Choice Hotels International has announced plans to acquire “the franchise business, operations and intellectual property of Radisson Hotel Group Americas”.
The $675 million deal will add 624 hotels and 68,000 rooms to Choice’s presence in the region, in particular in the US West Coast and Midwest.
The agreement will see Choice take over the franchise agreements and operations of ten Radisson Blu hotels, 130 Radisson hotels, nine Radisson Individuals, one Park Plaza hotel, 4 Radisson Red hotels, 453 Country Inn and Suites by Radisson and 17 Park Inn by Radisson hotels across the US, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean.
In a statement Choice said that it will “independently own and control the brands in the Americas, and will work with the Radisson Hotel Group to drive the growth, continuity and success of the brands”.
Radisson Hotel Group was acquired by a consortium led by Chinese state-owned company Jinjiang in 2018, and last year the group split its loyalty programme in two, creating a new Americas section of the Radisson Rewards scheme.
The statement said that Radisson Hotel Group would continue growing and managing the Radisson business in the EMEA and APAC regions, with aim of doubling its portfolio by 2025.
Commenting on the news Patrick Pacious, president and chief executive officer of Choice Hotels, said:
“Choice has a well-established history of smart acquisitions in new segments where our world-class franchising engine can spur future growth.
“This transaction brings together two highly complementary businesses, enhancing our guest offerings in the core upper-midscale hospitality segments, while extending our reach into the upper upscale and upscale full-service segments and in higher revenue geographic markets.
“We are confident that guests and franchisees will significantly benefit by combining these two exceptional sets of brands.”
“Our long track record of establishing mutually beneficial relationships with our franchisees has resulted in a best-in-class voluntary retention rate, and those franchisees are the source of a majority of our new hotel development.
“Our existing and new hotel owners will benefit from the improved business delivery capabilities of the combined companies, including our award-winning loyalty program, proprietary tools and emerging technologies that will enable them to capture more business, lower their hotel operating costs, reach new customers and respond to evolving industry trends.”
