Bloomington, Minn.
– Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group on Tuesday announced plans to launch two new
brands in the coming years: a collection of luxury hotels and a select-service,
lifestyle version of its Radisson brand.
Speaking here at the Radisson Americas annual business
conference, Carlson chief branding officer Gordon McKinnon introduced what
would be Carlson's first truly new brands since the 1980s launch of Country
Inns and Suites, he said. Both brands fill holes in Carlson's portfolio, which
currently consists of the upper upscale Radisson Blu brand, the upscale
Radisson brand and the midprice Country Inns & Suites and Park Inn brands.
Carlson's luxury collection will be known as the Quorvus
Collection, deriving its name from the southern sky constellation Corvus, the
raven. Similar to such "soft brands" as Marriott's Autograph
Collection and Starwood's Luxury Collection, the Quorvus brand will consist of
five-star hotels with distinct styles, histories and architecture, McKinnon
said.
The brand will mark Carlson's re-entry into the luxury tier
following the 2010 sale of its Regent brand to Formosa International Hotels
Corp.
Carlson plans to announce the first Quorvus Collection
members in the second quarter of this year. McKinnon said that the brand would
largely be focused on Europe, the Middle East and Africa as well as the
Asia/Pacific region, but if there were properties in such key Americas cities
as New York and San Francisco that would be appropriate to add, "we're
more than happy to have that conversation."
At the same time, Carlson Rezidor is readying the launch of
Radisson Red, a new select-service brand designed to compete with Aloft, Hilton
Garden Inn, Courtyard by Marriott and Hyatt Place. The brand initially will
focus on global urban markets and will debut in 2015, McKinnon said. It will be
differentiated from other Radisson hotels by such features as studio-style
rooms and a bar and deli in lieu of the traditional three-meal restaurants. The
brand also will be tied to a mobile application that enables online check-in and
such services as concierge, food and beverage and personal profile management.
Radisson Red initially will be largely new-build hotels
owned and managed by Carlson Rezidor, though the company eventually plans to
franchise the brand, McKinnon said. While renovations of current properties are
a possibility, they will require top-to-bottom work, not superficial touches,
he added.
Carlson Rezidor aims to have more than 60 Radisson Red
properties and 20 Quorvus Collection properties by 2020.