Residential hospitality management company Reside appointed Walter “J.R.” Dembiec Jr. to head its development partnership with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, formed earlier this year.
Dembiec takes on the brand president role at Reside, a Wyndham Residence, after serving as executive vice president and general counsel at Reside since 2018, according to a release obtained by Hotel Dive. In his new position, Dembiec is tasked with spearheading Reside’s growth across the upscale extended stay hotel segment through the company’s newly formed 10-year strategic relationship with Wyndham.
Reside and Wyndham linked in October, launching a development agreement to grow both accommodations providers’ portfolios through the upscale brand.
With the deal, Wyndham debuted its residences tier domestically, adding five residence-style hotels that are open or under development in the U.S., including in Seattle; Houston; Washington, D.C.; and New Orleans.
As brand president, Dembiec will help scale Reside, a Wyndham Residence, to “premier urban destinations” to deliver “professionally managed, residence-style accommodations” to both business and leisure extended stay travelers, according to Reside. The expansion comes as extended stay remains the “darling” of the hotel industry.
“J.R. has been absolutely instrumental in driving the vision and strategy for our extended-stay offerings and alliance with Wyndham, bringing a keen understanding of market trends and an unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional guest experiences,” said Reside CEO Lee Curtis, in a statement. “J.R.’s leadership, insight, and dedication make him the ideal leader to drive this next chapter for our branded residences program.”
Last month, Curtis told Hotel Dive that the new brand was targeting the top 50 U.S. metropolitan areas for growth and has a “robust” pipeline of more than 60 projects.
Beyond the Reside relationship, Wyndham is expanding in upscale extended stay through its strategic partnership with WaterWalk.
Marriott International is also growing in the apartment-style accommodations sector through a long-term licensing agreement with Sonder that it entered in August.
