Radisson Hospitality, Inc. (

trading as Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

Radisson Hotel Group) is an American multi-national

hospitality Hospitality is the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis, chevalier de Jaucourt describes ...

company. It started as a division of

Carlson Companies Carlson is an American privately held company headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, United States. Its primary subsidiaries are CWT, a travel management company, and Carlson Private Capital Partners, a family office that manages the owners' wea ...

, which owned

Radisson Hotels Radisson Hotels is an international hotel chain headquartered in the United States. A division of the Radisson Hotel Group, it operates the brands Radisson Blu, Radisson RED, Radisson Collection, Country Inn & Suites, and Park Inn by Radis ...

, Country Inns & Suites 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 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 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 ...

(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., is a Chinese conglomerate headquartered in Haikou, Hainan, China. Founded in 2000, it was involved in numerous industries including aviation, real estate, financial services, tourism, logistics, and more. It is a part owner ...

. 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 securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

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 Chinese government-owned 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 chain of hotels operated by Radisson Hotels. With roots dating back to the 1960s, the Radisson Blu brand name came into existence in 2009 with a rebranding from Radisson SAS. Its hotels are found in major cities, ...

, Radisson, Radisson RED, Radisson Individuals, Park Plaza,

Park Inn by Radisson 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 acquired b ...

, Country Inn & Suites by Radisson and prizeotel. The loyalty program is known as Radisson Rewards.

History

Predecessors

Curt Carlson Curtis Leroy Carlson (July 9, 1914 – February 19, 1999) was an American businessman and founder of Carlson and Radisson Hotel Group. Early life and education Carlson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Charles and Leatha 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 A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

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

Europe, the Middle East and Africa EMEA is a shorthand designation meaning Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The acronym is used by institutions and governments, as well as in marketing and business when referring to this region: it is a shorthand way of referencing the two ...

markets (EMEA) by signing a franchise agreement with

SAS Group SAS AB (Scandinavian Airlines System Aktiebolag), trading as SAS Group, is an airline holding company headquartered in the SAS Frösundavik Office Building in Solna Municipality, Sweden. It is the owner of the airlines Scandinavian Airlines and ...

's SAS International Hotels (SIH). SIH would use Carlson's brand Radisson in EMEA. The agreement gave birth of the co-brand Radisson SAS, 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, and known for its colorful knitwear designs. The company was founded by Ottavio ("Tai") and Rosita Missoni in 1953. History Early beginnings The business was founded in 1953, when O ...

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

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 is a marketing strategy designed to encourage customers to continue to shop at or use the services of a business associated with the program. Today, such programs cover most types of commerce, each having varying features and ...

s: HNA Group and

Hainan Airlines Hainan Airlines Co., Ltd. (HNA, ) is an airline headquartered in Haikou, Hainan, People's Republic of China. The airline is rated as a 5-star airline by Skytrax. It is the largest civilian-run and majority state-owned air transport company, m ...

' 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 government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownershi ...

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.

Brands

: Current * Radisson Collection *

* Radisson * Radisson RED * Radisson Individuals * Park Plaza with art’otel *

* Country Inn & Suites by Radisson * prizeotel Former * Hotel

(license agreement was terminated in 2014) *

(sold in 2010)

Country Inn & Suites by Radisson

Country Inns & Suites by Radisson in Gillette, Wyoming

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".

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 former Rezidor Hotel Group in Copenhagen, was converted to use Radisson Collection brand.

References

External links

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