Carlson Hotels Worldwide has added eight new franchise locations to its portfolio of brands in January. These include a new Radisson SAS property in Brussels, Belgium, a new Park Plaza Hotel & Conference Centre in Ontario, Canada, and a new Country Inn & Suites By Carlson in Grand Rapids, Mich. The new additions bring Carlson’s global portfolio to 924 hotels with 147,204 rooms in 69 countries. Carlson hotel brands include: Regent International Hotels, Radisson Hotels & Resorts®, Park Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Country Inns & Suites By Carlsonsm and Park Inn®.

“After a tremendous growth year in 2005, all the brands of Carlson Hotels are positioned for strong development activity in 2006 and beyond,” said Sam Winterbottom, executive vice president of Development, Carlson Hotels Worldwide. “In fact, according to a recent study published by Lodging Econometrics, ‘in both ’06 and ’07 lodging demand growth should still exceed supply growth, after future removals from guestroom inventory are factored in.’ This is a clear indicator for growing pricing power and record setting profitability over the next few years and great news for both our company and our industry at large.”

Radisson Hotels & Resorts

The three new European hotels joining the Radisson brand in January include the four-star, 149-room Radisson SAS EU Hotel in Brussels, which is convenient to the heart of the European Region near the European parliament and Schumann area; the 78-room Radisson SAS Style Hotel Vienna in Austria, nestled in the heart of one Europe's leading cultural capitals and close to Vienna's most exciting up-market retail and fashion quarter and the world-famous Café Central; and the 211-room Radisson SAS Hotel Birmingham in England, a 39-story glass structure located within minutes from the city’s business district and the International Convention Centre.

Two new Radisson hotels in the U.S. include the 133-room Radisson Hotel Milwaukee North Shore in Glendale, Wisc., located near the shores of Lake Michigan and within minutes of Miller Brewing Company, Harley Davidson and Marquette University; and the 325-room Radisson Hotel Tulsa in Oklahoma, providing more than 14,000 square feet of flexible, well-appointed meeting and banquet space.
Finally, the newest Radisson property in the Middle Eastern country of Dubai is the 251-room Radisson SAS Hotel, Dubai Media City. This modern property is close to the beach and features contemporary interior design elements and high-tech amenities that make it stand apart from other hotels in the region. To date, Radisson’s global portfolio includes 416 hotels with over 96,000 guestrooms.

Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts

One new hotel joined the Park Plaza brand in January: the new Park Plaza Hotel & Conference Centre Toronto-Oakville in Ontario. The hotel features 122 guestrooms and is serviced by two major airports: Toronto International and John C. Munro-Hamilton International Airport. State-of-the-art conference facilities can accommodate up to 150 people and all guestrooms features complimentary high-speed Internet access. This addition brings the brand’s global property count to 38 with 6,460 guestrooms.

Country Inns & Suites By Carlson

The Country Inns & Suites brand welcomed one new property in January, the 70-room Country Inn & Suites By Carlson-Grand Rapids South in Michigan. This hotel, which is owned by Ron Patel and managed by Candace VanOeffelen, is newly constructed and features traditional brand design elements, including hard wood floors and fire place in the grand lobby. This new addition brings Country Inns & Suites’ global hotel and room count totals to 381 and 30,720, respectively.