In late 2016, Wyndham acquired Latin America's leading Fën Hotels, adding 26 management contracts across Argentina, Peru, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, and the U.S., including two new Fën-built Wyndham Grand hotels in Uruguay and Paraguay. With the addition of Fën Hotels' signature Esplendor Boutique Hotel and Dazzler Hotel brands, Wyndham Hotel Group's portfolio of distinct brands grew to 18. In the summer of 2017, Wyndham announced plans to acquire the Minnesota-based AmericInn hotel brand and its management company, Three Rivers Hospitality, from Northcott Hospitality for $170 million. AmericInn's portfolio consisted of 200 primarily franchised hotels with approximately 11,600 rooms in 22 states, predominately in the Midwestern U.S., Ohio Valley, and Mountain states. In August 2017, Wyndham announced plans to spin off Wyndham Hotel Group to shareholders as a separate publicly traded company. In October 2017, Wyndham launched its first soft brand product, the Trademark Hotel Collection, a collection of more than 50 upper-midscale-and-above hotels in Europe and the U.S. In April 2018, the company began rebranding most of its brands to include the Wyndham name, such as "Days Inn by Wyndham", "Ramada by Wyndham", and "Super 8 by Wyndham". On May 30, 2018, Wyndham purchased the La Quinta hotel brand (franchised to 900 hotels with over 89,000 rooms) and its associated management business, for $1.95 billion in cash. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (2018–present) The spin-off of Wyndham's hotel business occurred on May 31, 2018, creating Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, a hotel group with 22 brands and over 9000 hotels across more than 80 countries. Brands Wyndham Hotels & Resorts includes 24 brands, split into six categories: Distinctive Registry Wyndham Grand Upscale Dolce Hotels and Resorts Wyndham Lifestyle TRYP Esplendor Boutique Hotels Dazzler Trademark Collection Vienna House Wyndham Alltra Midscale La Quinta Inns & Suites Wingate Wyndham Garden AmericInn Ramada Ramada Encore Baymont Economy Microtel Inn & Suites Days Inn Super 8 Howard Johnson Travelodge Extended Stay Hawthorn Suites Echo Suites Wyndham Franchisee Association Wyndham Destinations' franchisees have formed an independent association called Owners 8 Association to present their concerns and grievances to Wyndham Destinations. The association has argued that individual franchisees have currently limited role in Wyndham's decision making. Wyndham Hotel Group's Former CEO Eric A. Danziger, in an interview in 2009 with Asian Indian Hotel Owners magazine, emphasized that Wyndham maintains cordial relationships with franchisees. He also stated that each of Wyndham's brands maintains an advisory board of