Skift Take
Turning around as storied a hotel brand as Radisson will take time and money, but trying to do it using a different or related brand like Blu is a smarter way of doing it.
The Radisson hotel chain, once the flagship of the Carlson hospitality footprint, is in the midst of a massive refurbishing, remodeling and rebranding effort.
It can't come soon enough.
Radisson ranked dead last in guest satisfaction among its North American upscale hotel peers in a recent survey by consumer satisfaction giant J.D. Power and Associates. That's 11th out of 11 chains surveyed by the organization.
The survey is the elephant in the room for Radisson's parent, the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, as the $1 billion-plus Radisson upgrading approaches the halfway point of its planned schedule.
"It takes time for perception to catch up with the changes," Chief Branding Officer Gordon McKinnon said in a recent interview. "We are concentrating on guest-facing areas -- the lobby, the restaurants, the rooms, the meeting rooms."
Hotel industry analysts applaud the Radisson approach but caution that the chain faces stiff competition in its segment from the likes of Hilton Garden Inn, SpringHill Suites and Hyatt Place.
"It will be good for them. It will make them more relevant, modern and hip," said Kirby Payne, president of HVS Hotel Management. "Demand is growing fast for the upscale market as people start to spend faster and companies feel
