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The Rezidor Hotel Group has announced a third consecutive record year of openings: in 2010, the company opened 7,200 rooms and exceeded their results for 2008 (6,500 rooms) and 2009 (7,100 rooms).
Among the highlights of Rezidor’s openings in 2010 were flagships such as the Radisson Blu Hotel, Milan, one of the most stylish hotels in the city and the Radisson Blu Gautrain Hotel Sandton, Johannesburg in the heart of South Africa’s most important financial district. Also of note is the luxurious Radisson Royal Hotel, Moscow, the former Hotel Ukraina, one of Stalin’s legendary "Seven Sisters" skyscrapers.
Rezidor also concluded an outstanding portfolio deal in April 2010 and took over the management of the former Reval Hotels, the biggest hotel chain in the Baltics (2,300 rooms in 10 hotels in Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Russia). Also in 2010, 18 hotels were opened under the Park Inn by Radisson brand. These included projects in European cities such as Frankfurt, Oslo and Stockholm – hotels which demonstrate Rezidor’s continued success in developing the brand in their home markets.
"Throughout the global downturn we have kept our growth pace and momentum. Moreover, we have grown in a balanced and profitable way and fully aligned with our asset-light business model," said Puneet Chhatwal, Senior Vice President & Chief Development Officer of Rezidor.
"We are well positioned for the upturn and continuing our ongoing success story. Our pipeline is ever-expanding, and the Radisson Blu and Park Inn by Radisson European pipelines are the largest in their respective market segments," continued Chhatwal.
Across Europe, Middle East and Africa Rezidor has 20,000 rooms under development which are scheduled to come online during the next three years – over 95% of this pipeline consist of fee-based management and franchised contracts.
Other notable projects scheduled for 2011 include the second Hotel Missoni: Hotel Missoni Kuwait is sure to impress with a unique design combining Missoni’s bold and iconic patterns with the colours and flair of the Arabian Gulf. Two fantastic launches await Sweden as well: in Stockholm Rezidor will open the Radisson Blu Waterfront Hotel featuring 414 rooms adjacent to Scandinavia’s largest congress centre, and in Malmo a new Park Inn is scheduled for a first quarter opening.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
