CARLSON Rezidor Hotel Group’s core four-star brand is undergoing a global rejuvenation programme, which will see all its hotels sport a refreshed brand identity and more tech-savvy touches by the first quarter of 2014.
Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily, Carlson Rezidor Asia-Pacific’s executive vice president, revenue generation, Lucinda Semark, said the Radisson Reimagined exercise is to ensure that the brand has the “right facilities for the changing customer”.
Greater emphasis on connectivity and corporate social responsibility is at the heart of these upgrades.
These include Internet check-ins – which means that key cards are dispensed from a kiosk upon arrival – and an iConcierge app, which offers destination information to guests through their smartphones.
A new charity programme called Spread the Love will also be rolled out, allowing guests to give back to local communities through donations. Other tweaks include the use of branded bathroom amenities and healthier F&B options.
Semark pointed out the changes were in response to younger Gen X and Gen Y travellers who are starting to stay in four-star hotels for their business trips, especially in two of the Group’s key markets, China and India.
To increase its reach in the MICE market, work is also in progress on repackaging its meetings product to ensure consistency across hotels.
“Radisson is a full-service, four-star brand with the characteristics of caring, sharing and daring. We want to remain competitive in that positioning. This will help keep things like rates constant when faced with an increase in supply (within that segment),” she said.
Semark added that despite this being a global effort, cultural differences across markets will be taken into account. In Asia-Pacific, for example, check-in kiosks will be coupled with the availability of a usual check-in process due to the high levels of service customers in this region expect.
A pilot programme is ongoing worldwide, while the relaunch of the brand is expected to be in 1Q2014 over a 12-18 month period. There are no plans to drop any Radisson properties from the portfolio.
In Asia-Pacific, Radisson has 12 properties in seven countries, with another 10 in the pipeline in China (five), India (three), Indonesia (one) and Bangladesh (one).
Radisson Blu is Radisson’s five-star sister, which is also full-service but higher in the style stakes. Park Inn by Radisson, on the other hand, is a contemporary, limited-service three-star brand.
