Stock Markets February 24, 2026

Moody's Raises Wyndham Hotels' Senior Secured Rating to Baa3 after Debt Rework

Agency leaves corporate rating at Ba1 while new unsecured notes and capital structure shift prompt upgrade to senior secured facility score

By Avery Klein
Moody's Raises Wyndham Hotels' Senior Secured Rating to Baa3 after Debt Rework

Moody's Investors Service has upgraded Wyndham Hotels & Resorts' senior secured bank credit facility ratings to Baa3 from Ba1 following a planned $650 million senior unsecured note issuance that reshapes the company's debt mix. The ratings firm left Wyndham's Ba1 corporate family rating and Ba2 senior unsecured rating intact, assigned Ba2 to the new unsecured notes and kept the company's SGL-2 liquidity designation with a stable outlook.

Key Points

  • Moody's upgraded Wyndham's senior secured bank credit facility ratings to Baa3 from Ba1 while affirming the Ba1 corporate family rating and Ba2 senior unsecured rating.
  • A $650 million senior unsecured note issuance will refinance the company's senior secured term loan A and repay the outstanding balance on its revolver, increasing the share of unsecured debt in the capital structure.
  • Wyndham's scale - over 8,300 affiliated hotels and roughly 869,000 rooms across about 100 countries - and a pipeline of approximately 259,000 rooms support the Ba1 corporate family rating; however, RevPAR declined 3 percent in 2025 versus a prior outlook of +2 to +3 percent.

Moody's Ratings affirmed Wyndham Hotels & Resorts' Ba1 corporate family rating and its Ba2 senior unsecured rating while upgrading the company's senior secured bank credit facility ratings to Baa3 from Ba1. In the same action, Moody's assigned a Ba2 rating to newly announced senior unsecured notes and maintained Wyndham's SGL-2 speculative grade liquidity rating with a stable outlook.

Moody's said the upgrade of the senior secured bank credit facility ratings reflects a change in Wyndham's debt capital structure tied to the company's plan to issue $650 million of senior unsecured notes. Proceeds from that issuance are earmarked to refinance Wyndham's existing senior secured term loan A and to repay the outstanding balance on its senior secured revolving credit facility.

According to Moody's, the refinancing is leverage neutral and will shift a larger share of Wyndham's liabilities from secured to unsecured obligations. That change in the composition of debt - rather than an immediate reduction in leverage - is the key factor underpinning the move to Baa3 on the senior secured bank credit facility.

The Ba1 corporate family rating reflects Wyndham's significant scale as one of the world's largest hotel companies. Moody's noted the company's network of more than 8,300 affiliated hotels, totaling roughly 869,000 rooms across about 100 countries and operating under 25 brands. The agency also highlighted a development pipeline of approximately 259,000 rooms, which it views positively because unit growth is an important contributor to future earnings.

On operating performance, Moody's observed industry revenue per available room contracted in 2025, with the decline particularly evident in Wyndham's two main segments - midscale and economy. Wyndham's revenue per available room, or RevPAR, fell over the course of 2025 and finished the year down 3 percent, a result of weakness in both average daily rates and occupancy. That outcome contrasted with the company's February 2025 global outlook, which had projected RevPAR growth of 2 percent to 3 percent.

Liquidity metrics cited by Moody's show Wyndham held $64 million of cash and had $776 million of committed revolver availability as of December 31, 2025. Moody's noted a $224 million draw on the revolver that will be repaid with proceeds from the new senior unsecured notes, a transaction that Moody's expects will raise revolver availability to $1 billion following the refinancing.

Moody's retained a stable outlook on Wyndham's ratings and the SGL-2 liquidity assessment. The ratings action centers on the impact of the newly announced unsecured note issuance on the company's capital structure and on how that structure influences the relative credit standing of secured versus unsecured creditors.

Risks

  • Operating risk: Industry revenue per available room contracted in 2025 and Wyndham's RevPAR declined 3 percent for the year, reflecting softness in average daily rates and occupancy - a concern for hospitality sector earnings.
  • Capital structure risk: The shift toward a greater proportion of unsecured debt changes creditor protections and could affect recovery characteristics for secured creditors, depending on future balance sheet developments.
  • Liquidity timing risk: While revolver availability is expected to rise to $1 billion after the refinancing, the company had a $224 million draw on the revolver at year-end that must be repaid with note proceeds, creating a near-term execution dependency.

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