SINGAPORE (October 23, 2012) – Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, one of the world’s largest and most dynamic hotel groups, has celebrated the contributions and outstanding performance of its Asia Pacific hotels and employees at an Awards Dinner, which was part of Carlson Rezidor’s annual Asia Pacific General Managers Conference. Fifteen outstanding performers were honored in front of Trudy Rautio, Carlson’s president and chief executive officer, and Asia Pacific president for Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, Simon C. Barlow in addition to more than 150 Carlson Rezidor senior executives, general managers, hotel executives and a delegation from Carlson’s headquarters in Minneapolis. The event was held at Carlson Rezidor’s newest hotel to open in the region, the Radisson Blu Resort Wetland Park Wuxi, China.

“I am delighted to offer my sincere congratulations and thanks to this year’s award winners. They have demonstrated the importance of talent, collaboration and a commitment to teamwork that goes beyond the call of duty and is core to Carlson’s credo and values. This year’s Asia Pacific General Manager Conference has been a rewarding and exciting event that has given us some great insights that will significantly contribute to our progress as we continue on our journey to implement our Ambition 2015 strategy,” said Simon C. Barlow, president, Asia Pacific, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.

The conference was hosted at Radisson Blu Resort Wetland Park Wuxi, Carlson Rezidor’s newest hotel to open in China.  The hotel is an example of Carlson Rezidor’s strategy to strengthen its presence in the emerging megacities in China and India that attract an increasing number of business and leisure travellers in the region. The conference theme was “Together We Grow” and focused on celebrating the successes of the past twelve months in addition to providing the team with the skills and capabilities needed to maintain Carlson Rezidor’s strong growth momentum.  During the two day conference, hotel general managers and executives attended plenary sessions and workshops hosted by the global leadership team and experts to share best practices in achieving excellence in hotel operations.

Amongst the highlights of this year’s conference was the Annual Awards Ceremony. Representatives of more than 80 hotels were eligible to enter the awards and the winners were chosen according to their contribution to the Group’s performance above and beyond their call of duty.  The judges reviewed stories of integrity, innovation, customer focus, responsibility, accountability and respect when selecting the winner for each category. The 2012 Carlson Rezidor Asia Pacific Award winners are:

• President’s Award: Peter Schuler, Park Plaza Beijing West
• Hotel of the Year (Managed hotels): Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu
• Hotel of the Year (Franchised hotels): Radisson Blu Hotel Noida
• Hotel of the Year (Country Inns & Suites by CarlsonSM, India): Country Inns & Suites by Carlson Jalandhar
• Rising Star of the Year (Managed hotels): Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel Hyderabad Banjara Hills
• Rising Star of the Year (Franchised hotels): Radisson Hotel Agra Taj East Gate Road
• Responsible Business Hotel of the Year: Radisson Blu Hotel Noida
• Golden Rose: Deborah Peterson, Senior Director, Human Resource, Asia Pacific
• Employee of the Year (Managed hotels): Tek Chand, Radisson Hotel Shimla
• Employee of the Year (Franchised hotels): Tara Gander, Radisson Hotel & Suites Sydney
• Director of Sales & Marketing of the Year: Galson Bai, Park Plaza Beijing Science Park
• Finance Leader of the Year: Ajaya Kumar Nath, Radisson Jass Hotel Khajuraho
• Human Resource Leader of the Year: Dipti Dabholkar, Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel Hyderabad Banjara Hills
• Food & Beverage Leader of the Year: Volker Koeper, Radisson Resort Gold Coast
• Rooms Division Leader of the Year: Alice Sun, Radisson Blu Hotel Shanghai

During the General Managers conference, Carlson Rezidor employees were also invited to participate in a Responsible Business initiative.  This year, all conference attendees presented a gift to 40 underprivileged children from a charity operated by the Hong Shan Town Bureau of Civil Affairs and the Women's Federation.  Following a Tai Chi lesson taught by a Tai Chi master, the children were invited to select an individual educational gift from a selection donated by the conference attendees from the Carlson Rezidor “Giving Tree” in the atrium of the hotel.

“Carlson Rezidor prides itself on being a responsible business in the markets it operates in globally.  The donation of these gifts to the children is an example of one of the many initiatives that we implement as part of our commitment to being a socially responsible business and supporting the communities in which we operate. We believe that by managing our business in a responsible manner we build trust, build relationships, and achieve great hospitality. Giving gifts to the children enabled our Asia Pacific team to come together and learn the importance of teamwork and communities to our Ambition 2015 strategy,” commented Simon C. Barlow, president, Asia Pacific, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.

About Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group
Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group – born in early 2012 – is one of the world’s largest and most dynamic hotel groups. The portfolio of the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group includes more than 1,300 hotels, a global footprint spanning 81 countries and territories, a powerful set of global brands (Radisson Blu, Radisson®, Park Plaza®, Park Inn by Radisson, Country Inns & Suites By CarlsonSM and Hotel Missoni). In most of the group’s hotels, guests can benefit from the loyalty program Club CarlsonSM, one of the most rewarding loyalty programs in the world. The Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group and its brands employ more than 80,000 people.

The Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group is headquartered in Minneapolis, USA, and Brussels, Belgium.
www.carlsonrezidor.com; www.rezidor.com