Jim Butler:  Wyndham has given itself a new beginning: restructuring and re-packaging itself. With that clean slate and strong brand recognition, where is Wyndham International headed? 

Fred Kleisner:  After a quiet, internally focused period, we�re now prepared to enter the next phase of our business plan with considerable financial and operating strength�and with a new mindset of control and discipline. What is that next phase? Nothing less than transforming this organization into the premier hospitality company in the industry, a company focused on the upscale and luxury segments. 

Jim Butler:  What are some of the specific steps that will help define the new Wyndham? Tell us a little about some of the changes made at Wyndham in recent months that give you the platform from which to better compete. 

Fred Kleisner:  We�ve made significant progress in rationalizing our property portfolio � taking a more strategic approach to asset sales and using each transaction to further enhance our brands. 

We restored financial strength and flexibility on our balance sheet with new equity and realigned debt. We are realigning the organization and integrating the companies acquired over the past 18 months into four operating divisions � a shift in mindset from a �Confederacy� to a �Union.� From an operating standpoint, we�re continuing to streamline and simplify our operations. We�ve closed some remote corporate offices and we believe we�re on track to achieve $25 million in total synergies on an annualized run rate basis as we pursue opportunities for G&A reductions, improved purchasing, and cross-selling. And lastly, we�re actively finding internal improvements to service, to cost management, to value enhancement. 

Jim Butler:  What is your outlook for the competitive field that you face? 

Fred Kleisner:  Our industry is entering a new cycle � a cycle that will be characterized by moderating growth, increased supply, and more competition for occupancy and revenue. Jim, we both know that it is not enough for you to �get through� the down times or to be content to keep pace. There is real opportunity ahead, and Wyndham will make that pay off. One distinguishing feature for our company is that Wyndham�s key leaders have been in the business for several cycles and so these challenges are not new to any of us. But we�re prepared to seize advantage in the cycle because of our realignment and new focus. 

Jim Butler:  And what�s the outlook for Wyndham�s portfolio growth? And which brands? 

Fred Kleisner:  Our goal here is to build equity in our core proprietary brands, and we have gained considerable momentum. In the face of considerable capital constraints, we opened three strategic flagship hotels in recent months. We opened in downtown Chicago, Atlanta and Boston. These hotels will bring a new dimension to Wyndham and add to the quality and rate perception of our brand. These hotels will make the right kind of brand impression in these very important destination and �feeder� markets. 

In the suburban market, we introduced our new prototype: The Wyndham Hotel in Billerica, just outside Boston. The first of its generation, Billerica is an upscale full-service hotel with more services, amenities, and public space than our traditional Wyndham Gardens. Margins are very attractive, and development yields are ahead of expectations. We see Billerica as a vehicle for growing our brand in suburban markets. 

Summerfield Suites will open four new hotels in the next six months. Grand Bay, our luxury brand, has three projects in the pipeline, including Chicago, which will open in the fourth quarter of next year. 

These developments show that we�re focused on rationalizing our portfolio, maximizing brand equity, and creating sustainable long-term earnings growth. The early results are quite positive: for the first six months, EBITDA (which is a more meaningful measure of our performance) is up 36% over last year. And for those who watch FFO as a holdover from our REIT days, FFO is up almost 84% for the first six months. And we expect to sustain RevPAR growth ahead of the industry average. 

Jim Butler:  How will Wyndham increase revenues? 

Fred Kleisner:  We�ve got very specific things in mind with very specific end goals. We�re going to increase group bookings with intensity to capture greater market share. Hand-in-glove, we are going to increase food & beverage profitability � we can lift margins by up to 200 basis points. And so we are going to maximize our investments in the big-ticket items of advertising and sales. 

But we�re also thinking more in terms of selling the way customers want to buy. So we�re investing in e-commerce to enhance our technology, improve interactivity, and create seamless transactions. We recently hired a new Internet guru from Travelocity. Our web reservations are up five-fold in the first half of the year. 

Jim Butler:  Fred, sum it up for us. What�s the thought you want readers to take away from this conversation? 

Fred Kleisner:  Last year, JD Powers ranked Wyndham third in guest satisfaction amongst the upscale hotel companies. That�s a significant accomplishment. Third is good. But good is not good enough. We are not going to stop until we�re better, and then best. 

Ultimately, our objective is three-pronged. We want to offer the best places to stay; the best places to work; and finally, to generate the best shareholder returns in our industry. I believe we can do it. I see tremendous value and opportunity here. I think we�ve mapped out a sensible way to start capturing incremental value in very short order.