(Updated: Tuesday morning) Ribbon cutting held for the new Baymont Inn and Suites, Travelodge — formerly known as the Oak Tree Inn
The Wellington Area Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting was held today. (Click on photo for larger version).
Update – Tuesday, 9:45 a.m.) – Ramona George, General Manager of Baymont Inn and Suites of Wellington, sent us the following information this morning:
“There is not a change in ownership, only a brand change. The reason behind the branding change is due to marketing. We will utilize Wyndham Hotel Group marketing, standards and rewards program for guest – not to mention their established good reputation.
One Lodging was and is still our management company. We have offices in Wichita and Phoenix and 85 hotels across the United States. One Lodging will still own Penny’s Diner.
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by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — That seemed to go quickly. The Oak Tree Inn changed its name to Baymont Inn and Suites. Monday afternoon, the Wellington Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting for the new hotel.
One Lodging, a hotel management company based in Wichita and Arizona, Monday announced that the former Oak Tree Inn in Wellington will become the newest member of the Wyndham hotel chain.
The conversion was made Dec. 13, changing the south property to Baymont and the north hotel to Travelodge. Both hotels are open to the public and commercial guests.
“We’re excited to be joining the Wyndham family and are looking forward to providing out guests with the high-quality accommodations that the brand is known for,” George said.
According to the Wyndham Worldwide website on Baymont Inn:
Since being acquired in 2006, Baymont has more than tripled in size and, at 410 hotels strong, continues to grow exponentially. Recent milestone openings, including its 400th hotel and first hotel in Mexico, marked an unprecedented 2015 and landed Baymont on Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top Fastest Growing Franchises of the Year in 2016.
Baymont has resonated with hoteliers from the beginning. Nearly 30 percent of Baymont owners have been with the brand since the acquisition and 50% of the brand’s 2006 locations still remain Baymont hotels. More than 20 percent of the brand’s franchisees own multiple Baymont hotels.
In Wellington, the Oak Tree Inn, owned at the time by T.R. Lodging Enterprises, expanded its hotel operation in December 2014 by building a new 110 room complex at the corner of Woodlawn Ave. and U.S. 160, just east of Penny’s Diner. Oak Tree Inn continued with the original 80-room hotel facility across the street. Since its expansion, Oak Tree Inn has been the primary lodging location for BNSF employees as well as a hotel for tourists and visitors in Wellington. George said this will not change.
According to the website, with hotels in 43 states, Baymont is on a quest to conquer its homeland while expanding across borders. The brand has set its sights on the remaining seven states (Alaska, Hawaii, Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon and Rhode Island), and is looking forward to further expansion in Canada later this year.
Baymont has cornered the market on genuine, old-fashioned service, coining a culture of ‘hometown hospitality’ aimed to make guests feel like they’re in familiar territory when they’re away from home. Many Baymont owners and their employees are true hometown hoteliers, residing in the very same communities where their hotel is located.
Baymont is located in 47 cities across Kansas.
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Travelodge is also part of the Wyndham Hotel Group and will be operating the hotel on the north end of U.S. 160. It is a chain of more than 400 economy hotels located throughout the U.S. and Canada. Each Travelodge is independently owned and operated under a franchise agreement with Travelodge Hotels, Inc.
