Travel + Leisure Co. is taking Sports Illustrated Resorts into the traditional hotel business, and it is doing so with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts as its partner. The two companies announced an expanded development partnership on October 5, 2026, setting out a framework to build, operate and scale hotels under the brand.
The brand is not new. Travel + Leisure first introduced the Sports Illustrated Resorts platform in 2023, spanning hospitality, vacation ownership and residential offerings in sports-focused destinations. Hotels are the addition. The company describes the result as a complementary but differentiated hospitality and mixed-use platform.
Who brings what
The split of duties is clear. Travel + Leisure supplies brand stewardship, mixed-use development and management expertise. Wyndham supplies global scale, distribution, a development engine and commercial infrastructure, including loyalty and marketing, to carry the concept into new markets.
Wyndham also has a specific job on the sales side. It will use its relationships across the hotel community to find potential development partners and asset owners as Travel + Leisure expands.
A flexible model for owners
The model is built around developer choice. An owner can build a standalone hotel under the Sports Illustrated Resorts name, or fold it into a mixed-use destination that also includes vacation ownership, residences or both. That range runs from hotel-only projects to larger developments combining several parts of the platform.
Michael Brown, president and CEO of Travel + Leisure Co., called the move “the next chapter for the platform.” Opening the door to traditional hotels, he said, creates new ways to extend the Sports Illustrated experience to travelers and “distinctive opportunities for developers and asset owners.”
