Rezidor Hotel Group

Rezidor Hotel Group AB, formerly Rezidor SAS Hospitality and SAS International Hotels, is an American Swedish listed company and a hotel group. Originally founded by Scandinavian conglomerate SAS Group as a hotel in 1960, it became a listed company in 2006. The global headquarters of Rezidor also relocated to Brussels, Belgium circa 1989. The listed company managed hotel chains that under the brands such as Radisson SAS (now Radisson Blu), Park Inn, Country Inns & Suites etc.. The brands were franchised from American hospitality and travel conglomerate Carlson Companies from 1994 (Radisson brand) and 2002 (the other brands) respectively. In 2005, Carlson also acquired 25% shares of Rezidor Hotel Group from SAS Group. Since 2007, SAS Group ceased to be a shareholder of the company. In 2010, Carlson Companies acquired the controlling influence (more than 50.1% shares) on the listed company. In 2012, Rezidor Hotel Group started to integrate with direct parent company, Carlson Hotels, Inc., which both companies would collectivity known as Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. Carlson–Rezidor was one of the top hotel corporations in 2013.[3] Carlson Hotels, Inc. and subsidiaries, including Rezidor Hotel Group, were sold to Chinese conglomerate HNA Group in 2016. However, in 2018, the Carlson–Rezidor group was re-sold to a consortium led by Jin Jiang International Holdings. In 2018, Rezidor Hotel Group AB also losing its corporate identity, which was renamed to "Radisson Hospitality AB". The direct parent company, Carlson Hotels, Inc., had become Radisson Hospitality, Inc., the whole hotel group also had a new trading name Radisson Hotel Group.

For one of the hotel chain the listed company owned, see Radisson SAS. For the full coverage of the successor, Radisson Hospitality AB, see Radisson Hotel Group.

Rezidor Hotel Group AB

Park Inn by Radisson Berlin Alexanderplatz, a hotel operated by the group
Formerly	SAS International Hotels Rezidor SAS Hospitality
Former type	listed subsidiary (since 2010) listed (2006 to 2010) private subsidiary (until 2006)
Traded as	Nasdaq Stockholm: REZT
ISIN	SE0001857533
Industry	Hospitality
Fate	renamed as Radisson Hospitality (trading as Radisson Hotel Group) along with direct parent company
Successor	Radisson Hospitality AB
Founded	1960 in Copenhagen (first hotel of SAS Group) 1985 in Sweden (as subsidiary) 2006 in Sweden (as listed company)
Founder	SAS Group
Defunct	2018
Headquarters	Stockholm, Sweden (registered office) Brussels, Belgium (de facto)
Number of locations	369 hotels (2017)
Area served	78 countries of the world
Key people	辛笛; 'Xin Di' (Chairman) Federico J. González Tejera (President and CEO)
Services	Lodging
Revenue	€967 million (2017)
Operating income	€015 million (2017)
Net income	€004 million (2017)
Total assets	€513 million (2017)
Total equity	€254 million (2017)
Owner	Carlson Hotels, Inc. (69.7%) (trading as Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group)
Number of employees	5,033 (2017)
Parent	Carlson Hotels, Inc. (trading as Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group)
Rating	B1 (Moody's, June 2018)[1]
Website	rezidor.com
Footnotes / references source: annual report (consolidated financial statements and other pages)[2]

History

Predecessors

SAS Group, the flag carrier of Scandinavian countries, opened their first hotel in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1960.[4][5][6]^:379–380 The hotel, the SAS Royal Hotel, was the world's first designer hotel, which was designed by Arne Jacobsen.[5][6]^:378–379 The hotel was initially under the catering division of the group.[6]^:379 The hospitality and catering division then became SAS Catering and Hotels.[6]^:379 In 1982, the hotels were spin-off as a separate division.[6]^:379 It became a subsidiary known as SAS International Hotels[4] in 1985.[6]^:379

Future President and chief executive officer (CEO) of SAS International Hotels, Kurt Ritter, joined the company as a junior manager in 1976.[6]^:379 He was promoted as the president and CEO in 1989.[6]^:379[7] According to the Financial Times, he "lays claim to several innovations [in the hospitality business]".[8] He also struck a franchise deal for the company with Carlson Hotels in 1995, [sic] which made SAS International Hotels had "a decade of compound annual growth north of 20 per cent".[8]

Rezidor SAS Hospitality

Rezidor SAS Hospitality, was a company headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. As of January 2005, it was a wholly owned subsidiary of SAS Group.[9] The subsidiary was known as SAS International Hotels until 2001.[5][6]^:380 The headquarters of the subsidiary was relocated to Brussels soon after Ritter became President & CEO of the subsidiary in 1989.[6]^:379

In April 2005, Rezidor SAS signed a partnership agreement with Carlson Hotels Worldwide, a subsidiary of Carlson Companies.[9] The agreement included Carlson acquired 25% shares of Rezidor SAS, as well as Rezidor SAS acquired the rights to use the Carlson-owned brands, such as Radisson SAS, Park Inn, Regent and Country Inns & Suites, in the Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) markets.[9] Rezidor SAS, at that time known as SAS International Hotels, signed a similar agreement in 1994 (1995 according to the Financial Times[8] and Rezidor themselves[5]) with Radisson Hotels International, another subsidiary of Carlson Companies.[4] That agreement give birth of the hotel chain Radisson SAS.[4][5] Radisson SAS was known as Radisson Blu since 2009.[6]^:381[10] The franchise agreement was renewed in 2002, which added three more brands: Park Inn, Regent and Country Inn in the new agreement.[5][6]^:380

In February 2005, Rezidor signed an agreement to convert 7 former Holiday Inn hotels in Germany to Park Inn: Park Inn Bochum, Park Inn Dortmund-City Centre, Park Inn Düsseldorf/Kaarst, Park Inn Hanover, Park Inn Kamen/Unna, Park Inn Köln-Belfortstraße (Park Inn Cologne-Belfortstrasse) and Park Inn Cologne City-West.[11] However, 6 of the aforementioned hotels, except Cologne City-West, were converted to Mercure brand of AccorHotels in 2014.[12]

In 2005, Rezidor SAS opened 4 more Radisson hotels in the Republic of Ireland.[13] 2 Park Inn hotels were also opened in Dundalk and Mulranny respectively in the same year.[14][15] However, Park Inn Dundalk was closed down in 2010.[16] The former Park Inn Dundalk was under Ramada brand of Wyndham Hotels and managed by another company Lester Hotels since 2016.[17]

In February 2006, Rezidor opened a Park Inn hotel in Baku, the first Park Inn hotel in the Commonwealth of Independent States.[18]

Rezidor Hotel Group

In 2006, SAS Group floated Rezidor SAS Hospitality as Rezidor Hotel Group AB (publ) on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.[6]^:380[19][20] The listed company is incorporated in Sweden.[21] After the listing, as of 2007, SAS Group ceased to be a shareholder of Rezidor Hotel Group, while Carlson Hotels Worldwide owned about 42% shares.[6]^:380[22]

In the 2010s, Rezidor Hotel Group became part of a larger hotel group, which trading as Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. Carlson Hotels increased its ownership ratio of the Rezidor Hotel Group to 50.1% in 2010[23] and then integrating the two hotel groups. In January 2012, it was announced that Carlson hotel group and Rezidor hotel group would runs hotels under one name Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.[24] In 2010, Carlson and Rezidor had already sold the brand Regent to Formosa International Hotels.[25][26] The enlarged group, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, was one of the top hotel corporations in 2013.[3]

Carlson–Rezidor group was acquired by Chinese conglomerate HNA Group, via their division, HNA Tourism Group, in 2016[27] from Carlson Companies.[28][29] The takeover also triggered a mandatory bid for the remaining shares of the listed company.[30] However, HNA Group re-sold Carlson–Rezidor group to a consortium led by Jin Jiang International Holdings, another Chinese conglomerate.[31][32]

In May 2018, Rezidor Hotel Group, the listed company, was renamed to Radisson Hospitality AB (publ);[33][34][35] The Belgian subsidiary, was renamed to Radisson Hospitality Belgium SPRL/BVBA; The parent company, Carlson Hotels, Inc., was renamed to Radisson Hospitality, Inc. in the fourth quarter of 2017.[2][27][33][34] The trading name of the whole hotel group, including both Radisson Hospitality AB and Radisson Hospitality, Inc., was renamed to Radisson Hotel Group.[27]

References

1. "Rating Action: Moody's rates Radisson Hospitality B1; stable outlook" (Press release). London: Moody's Investors Service. June 25, 2018. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
2. Annual Report 2017. Rezidor Hotel Group. 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
3. Webster, Craig (2016). "Hotel chains, globalisation, and politics". In Ivanova, Maya; Ivanov, Stanislav; Magnini, Vincent P. (eds.). The Routledge Handbook of Hotel Chain Management. Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group). ISBN 9781315752532.
4. McDowell, Edwin (August 12, 1994) [digitalized on n.d.]. "Radisson and SAS Form Hotel Pact". The New York Times. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
5. "Our Heritage". Rezidor Hotel Group. c. 2007. Archived from the original on October 28, 2007. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
6. Cohen, M. L. (2010). Pederson, Jay P. (ed.). "Rezidor Hotel Group AB". International Directory of Company History. Farmington Hills, Michigan: St. James Press (Gale, Cengage Learning group). 118. ISBN 978-1-4144-4729-2.
7. "Kurt Ritter continues as Rezidor's President & CEO until 2015" (Press release). Rezidor Hotel Group. April 18, 2011. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
8. Blitz, Roger (March 27, 2008). "Kurt Ritter: Tricks of a half-century in hospitality". Financial Times (news report and interview). London. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
9. "Rezidor SAS and Carlson Hotels Worldwide enhance their partnership with shareholder agreement" (Press release). Brussels: Rezidor SAS Hospitality. March 14, 2005. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
10. "Radisson SAS Hotels & Resorts to change their name to Radisson Blu" (Press release). Brussels: Rezidor Hotel Group. February 4, 2009. Archived from the original on February 17, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
11. "Park Inn By Rezidor SAS Adds Seven Hotels In Germany". hotelbusiness.com. Brussels. February 1, 2005. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
12. "Sechs Park Inn By Radisson werden zu Mercure". Allgemeine Hotel- und Gastronomie-Zeitung (in German). August 29, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
13. "Rezidor SAS hotel launch to be first of many for Irish businessmen". Irish Independent. September 16, 2005. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
14. "Park Inn to Open Two New Hotels in Ireland" (Press release). Rezidor SAS Hospitality. February 15, 2005. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
15. "New Park Inn brand to be launched". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. c. 2005 [updated January 26, 2007]. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
16. "Strong interest in sale of Park Hotel". Dundalk Democrat. April 6, 2013. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
17. "Park Inn Hotel in Dundalk to reopen as The Ramada Resort". Talk of the Town. November 24, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
18. "Rezidor SAS Opens Park Inn in Azerbaijan" (Press release). Rezidor SAS Hospitality. HotelExecutive. February 17, 2006. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
19. "OMX: Rezidor Hotel Group Listed on the Nordic Exchange" (Press release). Sweden: OMX; Rezidor Hotel Group. Business Wire. November 28, 2006. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
20. "SAS Group Announces publication of Prospectus, IPO Timetable and Price Range for the Listing of Rezidor Hotel Group AB (publ)" (Press release). SAS Group. November 13, 2006. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
21. "Articles of Association". Translated by anonymous. Stockholm: Radisson Hospitality AB. April 26, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
22. "SAS Group sells remaining shareholding in Rezidor to Carlson Companies" (Press release). SAS Group. May 25, 2007. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
23. Grayson, Katharine (May 19, 2010). "Carlson ups stake in Rezidor Hotel Group". Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
24. Spector, Mike; DiNapoli, Jessica (January 19, 2012). "Carlson, Rezidor to operate hotels under one name". New York City. Reuters. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
25. Kwong, Robin (July 6, 2010). Written at Taipei. "Revival plan for luxury Regent hotels". Financial Times. London. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
26. "Carlson and Rezidor complete sale of Regent luxury hotel business to Formosa International Hotels Corporation" (Press release). Rezidor Hotel Group. October 15, 2010. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
27. Written at Berlin. "China's HNA renames Carlson Rezidor as Radisson Hotel Group". Beijing. Xinhua News Agency. March 6, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
28. Jourdan, Adam; Thomas, Denny (April 28, 2016). "China's HNA Group agrees to buy Carlson Hotels". Shanghai; Hong Kong. Reuters. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
29. Ma, Wayne; Wu, Kane; Beckerman, Josh (April 28, 2016). "China's HNA to Buy Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group". The Wall Street Journal. New York City. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
30. Dickson, Daniel (December 23, 2016). "China's HNA Tourism makes mandatory bid for Rezidor". Stockholm. Reuters. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
31. Wu, Kane (August 10, 2018). "HNA sells Radisson Holdings to Jin Jiang-led consortium". Hong Kong. Reuters. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
32. "Radisson Hospitality, Inc. Issues Statement Following Completion of Acquisition by Jin Jiang International Holdings Co., Ltd" (Press release). Minneapolis; Singapore: Radisson Hospitality, Inc. (Radisson Hotel Group). November 13, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
33. "CEO Message" (Press release). Radisson Hospitality AB. n.d. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
34. Gerrard, Bradley (March 6, 2018). "Radisson owner rebrands as part of €160m five-year overhaul plan". The Telegraph. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
35. "Rezidor Hotel Group AB (publ) renames to Radisson Hospitality AB (publ)" (Press release). Brussels; Stockholm: Radisson Hospitality AB. May 7, 2018. Retrieved January 20, 2019.

External links

• Official website