BERLIN — Wyndham Hotels & Resorts' Dimitris Manikis is a busy man.
Speaking to CoStar News Hotels at the 2026 International Hotel Investment Forum EMEA, Wyndham's president for Europe, Middle East and Africa pointed to the percentage of hotels in Europe that have international brands attached to them, which he calculated to be around 30%.
He said Wyndham is also breaking into new markets and providing the opportunity for guests to find new travel experiences.
What “is really exciting for us — not that Europe isn’t — is the new territories, the new markets we are opening. People are looking for new experiences, for new things to explore. Look at the [Commonwealth of Independent States]. Five years ago, we asked ourselves, what is the next big thing? … What about if we go to Georgia, to Kazakhstan, to Uzbekistan?” he said.
Manikis said Wyndham is among the leading players in such countries. His own visit to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, was a revelation.
“My goodness, what have I missed all these years? The people, the food, the experience, the archaeology, the history … that is what gives me the confidence to say, no, we do not have enough [hotels],” he said.
India is another market with huge room for growth, despite Wyndham having 96 operating hotels there, Manikis said.
Underpinning all of this is sustainability, “something that has never left our narrative,” he said.
Manikis said it was worrying that talk of AI — both in the hotel industry and in general — has taken over the space that until recently had been given to environment, social and governance issues.
Sustainability is “a long-term game. You cannot wake up one day and say, 'I just became a sustainable hotel,'” he said.
The hotel industry is “now using AI and technology to help us in this journey. This is where I see AI and sustainability actually meeting. … I want AI to complement sustainability,” he added.
For more of Wyndham's Dimitris Manikis’ insights on hoteliers’ and owners’ duties of care, the impact of the current conflict in the Middle East and other subjects, watch the video above or listen to the embedded podcast.