Why World’s Leading Leisure Travel Company is Headquartered in Orlando

Why Orlando?

When Wyndham Destinations spun off Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in 2018, the company needed to clarify its new vision and purpose to unlock shareholder value. Its investors wanted a business with a singular vision to drive the selection of the company’s new headquarters, and that vision was to put the world on vacation. “So it made sense to relocate to Central Florida, where the home of the industry really is,” said Michael D. Brown, president and chief executive officer of the former Wyndham Destinations, in an interview with Chief Executive Magazine.

The heart of [the travel and vacation] industry is in Orlando and always has been. If you were to draw a five-mile radius around our office, you’d find every major timeshare brand in the world.

Michael Brown, CEO of Travel + Leisure

The Orlando Economic Partnership supported the company’s relocation from Parsippany, N.J. by providing critical data and research on the market, facilitating the incentives application process, and creating customized relocation packages for employees. The company is among the top largest employers in Orlando, employing thousands of people in the region.

“Our vacation exchange business is all about serving the affiliate members, so we’re better able to do that from Orlando. Add that to the fact that Orlando is a vibrant, growing community, and has great support from Orange County government,” said Brown. “Once you get beyond the obvious choice of it as the epicenter of vacation ownership, Orlando checks all the other boxes that are very important to us—high tourism, great support from local government and business community, improving infrastructure, and a tremendously vibrant and diversified workforce that allows us to meet our growing needs.”

Making Moves

The company had no intentions of sitting still. Wyndham Destinations announced its plans to acquire the Travel + Leisure brand from Meredith Corporation in early 2021 and to rename itself as Travel + Leisure Co., leveraging the iconic brand to accelerate the company’s plans to amplify the global visibility of its leisure travel products.

“We acquired Travel + Leisure, including access to its global audience of 35 million loyal followers across multiple platforms and nearly 60,000 club members, because it matches our passion and purpose to put the world on vacation. Over the past 18 months, we have laid the foundation to expand our footprint beyond our core vacation ownership business, and now we add one of the most trusted and influential brands in travel through the acquisition of Travel + Leisure,” said Brown in a company press release. “This iconic brand, along with its authoritative content and wide audience, will help accelerate and amplify the growth of new capital-light travel businesses and services, as we take the next step in expanding our reach within the global leisure travel industry.”

With a new name on its headquarters building in the heart of the Orlando tourism corridor, Travel + Leisure Co. is now expanding its portfolio through various branded travel products and offerings. The company will inspire travelers with Travel + Leisure’s expert multi-platform content to grow its subscription travel club businesses, launch new branded travel services, and expand brand licensing agreements under its Travel + Leisure Group. The company began trading under the ticker symbol NYSE:TNL on February 17, 2021 with Brown remaining at the helm.

Where Does the Magic Happen?

Located a stone’s throw away from SeaWorld Parks & Resorts, Travel + Leisure Co.’s headquarters is truly in the heart of the vacation industry. Its associates enjoy close proximity to the heart of the happiest place to call home. The company occupies a large portion of the Sea Harbor building, over 350,000 square feet of Class A office space.

“Orlando is one of the world’s most popular vacation destinations – it makes sense that so many leading vacation companies are based here in Central Florida. The ability to connect in person drives collaboration, enables us to leverage best practices across the industry, while also drawing from a strong pool of industry knowledge.”

Michael Brown, CEO of Travel + Leisure