Radisson Hotel Group (company) – Wiki
History
Carlson
The story of the Carlson Company is a classic example of American entrepreneurship. In 1938 Curtis Carlson invented a special program to attract customers, borrowed $55 from the owner of the apartment he was renting, and founded the Gold Bond Stamp Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Over the next 80 years, Carlson’s family business grew and developed into an international corporation providing travel and hotel services.
In 1962, Carlson purchased a stake in his first hotel in Minneapolis, named for the French traveler Pierre-Esprit Radisson. Two years later he took full control of the hotel. In 1982, the renovation of the first Radisson Hotel was deemed unprofitable and the building was torn down. By then Carlson had opened two successful hotels, the Radisson South Bloomington and the Radisson Inn Minneapolis, which allowed him to build a new Radisson Hotel building on the site of the demolished one.
In 1973 the Gold Bond Stamp Company was renamed Carlson Companies Inc. Carlson purchased T.G.I. Friday’s Inc. which owned 12 restaurants in nine states, thus entering the restaurant business. In 1976 he acquired Country Kitchen Inc. which operated a chain of family-owned restaurants. Ten years later, with the opening of the first hotel in Burnsville, Minnesota, Carlson founded Country Inns & Suites under the Carlson brand. Currently there are more than 480 hotels worldwide under the brand. Most of them are located in the U.S., Canada, India and Latin America.
In the 1990s the Radisson Hotel Asia (RHA) was founded in Singapore – a division of Carlson for work in the Asia-Pacific region. Soon regional offices were opened in Delhi (India) and Shanghai (PRC). The first Radisson brand hotels in China and India – Radisson Blu Hotel Beijing and Radisson Blu Plaza Delhi Airport – were opened in 1995 and 1998, respectively.
In 1991 an agreement was signed with Edwardian Hotels of London, an operator of 4 and 5-star hotels in the United Kingdom, increasing the Radisson hotel chain by nine units.
In 1992, Carlson launched Look To BookSM, an innovative online partner program for travel agents.
In 1994, the Scandinavian company SAS International Hotels (later Rezidor) signed an exclusive franchise agreement with Carlson to operate under the Radisson brand in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. As the first joint venture between the two partners, Radisson SAS was created, which was later transformed into the Radisson Blu brand.
Two years later, Carlson acquired Regent Hotels & Resorts, which allowed it to enter the premium hotel segment.
In 1999 the chain launched Gold Points RewardsSM – a loyalty program for customers of the hotels. Subsequently it was transformed into Club CarlsonSM – a global partner program of Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.
In 2000. Carlson acquired Park Plaza and Park Inn brands.
In 2002, Carlson gave The Rezidor Hotel Group a franchise to use the Regent Hotels & Resorts, Park Inn and Country Inns & Suites By Carlson brands. The same year, Carlson Hotels Asia Pacific (CHAP) was founded, marking the beginning of a new global Carlson structure.
In 2005, Carlson acquired a 25% stake in The Rezidor Hotel Group. The following year another diversification of Carlson’s business followed, which was marked by the purchase of 50% of Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT), owned by another hotel operator, Accor. Carlson Wagonlit Travel specializes in organizing business trips, meetings and events for companies, governmental and non-governmental organizations. The remaining 50% stake in this venture was acquired by Carlson in 2014.
The history of CWT goes back to the 1870s, when the first compartment railcars appeared and Belgian entrepreneur Georges Nagelmakers founded the company Compagnie International des Wagons-Lits.
Radisson SAS hotels proved successful in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In 2006, the brand was a key asset of the Rezidor Hotel Group during its listing on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Carlson acquired an additional stake and increased its stake to 35%.
In 2008, Carlson Hotels celebrated the opening of its 1,000th hotel.
In 2010. Carlson sold the Regent Hotels & Resorts brand to Formosa International Hotels Corporation, allowing it to focus on developing its own brands.
In 2012. Carlson again showed interest in the region of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, increasing its share in The Rezidor Hotel Group to 51%. Later the company took another step in developing its business in the travel industry, starting a strategic partnership with Rezidor and entering the market as Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.
In 2000. Carlson acquired Park Plaza and Park Inn brands.
In 2002, Carlson gave The Rezidor Hotel Group a franchise to use the Regent Hotels & Resorts, Park Inn and Country Inns & Suites By Carlson brands. The same year, Carlson Hotels Asia Pacific (CHAP) was founded, marking the beginning of a new global Carlson structure.
In 2005, Carlson acquired a 25% stake in The Rezidor Hotel Group. The following year another diversification of Carlson’s business followed, which was marked by the purchase of 50% of Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT), owned by another hotel operator, Accor. Carlson Wagonlit Travel specializes in organizing business trips, meetings and events for companies, governmental and non-governmental organizations. The remaining 50% stake in this venture was acquired by Carlson in 2014.
The history of CWT goes back to the 1870s, when the first compartment railcars appeared and Belgian entrepreneur Georges Nagelmakers founded the company Compagnie International des Wagons-Lits.
Radisson SAS hotels proved successful in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In 2006, the brand was a key asset of the Rezidor Hotel Group during its listing on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Carlson acquired an additional stake and increased its stake to 35%.
In 2008, Carlson Hotels celebrated the opening of its 1,000th hotel.
In 2010. Carlson sold the Regent Hotels & Resorts brand to Formosa International Hotels Corporation, allowing it to focus on developing its own brands.
In 2012. Carlson again showed interest in the region of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, increasing its share in The Rezidor Hotel Group to 51%. Later the company took another step in developing its business in the travel industry, starting a strategic partnership with Rezidor and entering the market as Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.
Rezidor
Rezidor began as SAS International Hotels (SIH), a division of SAS Airlines in Oslo. With its creation, SAS became the first company in history to be in the hotel and airline business at the same time.
In 1960, SIH opened its first hotel in Denmark, the Royal Copenhagen.
This marked the beginning of the construction of a hotel chain. By 1980 Rezidor expanded outside of Scandinavia, opening the Radisson SAS Hotel in Kuwait, which was later severely damaged during the Iraqi invasion.
In 1989, the company’s headquarters were moved to Brussels, and Kurt Ritter was appointed president and CEO. The company’s environmental policy was then presented for the first time, and was subsequently transformed into the Responsible Business program.
In 1994 SIH signed its first exclusive franchise agreement with Carlson for the use and development of the Radisson brand in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, which led to the creation of the Radisson joint brand. An exclusive franchise agreement signed in 2002 led to the use of the Park Inn, Country Inn & Suites and Regent brands in the same regions.
Another milestone in the company’s development in the mid-90s was the launch of the new service concept Yes I Can! and the opening of its own management school.
In 1999, SIH entered Africa by opening the Radisson SAS Hotel Waterfront in Cape Town.
In the late ’90s, SIH moved its headquarters to Brussels, and in 2002 changed its name to Rezidor and entered into another franchise agreement with Carlson.
In 2005, Carlson acquired a 25 percent stake in Rezidor from SAS, further strengthening the ties between the two companies. The following year, after SAS sold its hotel business, Rezidor went public with a listing on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Carlson acquired most of the shares and soon became Rezidor’s largest shareholder.
A new phase in the history of Rezidor began after its renaming into The Rezidor Hotel Group. In 2008 SAS sold its stake. As a result the premium hotel brand Radisson SAS was renamed to Radisson Blu in 2009.
Rezidor continued to develop – the company became the largest foreign hotel operator in Russia and the CIS countries. The Park Inn brand topped the European Hotel Industry Consumption Rating, and Europe’s largest Wine Tower was opened in the Radisson Blu Hotel, Zurich Airport.
2010 saw Radisson Blu become the largest premium hotel brand in Europe, and Park Inn was renamed Park Inn by Radisson. Together with its first hotel, the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Copenhagen, Rezidor celebrated its golden anniversary. Also this year the American research institute Ethisphere named Rezidor one of the most ethical companies in the world.
The highlight of 2012 was the creation of the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group as a strategic partnership between Carlson and Rezidor.
Also in 2012 the legend of the hotel business, President and CEO of Rezidor Kurt Ritter announced his retirement after 36 years in business.
Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group
In 2013. Wolfgang M. Neumann of Austria was appointed president of Rezidor.
In 2016, the first hotel under the Radisson RED brand was opened in Brussels.
Subsequently, hotels under the brand opened in Minneapolis, Brussels, Campinas and Cape Town.
Also in 2016. Rezidor entered the economy hotel market by acquiring a 49% stake in the successful German hotel chain prizeotel.
HNA Tourism Group
In December 2016, Chinese company HNA Tourism Group Co., Ltd. acquired Carlson Hotels along with its stake (51.3%) in Rezidor, subsequently announcing its intention to buy Rezidor outright.
In early 2017. Rezidor reported record growth: 45 reopened hotels with 8,200 rooms.
Radisson Blu remained the largest upscale hotel brand, with 186 hotels with more than 45,000 rooms operating under the brand, according to rating agency MKG Hospitality-On.
Carlson Rezidor Asia Pacific also showed growth: by 2017 the company managed 100 hotels operating or under construction in 14 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The company has a particularly strong position in India – its hotels have been opened in the capitals of Indian states and major cities.
In May 2017, both members of the strategic partnership received new executives: Federico J. Gonzalez of Spain was appointed President and CEO of Rezidor, while John M. Kidd took over as CEO and Executive Director of Carlson Hotels.
In December 2017, Katerina Giannouka became president of the Asia Pacific division. Federico J. Gonzalez was also elected Chairman of the Global Steering Committee established to jointly strategically develop Rezidor (now Radisson Hospitality AB) and Carlson (now Radisson Hospitality Inc.). Radisson Hospitality, Inc. and Radisson Hospitality AB are managed by boards of directors, are independent of each other and can manage their own operations. The Global Steering Committee, which includes an equal number of representatives from both companies, acts as an advisory body.
March 5, 2018. Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group announced it is rebranding and starting to operate as Radisson Hotel Group. The company’s new corporate strategy entails uniting the brands it manages around the main one, Radisson. Following the rebranding, the company’s loyalty program, Club Carlson, is now called Radisson Rewards™.
In addition to rebranding, Radisson Hotel Group reformatted its brands to emphasize the uniqueness of the Radisson brand. The company’s brand portfolio includes 8 hotel brands – from modern economy class to fashionable.
In May 2018, during the annual general meeting of shareholders in Stockholm, shareholders of Rezidor Hotel Group AB decided to rename the company into Radisson Hospitality AB and amended its charter accordingly
