Wyndham's purchase of ResortQuest is its first foray into the United States' vacation rental market

DESTIN — ResortQuest CEO Park Brady said his company found a new home when it was purchased by Wyndham Worldwide less than three weeks ago.

Last week, more than 100 ResortQuest employees attended a meeting to hear from Brady and some of Wyndham’s leaders about the two companies’ future together.

“I can’t imagine we won’t be Wyndham 10 years, 15, 20 years from now,” Brady said. “This is it. We have found a home for our little ResortQuest and we are happy to be here.”

Geoff Ballotti, president and CEO of Wyndham’s Exchange and Rentals division, was just as upbeat.

“We’ve all worked on some phenomenal acquisitions over the last three years, but I don’t think any of them have been as exciting as this one has,” Ballotti said. “You have a great culture, a great leadership team.”

Wyndham is the world’s largest full-service vacation rental business, with more than 85,000 properties in about 100 countries. Its $56 million purchase of ResortQuest marks its first foray into the American vacation rental business.

ResortQuest will become the United States’ brand of Wyndham’s Exchange and Rentals division, which oversees vacation rentals and a timeshare exchange programs. The division accounts for 31 percent of the $3.8 billion total revenue of Wyndham Worldwide.

“The vacation market is a huge market and it is so fragmented,” Ballotti said. “It is a $10 billion market in the United States. ResortQuest is a fraction of that, so we think there is tremendous opportunity to grow.”

Ballotti and Brady talked about their plans for expanding the ResortQuest brand. But with the sale just finalized, Brady said the two companies still are trying to integrate themselves.

While some immediate opportunities to expand locally or in other parts of the country are possible, Brady said a true growth plan is going to take some time to develop.

ResortQuest had been in talks with Wyndham Worldwide for about three years before the sale was finalized last month.

Brady said some properties have been identified for ResortQuest potentially to purchase, and that he expects the company to have new vacation rentals in the next six months to a year.

“Our whole focus now is growth,” Ballotti said. “We would like to continue to grow the vacation rental business in the United States the way we have in Europe.”

In addition to being Wyndham’s entrance into the United States rental market, the purchase of ResortQuest also marked Wyndham’s first step in the real estate sales market. ResortQuest has experienced the same downturn in the housing market that other companies have, but Brady is hopeful the market will recover soon.

Ballotti said real estate development, something that ResortQuest was a leader in before the economy nosedived, is an area Wyndham likely will not continue in the future.