Radisson Hotel Group is an American international

hospitality Hospitality is the relationship of a host towards a guest, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill and welcome. This includes the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis de Jaucourt, Louis, ...

company that has its headquarters in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, Belgium. It originated as a division of

Carlson Companies Carlson is an American privately held company headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, United States. Its primary subsidiary is Carlson Private Capital Partners, a family office that manages the owners' wealth. It previously held interests in hote ...

, which owned

Radisson Hotels Radisson Hotels is a multi-brand hotel chain with a worldwide presence. Its brands include several using the Radisson name, as well as other brands like Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts and Country Inn & Suites. In June 2022, Radisson Hotel Grou ...

Country Inns & Suites Radisson Hotel Group is an American international hospitality company that has its headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. It originated as a division of Carlson Companies, which owned Radisson Hotels, Country Inns & Suites and other brands. In 1994 ...

and other brands. In 1994, Carlson signed a franchise agreement with SAS International Hotels (SIH), after which SIH started to use the brand

Radisson SAS Radisson Blu is an international hotel brand managed and operated by Radisson Hotels, and owned by Choice Hotels, Jinjiang International and the Radisson Hotel Group. Founded as the SAS Hotels in 1960, the Radisson Blu brand name came into exis ...

in the Europe, Middle East and Africa markets. In 2005, Carlson acquired 25% of the shares of SIH, at that time known as

Rezidor SAS Hospitality Rezidor Hotel Group AB, originally SAS International Hotels A/S and then Rezidor SAS Hospitality A/S, Rezidor SAS Hospitality Group AB (publ), was a listed hotel group company. Originally founded by Scandinavian conglomerate SAS Group as a hotel ...

. In 2010, Rezidor Hotel Group (formerly Rezidor SAS) became a subsidiary of Carlson. The enlarged hotel group adopted a new trading name, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, which was one of the top hotel corporations in 2013. In 2016, Carlson Companies sold Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group to Chinese conglomerate

HNA Group HNA Group Co., Ltd., was a Chinese conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in Haikou, Hainan, China. Founded in 2000, it was involved in numerous industries including aviation, real estate, financial services, tourism, logistics, and ...

. In the fourth quarter of 2017, Carlson Hotels, Inc. (the

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

of the hotel group) was renamed Radisson Hospitality, Inc., while the listed subsidiary (Rezidor Hotel Group AB) was renamed Radisson Hospitality AB. In 2018, HNA Group re-sold Radisson to a consortium led by a multi-national hospitality company, Jin Jiang International. As of 2021, Radisson Hotel Group owns or operates nine hotel brands: Radisson Collection,

Radisson Blu Radisson Blu is an international hotel brand managed and operated by Radisson Hotels, and owned by Choice Hotels, Jinjiang International and the Radisson Hotel Group. Founded as the SAS Hotels in 1960, the Radisson Blu brand name came into exi ...

, Radisson, Radisson Red, Radisson Individuals, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson, Country Inn & Suites by Radisson and prizeotel. The loyalty program is known as Radisson Rewards. In June 2022, Radisson Hotel Group agreed to sell Radisson Hotels Americas (consisting of the Radisson franchise agreements, operations and intellectual property in the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean) to

Choice Hotels Choice Hotels International, Inc. is an American multinational hospitality company based in North Bethesda, Maryland. The company, which is one of the largest hotel chains in the world, owns various hotel brands ranging from upscale to economy. ...

for $675 million. The deal closed on August 11, 2022.

History

Predecessors

Curt Carlson, founder of the namesake company, bought Radisson Hotel in downtown Minneapolis in 1962 (Radisson Hotel Group claimed it was 1960). 40 years later, the hotel division of Carlson had expanded into one of the top hotel corporations, as of 2013. On top of

, the division also owned several other brands, such as Park Inn, Park Plaza (acquired in 2000), Country Inns & Suites (founded by Carlson in 1986), etc. The division acquired the brand

Regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

in 1997, but sold the brand in 2010. In 1994, the division expanded into

Europe, the Middle East and Africa Europe, the Middle East and Africa, commonly known by its acronym EMEA among the North American business spheres, is a geographical region used by institutions, governments and global spheres of marketing, media and business when referring to t ...

markets (EMEA) by signing a franchise agreement with

SAS Group SAS AB, trading as SAS Group, is a Swedish airline holding company headquartered in Solna Municipality, Sweden. It is the owner of the airlines Scandinavian Airlines, SAS Link, and SAS Connect. As of 2024, SAS Group is owned by a group of s ...

's SAS International Hotels (SIH). SIH would use Carlson's brand Radisson in EMEA. The agreement gave birth of the co-brand

, which became

since 2009. SAS International Hotels, later known as Rezidor SAS Hospitality in 2001 and then Rezidor Hotel Group in 2006, had expanded into a hotel group that consisted of more than 320 hotels as of 2008. The franchise agreement was renewed in 2002 and again in 2005. The 2002 deal added Park Inn, Regent and Country Inns into the agreement, while in 2005 agreement, Carlson purchased 25% shares of Rezidor SAS from SAS Group. The 2005 franchise agreement would last until year 2052. Rezidor Hotel Group also had other brands, such as Hotel Missoni, which was licensed from

Missoni Missoni is an Italian luxury fashion house based in Varese, Italy, Varese, and known for its colourful knitwear designs. The company was founded by Ottavio Missoni, Ottavio ("Tai") and Rosita Missoni in 1953. History Early beginnings The busin ...

Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group

Rezidor Hotel Group, formerly Rezidor SAS, became a listed company in 2006. SAS Group ceased to be the shareholder of Rezidor Hotel Group in 2007, while Carlson, a significant shareholder of Rezidor SAS since 2005, became the parent company of Rezidor Hotel Group in 2010. Since January 2012, the enlarged hotel group was

trading as A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...

Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. In February 2014, Carlson Rezidor terminated the license agreement of Hotel Missoni. Carlson Rezidor's Hotel Missoni Edinburgh and Hotel Missoni Kuwait would cease to use the brand Hotel Missoni not later than June 30, 2014. In the same month, two new brands of the group were introduced, namely Quorvus Collection and Radisson Red. In March 2016, Carlson Rezidor acquired a 49% stake in German hotel chain prizeotel, for €14.7 million, with a future right to acquire the remaining 51% of the shares. (On October 4, 2019, Radisson announced that it was purchasing the remaining 51% of prizeotel.) In April 2016, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group was sold to HNA Tourism Group, a division of Chinese conglomerate

. The

loyalty program A loyalty program or rewards program is a marketing strategy designed to encourage customers to continue to shop at or use the services of one or more businesses associated with the program. Single-company vs. coalition programs Loyalty progr ...

s: HNA Group and

Hainan Airlines Hainan Airlines is an airline headquartered in Haikou, Hainan, China. It is the largest civilian-run enterprise, civilian-run and majority State ownership, state-owned air transport company, making it the fourth-largest airline in terms of flee ...

' Fortune Wings Club and Radisson's Radisson Rewards, signed a partnership agreement in June 2018.

Radisson Hotel Group

In the fourth quarter of 2017, Carlson Hotels, Inc. (the US-based

of Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group) was renamed Radisson Hospitality, Inc., while the Brussels-based Swedish-listed subsidiary (Rezidor Hotel Group AB) was renamed Radisson Hospitality AB in May 2018. The whole group received a new trading name – Radisson Hotel Group. The Club Carlson customer loyalty program was renamed Radisson Rewards. In August 2018, Radisson Hotel Group was sold to Aplite Holdings AB, a consortium led by a Chinese

state-owned State ownership, also called public ownership or government ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, property, or enterprise by the national government of a country or state, or a public body representing a community, as opposed to ...

hospitality company, Jin Jiang International. According to the press release, Radisson Hotel Group had more than 1,400 hotels in operation and under development at that time. As of December 2017, the listed subsidiary Rezidor Hotel Group AB had been operating 369 hotels. In June 2022, the Radisson Hotel Group agreed to sell Radisson Hotels Americas, consisting of the Radisson franchise agreements, operations and intellectual property in the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean to

for $675 million. The deal closed on August 11, 2022.

Brands

As of 2024, the Radisson Hotel Group operates properties under the following brands: *

Radisson Collection Radisson Hotel Group is an American international Hospitality industry, hospitality company that has its headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. It originated as a division of Carlson Companies, which owned Radisson Hotels, Country Inns & Suites and ...

* Radisson * Radisson RED * Radisson Individuals *

Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts, formerly ''Park Plaza International Hotels, Inns and Resorts'' and commonly known as just Park Plaza, is a hotel chain which runs several hotel groups as franchises. It was established in 1986 as a company and acqui ...

* Park Inn by Radisson * Country Inn & Suites by Radisson * Prize by Radisson (formerly branded as ''prizeotel'') * art’otel Radisson also operated hotels under the brand

Regent Hotels & Resorts Regent Hotels & Resorts is a British-American luxury hospitality brand, founded by hotelier Robert H. Burns in 1970. After passing through different owners since foundation, it is currently jointly owned by IHG Hotels & Resorts and Formosa Intern ...

, which was sold in 2010, and as Hotel Missoni under a master license agreement that was mutually terminated in 2014. with the two Hotel Missoni properites rebranding under Quorvus Collection.

Radisson Collection

Radisson Collection was formerly known as Quorvus Collection from 2014 to 2018. Quorvus Collection was introduced in 2014 as a luxury brand. The first hotel of the former Rezidor Hotel Group in Copenhagen was converted to use the Radisson Collection brand.

Country Inn & Suites by Radisson

Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, formerly Country Inns & Suites by Carlson and Country Inns by Carlson, is a hotel chain of the Radisson Hotel Group (former Carlson Hotels). It was established by the former Carlson Hotels' owner,

in 1986 as a "middle-class" brand. The sister brand, Radisson Hotels was classified as full-service, upscale brand of the group. Carlson Companies also owned the namesake, Country Kitchen restaurant chain at that time. In January 2018, two years after Carlson sold Carlson–Rezidor hotel group to

, the chain was rebranded into "Country Inn & Suites by Radisson".

References

External links

* {{Hotel chains Hospitality companies of the United States Companies based in Minnetonka, Minnesota Former Carlson (company) subsidiaries 2018 mergers and acquisitions