CHICAGO
(Feb. 27, 2013) – Carlson
Rezidor Hotel Group,
one of the world’s largest and most dynamic hotel groups, today
reported strong
momentum in the company’s Ambition 2015 strategy from its annual
business conference taking place at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel,
Chicago. The
company announced global growth of the Radisson Blu brand, progress in
the
global alignment of the Radisson® brand in North America and
doubling the size of the
Club Carlson SM loyalty program in the past
three years to ten
million members. Through this strategy, the company will be known for
its
innovative and vibrant spirit reflected in the quality of its segment
leading
brands around the world.
“As we begin the fourth year of our Ambition 2015 journey,
I am encouraged at the progress we have made in achieving the goals we
set out
to accomplish in 2010,” said Trudy Rautio, president and chief
executive
officer, Carlson. “We ended 2012 with 1,077 hotels under our brands in
operation globally with a strong pipeline. We have strengthened
our sales
and revenue generation activities to enhance performance, and we have
improved
the guest experience through brand innovations. Carlson Rezidor
Hotel
Group remains committed to its ambitious and multi-faceted program of
growth
and development.”
Development Growth
- Signed 68
hotels in 2012
with more than 13,000
rooms. Sixty
percent of the new hotels signed are in emerging markets
- Global portfolio is
now at 1,305 hotels in operation and under
development. Number of rooms in operation and under development stands
at 207,540 at the end of 2012, compared to 208,546 at the end of 2011
and 202,563 at the end of 2010, despite the removal of
more than 15,000 rooms over the last two years
- Seventy-seven percent of the 8,088 rooms opened in 2012
were in emerging markets, including 2,822 in Eastern Europe and 2,279
in Asia Pacific
- Within the Asia Pacific region, total rooms in operation
increased by 17 percent in 2012
- Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group opened 1,775 rooms in India and
signed an additional 934. There are now 6,828 rooms in operation in
India
- Carlson Rezidor’s global reach continues to expand with
three new destinations in Africa Mozambique, Qatar and Zambia and
first-time signings in Benin, Cote D’Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea, Mauritius
and Moldova
Brand Progress in 2012
Radisson
Blu
- The group added 33
Radisson Blu hotels globally in 2012, growing the portfolio from 239 at
the end
of 2011 to 272 in 2012
- Radisson Edwardian
Hotels completed rebranding to Radisson Blu representing more than
2,500 rooms
and suites and including 13 four- and five-star hotels in the city
center of
London and a five-star hotel in Manchester
- Announced the
conversion of the Radisson Plaza-Warwick Hotel Philadelphia to Radisson
Blu
this year and Radisson Plaza Hotel Minneapolis in 2014
Radisson
- The brand celebrated
its 50th anniversary in 2012 and has grown to 426 Radisson hotels in
operation
around the world
- More than 50 percent of
Radisson hotels in the U.S. and Canada have completed Property
Improvement
Plans (PIPs), up from 25 percent at the end of 2011
- The properties that
completed PIP’s showed positive growth in Revenue Generation Index
(RGI) +4.8
and RevPAR +8.9 percent
- Drive to improve
guest experience with initiatives in 2012 produced Guest Satisfaction
(GSI)
increase year-over-year by +.06
- Strengthened the food
& beverage experience by deploying restaurant concepts across the
Americas,
including Filini Bar and Restaurant, FireLake Grill House &
Cocktail Bar
and RBG
Park Plaza®
- A noteworthy year for
the brand with significant RevPAR growth and record-level guest
satisfaction of
8.3
- Strong presence and
benefits resulting from the London Olympic and Paralympic Games, as one
of the
largest providers of contemporary hotels in central London with nearly
2300
rooms in the capital
- The first three Park
Plaza Resorts opened in Croatia, Europe’s newest trendy destination
resulting
in nearly 900 new guestrooms for the brand
- Eight major
renovation projects completed across hotels in Amsterdam, Berlin,
Budapest and
Leeds
Park Inn by Radisson
- The group opened nine
Park Inn by Radisson hotels adding 1,425 rooms globally, growing the
portfolio
to 194 hotels and more than 36,000 rooms in operation and under
development
Country Inns & Suites By
CarlsonSM
- Opened 10 hotels in
2012 in two of the brand’s primary focus countries, the U.S. and India
- The brand celebrated
its 25th anniversary in 2012. The first hotel opened in Burnsville,
Minn., and
the brand has grown to more than 470 hotels worldwide
Revenue Generation Successes
- The
group’s sales and marketing spend increased 80 percent over the past
three
years – from $100 million in 2009 to $180 million in 2012
- Club Carlson loyalty
program membership grew to 10 million, up from 8 million at the end of
2011,
from 6.3 million at the end of 2010 and 5.1 million at the end of 2009
- Launched new
partnerships including a suite of Club Carlson U.S. Bank Visa credit
cards.
Cardmember accounts to date are exceeding expectations – nearly triple
the
number of expected accounts since the launch in Dec., 2012
- Global
web revenue increased nine percent over 2011, and 50 percent since the
launch
of the online strategy three years ago. Investments in a digital
ecosystem that
is efficient to maintain and scalable across a wide variety of mobile
devices
enabled Carlson Rezidor to double mobile revenue in 2012
- Partnered
with industry leading social media companies Ignite and Revinate
- Stay
Night Automated Pricing (SNAP), Carlson Rezidor’s proprietary revenue
optimization system, was rolled out globally in 2011. By the end of
2012, 87
percent of hotels worldwide were using the SNAP tool. Hotels
using SNAP
rate recommendations consistently see an average incremental RevPAR
increase of
two to four percent
Other accomplishments
- Carlson Rezidor Group
honored as “Hotel Group of the Year” at the Worldwide Hospitality Awards
- Radisson topped the
list in the upscale category in Market Metrix 2012 Top 10 Brands by
Customer
Satisfaction, having achieved the highest customer satisfaction scores
among
hotel brands in Asia Pacific
- Wolfgang M. Neumann
appointed to president & CEO of The Rezidor Hotel Group, succeeding
Kurt
Ritter
- Olivier Harnisch
appointed to executive vice president and chief operating officer of
The
Rezidor Hotel Group
- Suzanne Riesterer
appointed to chief commercial officer for Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group
- The Rezidor Hotel
Group was awarded as one of the world's most ethical companies by U.S.
think-tank "Ethisphere" for 3rd year in a row
- Park Plaza voted by
the Sunday Times in their “Best Companies to Work” issue
as ‘One to Watch’ in 2013
Looking
Ahead:
The
focus continues to be on the implementation of the Ambition 2015
strategy.
- Brand strategies:
- Group expects to add
21 Radisson Blu hotels in 2013, including the highly anticipated second
U.S. opening for the brand with the Radisson Blu Mall of America in
mid-March. Other hotels in key destinations include: Radisson Blu
Beach
Resort & Spa, Sochi, Russia; Radisson Bu Hotel Chongqing Sha Ping
Ba,
China; Radisson Blu Hotel Guwahti, India; Radisson Blu Hotel Kolkata
Hastings,
India; Radisson Blu & Park Inn by Radisson Libreville, Gabon,
Africa;
Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel Mysore, India
- After 2013, 75
percent of Radisson hotels in the U.S. and Canada will have completed
Property Improvement Plans (PIPs)
- In
2013, Country Inns & Suites By Carlson will embark on an evolution
that will update the brand’s identity, hotel architecture and interiors
- Development:
- The
group expects to open 77 new hotels with more than 13,000 rooms during
2013 (Click here
for overview on the group’s expected openings in 2013)
- Accelerate
development of the Radisson global portfolio up to 800 hotels in
operation and under development by 2015 Focused on growth in mature
economies and continue to build on Radisson’s leading position in the
high
growth economies, such as Brazil, Russia, India and China, as well as
in emerging
markets such as Africa
- Revenue Generation:
- Continue
to enhance its web, mobile device and social media platforms in
response to
rapidly changing customer trends
- The
group will continue to leverage its Club Carlson loyalty program to
drive hotel
revenue, with a renewed focus on delivering a differentiated customer
experience to loyalty members
- Develop
added enhancements to SNAP and new market intelligence tools to
maximize
revenue opportunities
About Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group
Carlson Rezidor
Hotel
Group 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 in
operation and under development, a global footprint spanning 100
countries and
territories and a powerful set of global brands (Radisson Blu,
Radisson®, Park
Plaza®, Park Inn by Radisson, Country Inns & Suites By Carlson SM
and Hotel Missoni). In most of the group’s hotels, guests can benefit
from the
loyalty program Club Carlson SM, one of the
most rewarding loyalty
programs in the world. Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group and its brands
employ more
than 80,000 people.
Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group is headquartered in
Minneapolis, Minn., and Brussels, Belgium.
www.carlsonrezidor.com
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