A Hotel Fire Raises Questions About Brand Safety Responsibility

A fire at a Dominican Republic hotel branded as Wyndham killed one person and evacuated 1,700 guests on June 19. Wyndham Hotels owns the brand name but not the building itself—the owners do. Now questions arise: when disaster strikes, who checks that buildings meet safety codes and fire systems work? The fire exposes a gap in how hotel brands oversee properties that use their name.