Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has acquired the Vienna House brand from Berlin-based hotel operator HR Group for €44 million, the company announced on Thursday (8 September).

The acquisition will expand the group¡¯s European footprint, adding approximately 40 hotels ¨C 28 in Germany alone ¨C and more than 6,000 rooms to its upscale and midscale portfolio in destinations such as Berlin, Munich, Prague, Krakow and Bucharest.

Under the terms of the agreement, HR Group, a long-standing franchise partner of Wyndham, will continue to own or lease and operate existing Vienna House hotels under long-term franchise agreements with Wyndham. Upon closing, the Vienna House brand will be known as Vienna House by Wyndham, and will leverage the group¡¯s marketing scale.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts president and CEO Geoff Ballotti said the acquisition will reinforce the group¡¯s ambitions for growth in the region, where its current portfolio includes more than 400 hotels in more than 30 countries.

¡°Europe continues to present accelerating growth for the travel sector with strong demand steadily bouncing back across leisure and business,¡± he said.

HR Group CEO Ruslan Husry said the company¡¯s ¡°expanded and close-knit collaboration¡± with Wyndham will provide the ¡°strength, scale and expertise needed¡± to grow the 30-year-old Vienna House brand at a faster rate, while also allowing guests to tap into Wyndham¡¯s loyalty rewards programme.

"We found an excellent like-minded partner in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, sharing the same passion to bring high-quality accommodations where travellers want to be,¡± he added.