Radisson lauches a new conversion brand in the upper midscale, limited-service segment.

Radisson wants to enter the urban, limited-service market. And the group has therefore developed a new brand fo this aim called Radisson Inn & Suites. It is intended to offer owners flexible standards to drive profitability with hotels in airport locations, metropolitan areas and mixed development communities.

It is an opportunity to really leverage the Radisson brand awareness and position us against those ‘sea of sameness’ brands in more urban markets. This brand will go grow the quickest with high-quality conversions. There have been a lot of 3-, 4-, 5-storey products coming out of our competitors that would make great conversions, especially among owners that are unhappy with the direction of those brands, or unhappy with the cost associated with them… It offers our franchisees another option to expand their presence into urban markets and allows us to expand our footprint considerably in markets where we didn’t have the opportunity with Country Inn & Suites. 

Tom Buoy, interim CEO and chief commercial officer, Radisson Hotel Group Americas

The specs of this brand have just been finalized so for the moment only « a couple » of deals are done. But new franchisees and some existing franchisees already show great interest in Radisson Inn & Suites brand. Some of them want to convert to this new brand. The first property could be open by June, 2022. And the group expects at least a dozen of openings by the end of the year. 

Some of our owners in high barrier to entry, higher RevPAR markets have expressed interest that it is time for them to renovate, and they feel that putting Radisson first in their name will allow them to drive rate and pick up additional corporate clientele,” Hugh said. “We still sell a lot of Country Inn & Suites franchises and will continue to do so, but we believe it’ll be in more rural markets that are in the US$65 to US$70 RevPAR area, unlike where we believe Radisson Inn & Suites will drive into the US$80s and US$90s. […] We have 500 Country Inn & Suites and growing this new brand to a similar size can easily be done because we’re not in those high RevPAR markets today.

Phil Hugh, Chief Development Officer, Radisson Hotel Group Americas

Radisson wants to enter the Caribbean as well as the Canadia market with this new product. Indeed, few deals are already signed in Canada. Some franchisees are really considering the possibility to build new properties under the Radisson Inn& Suites brand, rather than Country Inn & Suites. Conversion’s costs range anywhere from US$3,000 to US$20,000 per key, depending on the condition of existing product. This product represents an affordable option with a flexible operating platform and FF&E specs for owners. 

We believe it’s a great opportunity, not a second chance to make a first impression, but a second opportunity to leverage the experience that we’ve had and make a lasting impression on the segment and further expand our penetration of it. 

Tom Buoy, interim CEO and chief commercial officer, Radisson Hotel Group Americas

This new brand is inspired by the newest social trends. The properties will thus feature social hubs, a Creative Content Studio featuring state-of-the-art monitors, gaming chairs, and a high-speed Internet connection. This product takes part of the new philosophy of Radisson wich focuses on 3 things : « building better brands, building a better commercial engine, and building better systems with better solutions to drive overall system growth ».