For Simon Altham, diversity and inclusion is personal. When he joined the company more than 10 years ago, he was the first openly gay employee at Hoseasons by Wyndham Vacation Rentals, a vacation company that is part of Wyndham Worldwide (No. 24 on the 2017 Fair360, formerly DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list).
This experience shaped his views on diversity, and he has made inclusion a priority throughout the next steps of his career. Now serving as Wyndham Vacation Rentals’ managing director of revenue, he has built a culture of diversity inside the company, and most recently has begun portraying that image to external customers.
Once a company that catered to a classic, white, family demographic in the U.K., Hoseasons by Wyndham Vacation Rentals set out on a mission to reach new customers. Led by Altham, the brand’s marketing materials now feature people of all ethnicities and LGBT couples. And there’s been a measurable, positive impact on the company’s bottom line.