Wyndham Hotel Group strengthens leadership team in Middle East and Africa with new appointment

Wyndham Hotel Group, the world’s largest hotel company with nearly 8,000 hotels across a portfolio of 16 iconic brands, today announced a new appointment in the Europe, Middle East, Eurasia and Africa (EMEA) leadership team, with Ignace Bauwens beginning the role of Regional Vice President, Middle East and Africa. 

Bauwens joins Wyndham Hotel Group with almost 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry, including senior operations roles at Accor and InterContinental Hotels Group. Based in the Middle East since 2002, Bauwens most recently served as Managing Director for BLH bvba Hospitality Consultancy and as CEO of Abu Dhabi National Hotels (ADNH). In his new role, Bauwens will oversee one of Wyndham Hotel Group’s fastest-growing regions. He will also report into Dan Ruff and will be based at the company’s Dubai office. 

Bauwens says, “Wyndham Hotel Group has a very bold development strategy – to ensure that wherever adventure leads, travellers can find our hotel brands nearby. Nowhere in EMEA is this strategy more evident than in the Middle East and Africa. I look forward to continuing in the remarkable work the team has done establishing our brands in some of the most exciting travel destinations on the planet.” 

This year Wyndham Hotel Group has reached important development milestones in EMEA, including introducing the Super 8 brand to Europe, opening the company’s 50^th hotel in Turkey, expanding into Greece with the Wyndham Grand Athens and announcing new hotels in emergent destinations such as Oman, Iraq and Ethiopia.