Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has made its new guest engagement platform, Wyndham Connect, available to franchise owners in North America.

The platform is powered by an AI-driven large language model in partnership with software company Canary Technologies and was first announced at Wyndham’s 2023 Global Conference.

At no additional cost to franchisees, Wyndham Connect streamlines owner operations by using AI to answer common guest enquiries, enable smart check-in, integrate mobile tipping and encourage guest reviews.

The company is also using AI in its call centres and forecasting tools for rate and occupancy optimisation.

According to Wyndham, in 2023 hotels across all of the company’s brands globally with overall social review (OSR) average scores above 4.0 saw twice as much RevPAR (revenue per available room) growth compared to those with lower scores.

The company has reportedly invested $325m since 2018 in delivering sales, marketing and digital innovations.

Wyndham chief commercial officer Scott Strickland commented: "We always put our franchisees first, and investing in innovative technology like AI sets them apart from the competition. Our franchisees can now manage their businesses more efficiently and curate guest experiences. The result? Happier guests, higher chances for repeat business and money in franchisees' pockets."

Wyndham recently renewed its partnership with Sabre Hospitality with the adoption of its property management system, SynXis Property Hub.