Rezidor SAS Hospitality: 36 new hotels since the beginning of 2002

In the past 14 months, Rezidor SAS Hospitality has opened 20 new Radisson SAS hotels in 14 different countries and added two Park Inn, 12 Country Inn and two Regent hotels to its growing portfolio. The group today counts 142 properties in operation in 41 countries.

Particularly exceptional hotels have been opened in Central Europe. In February 2002, the group opened its first Boutique Hotel in Paris, the Radisson SAS Champs Elysées. This building, once the headquarters of Louis Vuitton, is situated just a few minutes from the Arc de Triomphe and caters for five-star comfort.

The first European Park Inn Hotel opened in Germany. Last September, Rezidor SAS Hospitality announced a multi-brand agreement with US-based Carlson Hotels Worldwide, making Rezidor SAS master franchisor for three additional Carlson brands in Europe, Middle East and Africa. The agreement means that Rezidor SAS has exclusive rights to operate or license hotels under the Regent, Park Inn, and Country Inn brands for the next thirty years.

Now renamed the Park Inn Berlin-Alexanderplatz, the former Hotel Forum Berlin was branded by Rezidor SAS Hospitality in January 2003. This will be followed at the end of the year by the opening of the spectacular Radisson SAS DomAquarée, also in Berlin, on the site of the former Palast Hotel. Another architecturally outstanding Radisson SAS hotel opened in Cologne in February 2003, directly opposite the Cologne-Deutz Exhibition Complex. And a third exclusively designed hotel, the Radisson SAS in Frankfurt, is under construction. In Switzerland, a third Radisson SAS hotel is being built with direct access to a casino. This will open in St. Gallen at the end of 2003.

In addition, twelve Country Inns form part of the Rezidor SAS portfolio since September 2002. Seven are in Germany (Munich, Bamberg, Chemnitz, Erfurt, Plauen, Timmendorfer Strand), two in Austria (Vienna, Deutsch Wagram) and one at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.

Great Britain/Ireland/Denmark/Sweden/Finland/Norway

In May 2002, a new Radisson SAS Hotel opened in Leeds, followed in November by the first Radisson SAS in Glasgow, Scotland, and in January 2003 by the Radisson SAS Roe Park Resort in Limavady. Three more establishments are under development in Liverpool (opening March 2004), Stansted Airport (opening 2004) and Birmingham (opening 2005). Another two Country Inns are located in London.

In Ireland, the Radisson SAS presence in Dublin and Galway was boosted by a third hotel in Limerick in July 2002. Another hotel will be opened in Letterkenny at the end of 2003.

Rezidor SAS Hospitality is thus a good deal closer to achieving its ambitious goal of making Great Britain and Ireland the second largest European market after Scandinavia. By 2005, the hotel group wants to be represented by 16 establishments.

In January 2003, the Radisson SAS Plaza Hotel opened in Karlstad, Sweden. Radisson SAS is thus represented by 17 hotels in this country. In August, the eleventh Radisson SAS Hotel in Denmark opened in Silkeborg. In January 2003, the Radisson SAS Seaside Hotel in Helsinki opened its doors together with the hotel in Narvik, Norway. Rezidor SAS operates 55 hotels in its home market of Scandinavia.

Poland, Russia, Uzbekistan

Radisson SAS is well on the way to becoming Poland’s leading international hotel group. May 2002 saw the opening of a Radisson SAS Hotel in Wroclaw, following the hotel in Szczecin, which was built in 1995. Another Radisson SAS hotel opened in Warsaw in November. The hotel group will also soon be represented in Krakow, Kattowice and Lublin.

In July, a third Radisson SAS Hotel opened its doors to guests in the Russian holiday resort of Sochi on the Black Sea. With the establishments in St. Petersburg and Moscow, the company now operates five hotels in Russia. April 2003 will see the opening of the Radisson SAS Taschkent, Uzbekistan.

Egypt/Jordan/Saudi Arabia/ UAE/Turkey/South Africa

Last November, a second Radisson SAS Hotel opened on the Red Sea, in Taba in northern Sinai, complementing the year-old establishment at Sharm el Sheikh in southern Sinai. Further hotels are planned in Hurghada and El Quseir on the west coast.

Radisson SAS has been represented in Beirut, Jordan and Sharja in the United Arab Emirates since the beginning of 2003. The hotel group has experienced its strongest growth in Saudi Arabia with three Radisson SAS Hotels opening in Yanbu, Jeddah und Riyad between November 2002 and the beginning of 2003. In addition, a Radisson SAS Hotel in Istanbul and another in Cape Town are part of the Middle East & Africa region in which the group now operates 14 hotels. Two further hotels are planned in Istanbul and Ankara. South Africa’s first Park Inn Hotel opened in Cape Town at the beginning of 2003.

As master franchisor for the brands Radisson SAS, Regent, Country Inn and Park Inn in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Rezidor SAS Hospitality currently operates a total of 142 hotels in 41 countries. Of these, 126 are already existing Radisson SAS hotels, two establishments belong to the Regent luxury brand, 12 hotels to the Country Inn brand, with the Park Inn brand represented by two hotels in two countries. A further 37 Radisson SAS hotels are in the planning stage or under construction.