Carlson Hotels Plans Upscale, Luxury Expansion

Carlson Hotels Worldwide plans a resurgence of its Radisson brand in North America and the luxury Regent brand in Asia/Pacific, with more than 100 total properties in the works, executives told Business Travel News.

Paul Kirwin, Carlson Hotels' president of operations in the Americas, told BTN that Carlson's goal is to increase the upscale Radisson brand from about 200 current properties in the Americas to 300, particularly through growth in Latin America. There are about 400 Radisson properties worldwide, he said.

While Radissons in Europe tend to be higher on the upscale spectrum, the brand has been working to improve its image in the Americas, removing a number of low-performing properties, Kirwin said. That process is largely done, leaving room for more rapid growth, he said.

"In a brand like Radisson, and really any large brand, there's always some hotels that are leaving and one of the reasons is there's constant evolution in the local marketplace," Kirwin said. "A neighborhood that at one point, maybe 15 or 20 years ago, was a hot booming neighborhood could have changed enough in the community."

The luxury Regent brand also is experiencing a rebirth, he said. The brand began in Asia and was purchased by Four Seasons, who at the time wanted two brands, Kirwin said. Four Seasons later sold the brand to Carlson, and because some had been converted to Four Seasons properties, it had weakened somewhat in terms of size, he said. With a booming Asian hotel market, however, Regent has several new projects in the works, including properties under construction in Bangkok, Maldives and Manila.

Although Kirwin said there are opportunities to bring Regent to Latin America, the brand's growth in the Americas will be slower. "In North America, it's a bit more limited opportunity, because there will be less new construction," Kirwin said. "Without a residential component, some say it's hard to make financial sense for a luxury hotel to be built in the United States."

Carlson's midprice Country Inns & Suites brand will sign 60 new agreements this year, Kirwin said. The brand now has reached what he called critical mass for inclusion in corporate travel programs. "Because there's a continued trend for business travel managers to consolidate travel, we'll fit in quite a bit," he said.

The upscale Park Plaza brand will focus would be on further growth into such international gateway cities as New York, Orlando and San Francisco, Kirwin said. Carlson hopes to leverage Park Plaza's international growth particularly by attracting travelers from Europe and Asia who are familiar with the brand, he said.

At the same time, Carlson's economy Park Inn brand, which has a majority of its properties outside of North America, also is poised for domestic growth, he said. "There's more opportunity there to convert existing hotels in America, and we're starting to see some traction on that," Kirwin said.