The Ramada Suites by Wyndham Remarkables Park Queenstown in New Zealand welcomed eight healthy babies into the world during the nation-wide lockdown following the closure of the local hospital's maternity ward due to a COVID-19 case.  

Thanks to the quick-thinkinking midwives who contacted the hotel, one of the spacious suites was turned into a temporary delivery room - which fast became the perfect solution for the expectant mothers.

“We needed to create a safe and comfortable space for mothers to give birth with peace of mind amidst all the upheaval taking place and the Ramada by Wyndham provided that for us,” said Head Midwife, Sharon White.

The hotel arranged a mini-reunion after the country was declared COVID-19 free and lifted all local restrictions, to reunite the mums, bubs and midwives who made the deliveries possible at the hotel.

Suzanne Pentecost, Hotel Manager, at Ramada Suites by Wyndham Remarkables Park Queenstown, said it was a pleasure to assist the new parents and babies:

“We were more than happy to help out the midwives when they approached us and our staff have enjoyed having these tiny guests in the hotel.”

At the reunion, each of the new-borns and midwives were presented 15,000 Wyndham Rewards points to enjoy a kick-start to their future travels once the world opens up to travel again. This will allow them to redeem up to two complimentary nights at thousands of hotels by Wyndham located all across the world.

In addition, Wyndham Rewards also recognised the midwives for their important role with a complimentary upgrade to its Gold membership tier under the loyalty program's #EverydayHeroes initiative. Under this initiative, all essential workers on the front lines of COVID-19 receive instant upgrade to its Gold membership tier which offers a host of meaningful benefits including members-only discounts, preferred rooms, accelerated points earning and late checkout.

“We are extremely grateful for the dedication of the midwives who stepped up to assist these mothers in these trying times. This is a small gesture from us to say “thank you” and to recognize them for their tremendous work on the frontlines,” said Joon Aun OOI, President, Asia Pacific, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.

Baby Noah Palmer was the first to be born in early April followed by seven other babies. Now that lockdown measures have ceased, the hotel team will resume its normal service to a mixed clientele of business and leisure travellers but will never forget this special time in its history.

“Our 'Ramada babies' will always be welcome here and we look forward to them visiting in future,” says Pentecost.

In addition to recognizing those on the front lines of COVID-19, Wyndham continues to update its policies worldwide to provide travellers and Wyndham Rewards members with increased travel flexibility—relaxing cancellation policies, extending membership benefits and delaying points expiration.

In the last month alone, Wyndham updated its policies to provide travellers and Wyndham Rewards members with increased travel flexibility; and launched #EverydayHeroes, a new initiative honouring essential workers on the frontlines of COVID-19, and rolled out its Count On Us(SM) global safety initiative to further elevate health and safety protocols at Wyndham hotels.  To learn more about specific Wyndham policies related to COVID-19, visit www.wyndhamhotels.com/COVID-19.

About Wyndham Rewards

Recently named the number one hotel rewards program by readers of USA TODAY, Wyndham Rewards® is the world's most generous rewards program with more than 30,000 hotels, vacation club resorts and vacation rentals worldwide. Designed for the everyday traveller, members earn a guaranteed 1,000 points with every qualified stay and may redeem points for a wide-range of rewards, including free nights at any of approximately 9,300 hotels or thousands of vacation club resorts and vacation rentals globally through affiliation with Wyndham Destinations (NYSE: WYND) and others. Wyndham Rewards has approximately 83 million enrolled members around the globe. Join for free today at www.wyndhamrewards.com. You've earned this.®

About Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: WH) is the world's largest hotel franchising company by the number of properties, with 9,300 hotels across approximately 90 countries on six continents. Through its network of over 828,000 rooms appealing to the everyday traveler, Wyndham commands a leading presence in the economy and midscale segments of the lodging industry. The Company operates a portfolio of 20 hotel brands, including Super 8®, Days Inn®, Ramada®, Microtel Inn & Suites®, La Quinta®, Baymont®, Wingate®, AmericInn®, Hawthorn Suites®, The Trademark Collection® and Wyndham®. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is also a leading provider of hotel management services. The Company's award-winning Wyndham Rewards loyalty program offers 83 million enrolled members the opportunity to redeem points at thousands of hotels, vacation club resorts and vacation rentals globally. For more information, visit www.wyndhamhotels.com.