Carlson To Revitalize North American Radisson Brand

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Carlson To Revitalize North American Radisson Brand

By Michael B. Baker

NOVEMBER 09, 2009 -- Carlson CEO Hubert Joly today previewed a project to revitalize the Radisson hotel brand in North America that would draw a clearer line between its upscale and upper upscale properties and import successful service concepts from overseas. The company plans to launch the program early next year.

With 421 hotels in operation, Radisson is the second-largest brand in Carlson Hotels Worldwide's portfolio, behind only the midprice Country Inns & Suites. In the past 20 years, the brand has grown from virtually no international presence to having a majority of its properties outside North America. At the same, the brand has developed a disparate image within the United States and worldwide, said Joly, who this summer took direct charge of the global management team for Carlson's hotels segment.

"People who've not traveled outside of Oklahoma might not have a full appreciation of what is a very vibrant, successful brand internationally," Joly said. "We're very successful in Latin America, Asia and we have some great properties in the United States, so we want to crystallize the essence of that and roll it out mainly to the North American portfolio."

Although Carlson executives are mum on specifics, future Radisson development will center around two distinctions: the upscale "green" Radisson, centered around primary and secondary cities and resorts, and the upper upscale Radisson Blu, which the company began rolling out early this year as it rebranded its Radisson SAS properties.

Radisson currently has 360 properties worldwide operating and under development with the green designation, and 150 Radisson Blu properties operating and under development. "If you think about Mercedes-Benz, everything they do is considered a Mercedes-Benz, but within that you have the D-Class, the S-Class and so forth," Joly said.

Joly said the company also for the first time has introduced design standards for Radisson properties and will introduce service concepts that have worked well internationally to North American properties.

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