Ramada is a large American multinational hotel chain owned by Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. As of December 31, 2018, it operates 811 hotels with 114,614 rooms across 63 countries under the Ramada brand

                                                       Ramada
                                      Ramada Worldwide Inc.
Founded1953; 70 years ago
FounderMarion W. Isbell and Michael Robinson
        Headquarters
Parsippany, New Jersey
United States
                   Number of locations811 (December 31, 2018)
     Area servedWorldwide
ParentWyndham Hotels and Resorts
Websitewww.wyndhamhotels.com/ramada
The Ramada name derives from the Spanish term rama (meaning "branch").Temporary open-air structures called "ramadas" (meaning "porch" or "arbor"), made of brush or branches (similar to an arbor) were popular in Arizona during harvest time. Company websites commonly refer to the structure as a "shady resting place".

then Chairman of the Board until 1979. William M. Isbell would serve as Ramada's president and CEO until 1981.

Ramada developed a chain of in-hotel restaurants similar to the Howard Johnson's restaurants, operating them under various names including Uncle Ben's Kitchen, Ramada Pancake Cottage, and Chez Bon, as well as other names used by individual franchises. The company-owned Ramada restaurants became defunct in 1990, though the franchised hotels still include on-premises restaurants.

Split of hotel and casino operations

In an attempt to revive the company's lagging business in 1989, Ramada Inns, Inc. decided to split its hotel/restaurant businesses and its gaming businesses. The Ramada hotels and restaurants were sold for $540 million to New World Development Company and the gaming business which included the Tropicana Las Vegas, Tropicana Atlantic City, and Ramada Express in Laughlin, Nevada, were spun off to a new company called Aztar Corporation. In the original deal for the gaming business, Ramada shareholders were to get $7 in cash per share plus half a share of the new Aztar Corporation. However, this changed quickly to a new deal where shareholders would receive $1 per share plus one share of Aztar Corporation. In the late 1990s, Ramada was sold to Cendant Corporation of New York City.

Cendant/Wyndham ownership

Under Cendant's (and now Wyndham's) ownership, Ramada franchises Ramada InnRamada LimitedRamada Plaza, and Ramada Suites in the United States and Canada. Ramada itself no longer directly or indirectly owns or operates any of the Ramada hotels. Outside of the U.S. and Canada, Ramada hotels are owned and operated or franchised by Ramada International, which was owned by hotel operator Marriott International. However, in 2004, Ramada International was purchased by Cendant, giving Cendant the worldwide rights to the Ramada name. Ramada International remains separate from the Ramada operations in the United States and Canada. In 2006, Cendant spun off its hotel operations, including Ramada, to Wyndham Worldwide.

In Australia, Ramada Inn Parkville was a traditional motel in Parkville, Melbourne affiliated with the Australian "Golden Chain" group of hotels and motels. It underwent extensive renovation at one point but was known locally for its use of the Uncle Ben vintage logo and idiosyncratic abbreviation of the word "kilometre" on its signage. The motel was rebranded in c.2006–09 as "Parade Inn" and was demolished less than a decade later, making way for a residential development.

In the United Kingdom, Jarvis Hotels Ltd were the largest franchisee of the Ramada brand. They operated corporately as "Ramada Jarvis Hotels". Six of the properties were bannered as Country Collection hotels; they are properties that were historic buildings that had been owned by local business magnates and in beautiful landscaped gardens. Ramada Jarvis went into liquidation in September 2011, ceasing trade on every hotel formerly franchised from Ramada. Ramada's United Kingdom operations came to an end. Shortly after, selected Days Hotels were rebranded as Ramada hotels, bringing the brand back to the United Kingdom.

Ramada manages three properties in Indonesia. Two of which are located at Bali, and one at Surakarta.

Ramada International manages three hotels on Sri Lanka's western coast, under the "Ramada" name, including one in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo. The Ramada Colombo used to be the Holiday Inn Colombo but management has changed.

Ramada International also operates three hotels in Pakistan, under the same name "Ramada", in cities including Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore and Multan. Ramada Lahore Gulberg II is opening soon in 2020. Ramada Lahore is opening on Cooper Road in 2023.

Ramada manages one property in Mongolia. Which is located in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar.

It was announced that Ramada would open new units in Brazil by 2016.

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