Carlson and the Rezidor Hotel Group, owners and operators of a range of brands including Radisson, have announced that they will finally merge and create the unified Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.
According to the company, while the legal status and ownership structure of Carlson and Rezidor remain the same, the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group will pursue the global alignment and management of its brands, the ambitious development of its revenue generation engines, global purchasing opportunities, and people development on a global basis. Commercial activities will be conducted under the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group name, irrespective of geographies.
“Carlson and Rezidor have a long, common history and have grown together over the past 17 years,” said Carlson’s President and CEO, Hubert Joly. “Going to market as one is a next and natural step.
“We are leveraging the strengths of two great companies to create value for all our stakeholders.”
The Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group is one of the world’s largest fastest growing hotel companies with a portfolio of more than 1,300 hotels under a range of brands including Radisson Blu, Radisson, Country Inns and Suites By Carlson, Park Inn by Radisson, Hotel Missoni and Park Plaza.
“The goal of this development is to generate more attractive financial returns for the owners and greater value for all shareholders, to be perceived by business partners around the world as one global hotel company, to offer more compelling and consistent value propositions to the guests, and to offer global career and development opportunities to the staff,” said Rezidor’s President and CEO, Kurt Ritter.
Through a number of concrete revenue generation initiatives, the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group aims to generate more than USD $400 million in additional revenue and a RevPAR Index increase of more than 9 points by 2015.
According to Carlson, these initiatives include a reinforced global sales team, unique revenue optimization tools, partnership projects with travel intermediaries, including Carlson Wagonlit Travel and the rapid growth of Club Carlson, the group’s successful loyalty program.
The group will pursue the global alignment and management of its brands to ensure that its guests enjoy a compelling and consistent value proposition around the world. Joint purchasing activities entail the development of competitive sourcing agreements, especially for high-spend and business-critical categories. Global people development programs also will help the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group fulfill its ambition to be the number one hospitality company to work for.
A global steering committee has been established to oversee these value creation areas and the development of the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. It is co-chaired by Joly and Ritter.
The new Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group logo has also been established and a new website will launch on February 1.
