and sells vacation ownership interests and provides consumer financing to owners through its network of over 160 vacation ownership resorts serving over 813,000 owners throughout North America, the Caribbean and the South Pacific. Wyndham Worldwide, headquartered in Parsippany, N.J., employs approximately 27,800 employees globally.
For more information about Wyndham Worldwide, please visit www.wyndhamworldwide.com.
