Get all the latest Aruba news in the Visit Aruba app for iOS and Android.

Wyndham is here to stay

PALM BEACH - Last week, Alfonso Riveroll, president and owner of Aruba Hotel Enterprises, which manages the Wyndham Aruba Resort, Spa & Casino, made an official announcement to the staff and management regarding the recent sale of the worldwide "Wyndham" brand to Cendant, the largest hospitality company in the world.

Executives from Cendant, a company that also owns several other hotel brands, car rental companies, real estate ventures, travel distribution companies, and the timeshare organization RCI (the largest in the world), visited the Wyndham Aruba property last week. "They could not have been more impressed with the product and, more importantly, the people here at the Wyndham Aruba, and I want to thank and congratulate each and every one of you," Riveroll stated in a memo to the staff.

During the inspection of the resort, Cendant executives finalized an agreement with Aruba Hotel Enterprises to maintain the relationship and signed a franchise agreement to keep the "Wyndham" name here on Aruba.  "A franchise agreement makes us much more independent from the management company, which in turn creates a larger responsibility for all of us," Riveroll added.

Riveroll was also pleased to announce that, "along with this agreement, Rob Smith, our general manager, has been contracted under a long term agreement to work directly for Aruba Hotel Enterprises. His new title will be 'Vice President and General Manager' of the resort." In his extended capacity, Smith will report directly to the Ownership Group. "I am confident that Rob, myself, and all of you, coupled with Wyndham and the power of Cendant, will continue our growth and enjoy a very successful future," Riveroll concluded.


Read more news