THE Rezidor Hotel Group remains one of the fastest growing hotel chains in the world, with over 400 hotels in operation and under development with more than 90,000 rooms in over 60 countries.
“2011 has been a good year, as our colourful mid-market brand Park Inn by Radisson has gone from strength to strength, recently announcing its 106th hotel which equates to 20,000 rooms in operation,” said Marko Hytonen, area vice president, The Rezidor Hotel Group.
Rezidor has expanded to 65 countries in the EMEA in 2011 with its core brand Radisson Blu entering new markets like Greece. In the Middle East the brand opened four hotels in 2011, including the first Hotel Missoni in the region, three hotels in the UAE including one resort the Radisson Blu Resort Fujairah and two key properties in Dubai, the five-star star Radisson Royal Hotel, centrally located on Sheikh Zayed Road, and the Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Downtown. “The Radisson Royal hotel in Dubai is our flagship in the Middle East and truly marks that has been a successful year for us here in the region.”
Hytonen adds, “The Arab Spring of course was the single biggest challenge for us here in the Middle East in 2011. Tripoli had an impact on our overall performance however we’re now working towards re-entering this market. Bahrain was also a challenge for us this year due to the hotel being in the centre of the area affected by the curfew whereas our competitors were not. However we have a strong and experienced team in place that will focus on driving the hotel forward and increase its market share in 2012. Trading in Egypt continues to be difficult and it will remain this way until the political situation stabilises. However our city hotels in Egypt continue to do well due to their location, it’s the resorts that have been negatively impacted.”
In terms of RevPar, both the UAE and Saudi saw double digit growth versus 2010, based on a combination of occupancy and average house rate. “These two markets have remained very resilient during the Arab Spring. Dubai in particular saw a lot of leisure tourists coming from the GCC who would have normally spent their time in Lebanon, Egypt or other countries on vacation. Dubai also saw a lot of business relocate from Bahrain to Dubai due to the unsettled political landscape in the country.”
“We’re cautiously optimistic as we enter 2012 however we’re keeping in mind the ongoing political situation in the region but also the potential knock on effects of the unsteady economic situation in Europe. Our focus in 2012 will be on supporting our hotels in the more challenging markets to ensure that they gain back their fair market share” he added.
In early 2012 Radisson will open their first Radisson Blu in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa.
“In addition we look to enter other key markets that we’re not yet present in. There will no doubt be some exciting announcements in 2012 as we continue to aggressively grow our presence, watch this space,” he added.
Hotels that have been signed and are due to open in the next two years include the Radisson Blu Hotel & Resort Sohar (2014), Missoni Sifah, Oman (2013), Missoni Mauritius (2014), Al Madinah Paradise Radisson Blu Resort, Saudi Arabia (2014), Al Diyafa Park Inn Makkah, Saudi Arabia (2014) Park Inn Riyadh, Olaya, Saudi Arabia (2014), Radisson Blu Al Aqah Beach Resort Fujairah, UAE (2014), Radisson Blu Al Qurm Ras Al Khaimah (2013), Park Inn Bur Dubai (2014), Park Inn Dubai Airport Free Zone (2014) and the Radisson Blu Sharm el Sheikh Lagoon, Egypt (2013).