Scandic Hotels is a hotel chain headquartered in
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, with its main operations in the
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...
. Alongside hotels in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
and
Denmark
)
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...
, the company also has a presence in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. As of 31 December 2018, the company has 11,560 employees and operates 283 hotels with 51,693 guest rooms. The company has stated that is an ecologically sustainable business since 1994.
History
The first hotel in what was later to become the Scandic chain was the
Esso Motor Hotel
Esso Motor Hotel was a Swedish subsidiary of the American oil company Esso, for running hotels in Europe.
History
In the 1960s, with the rise of the numbers of travelers by car, the Scandinavian governments asked for dormitories for motorists a ...
in
Laxå
Laxå is a locality and the seat of Laxå Municipality in Örebro County
Örebro County ( sv, Örebro län) is a county or '' län'' in central Sweden. It borders the counties of Västra Götaland, Värmland, Dalarna, Västmanland, Södermanlan ...
in the province of
Närke
Närke () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Svealand in south central Sweden. It is bordered by Västmanland to the north, Södermanland to the east, Östergötland to the southeast, Västergötland to the southwe ...
, central Sweden. Opened in 1963, it capitalized on the increase in car travel, both for business and pleasure – the motel was a novel concept for
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
at the time. The chain grew to 59 hotels Europewide by 1972, when Esso sold the non-Scandinavian hotels. The remaining 32 hotels, five of them in Norway and Denmark, formed the largest hotel chain in its native Sweden in 1973.
In 1983, the company was sold to a Swedish consortium headed by
Ratos
Ratos AB (portmanteau for Ragnar and Torsten Söderberg) is a Swedish private equity company founded in 1934 and still controlled by the Söderberg family. Ratos is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.
History
The Söderberg brothers establis ...
and the following year, it was named ''Scandic Hotels''. Ratos became sole owner in 1985, and a year later, the first hotel outside Scandinavia opened in
Koblenz
Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary.
Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman mili ...
, Germany.
The business was negatively impacted by the 1990/91
Gulf Crisis
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
, and company management was replaced in 1992. In 1996, the group acquired Reso Hotels and became a publicly traded company on the
Stockholm Stock Exchange
Nasdaq Stockholm, formerly known as the Stockholm Stock Exchange ( sv, Stockholmsbörsen), is a stock exchange located in Frihamnen, Stockholm, Sweden. Founded in 1863, it has become the primary securities exchange of the Nordic countries. As ...
. Two years later, the Arctia Hotels group in Finland followed, giving Scandic a presence in all the Nordic countries, and in 1999, the group expanded into Estonia.
In 2001, Scandic was acquired by the London-based
Hilton Group
Ladbrokes Coral is a British gambling company founded in 1886. Its product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. The business is split into two divisions, UK and International. UK operations are c ...
. The hotel chain changed ownership again in 2007, this time bought by Swedish private equity firm
EQT for EUR 833 million. In July 2013, Scandic Hotels partnered with Swiss Hospitality to gear up its digital infrastructure. In 2014, Scandic acquired the Rica Hotels chain, which added 72 properties in Norway and Sweden to its portfolio.
In December 2015, Scandic once again was listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.
In 2014 Scandic Hotels launched its HTL hotel brand. In June 2016 the company dropped the brand. The brand was applied to four hotels of the group in Stockholm and Oslo, which were turned back into Scandic Hotels after the HTL brand was abandoned. In 2017, Scandic announced its buy-out of all 43 Restel hotels in Finland for 114.5 million euros, including those under the Cumulus and Holiday Inn brands.
In March 2020, more than half of Scandic's permanent employees were notified of layoffs as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. In April of the same year, Scandic Hotels had a room occupancy of six percent, which was the lowest occupancy the hotel chain had ever had. The low occupancy and reduced revenue during the year led to Scandic reporting a loss of just over six billion for 2020.
Description
As of 31 December 2018, the company employs 11,560 people and operates 283 hotels with 51,693 guest rooms. Operating result (
EBITDA
A company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (commonly abbreviated EBITDA, pronounced , , or ) is a measure of a company's profitability of the operating business only, thus before any effects of indebtedness, stat ...
) for 2018 amounted to SEK 1,957 million.
Sustainability
Since 1994, Scandic profiles itself heavily as an ecologically sustainable business. Employees receive sustainability education and the company offers rooms built in an environmentally friendly way. In 2001, the
breakfast
Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night.Anderson, Heather Arndt (2013)''Breakfast: A History'' AltaMira Press. Various "typical" or "t ...
s at all Swedish Scandics received the
KRAV ecological product certificate, and by 2004, all Swedish hotels had earned the "Swan"
ecolabel
Ecolabels (also "Eco-Labels") and Green Stickers are labeling systems for food and consumer products. The use of ecolabels is voluntary, whereas green stickers are mandated by law; for example, in North America major appliances and automobiles us ...
. Scandic has received national and international awards for its environmental efforts:
* St Julian Disability Award, S:t Julian – City of Stockholm, February 2006
* Glassbjörnen Environmental Award – GRIP Forum, Norway, May 2006
* Oslo’s Urban Environmental Prize – City of Oslo, Norway, June 2006
* Best Environmental Work – Grand Travel Awards, Sweden, March 2007
* Scandic Elmia & Scandic Portalen – Jönköping Municipality Environmental Award, June 2007
* Stilpriset Hjärter Ess för tillgänglighet – Stil, Sweden, September 2007
* Swedish Recycling Award, October 2007
* The Sustainability Award – European Hotel Design Awards, London, October 2007
* Best CSR Programme – Hospitality Awards, Paris, November 2007
Since 2015, the group got in line with the UN's
Sustainable Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future".United Nations (2017) R ...
. Scandic Hotels partnered with
Too Good To Go
Too Good To Go is a service with a mobile application that connects customers to restaurants and stores that have surplus unsold food. The service covers major European cities, and in October 2020, started operations in North America. As part o ...
and
Karma
Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...
to reduce
food waste
Food loss and waste is food that is not eaten. The causes of food waste or loss are numerous and occur throughout the food system, during production, processing, distribution, retail and food service sales, and consumption. Overall, about o ...
within its hotels.
See also
*
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Companies based in Stockholm
Hospitality companies established in 1963
Hotel chains
Travel and holiday companies of Sweden
Companies listed on Nasdaq Stockholm
Swedish companies established in 1963