Michael Baker's businesstravelnews.com article "U.S. Hotels Making Fewer Capital Improvements" on June 23, 2010, is a one-sided
look at the lodging industry and fails to provide a balanced perspective.
Despite NYU dean Bjorn Hanson's research indicating few hotels are making
capital improvements, Carlson's Radisson brand, among others, should serve as
an example to the contrary and offer consumers and investors alike an
optimistic outlook for the long-term growth in the industry.
In March 2010, Carlson announced its global growth strategy
Ambition 2015. As part of this plan, it is our goal to expand our portfolio to
more than 1,500 hotels in operation, representing a 50 percent growth over the
next five years. Additionally, we launched an investment program of up to $1.5
billion for Radisson in North America alone.
In the first 100 days of the Ambition 2015 plan, 50 percent
of the existing Radisson portfolio in North America has committed to property
improvements to align with our global upscale standards. We have also announced
a $125 million investment to develop a new upper-upscale Radisson flagship
hotel in the U.S. with the Radisson Blu Aqua in Chicago.
While we may be an exception to the findings, it is worth
noting that the state of the industry is not as grim as outlined in the
article. We are confident that now is the time to invest in our brands and in
our properties.
Hubert Joly
President and CEO
Carlson Cos.
Minnetonka, Minn.
This letter originally
appeared in the August 9, 2010, edition of Business Travel News.