Attitudes towards hospitality over the course of the recession have not necessarily been kind, particularly in the United States. Some parts of the industry, higher end luxury brands, found genuine enmity, while everything down through the mid-majors earned a cold shoulder from newly frugal travelers and the growing population of non-travelers. There was a lot of worry about, but Carlson Hotels decided to use the time as an opportunity to refocus itself, transforming and remarketing its Radisson core brand. Thorsten Kirschke, the global COO of Carlson Hotels, sat down with GlobeSt.com and waxes intellectual about the essentials in reshaping a brand and the larger responsibility of companies on a less individualistic scale.
Kirschke noted that the Radisson brand has a bit of a handicap in North America, which "speaks to the position of the brand and its global alignment." That's the first step. "The second pillar is once we have defined the global position of the brand, we work on the brand standards in order to bring the brand to life" for their customers. Then, the Radisson would accelerate growth and development, with a strong position in emerging markets such as Russia, India and Brazil, with he says, a little more opportunity in China right now. The goal would be to grow 40% to 50% by 2015.
Another aspect of the positioning would be to wrap all the avenues in revenue generation, everything from technology, the website, mobile applications and a redefined loyalty program are all part of the plan for Carlson and the Radisson brand. There is also the unification theory, as Carlson will try to turn the Radisson away from its more regional mindset and put all the global brands on equal footings.
The readjustment has been going on for about the last five years in North America and Carlson has allocated $1.5 billion with partners to improve the Radisson brand, upgrading technology, hitting flagship assets and corralling 50% of owners to commit to improvements. Kirschke explains that the Radisson strategy also incorporated a bifurcated brand: Radisson Blu. The higher end properties were rebranded in the Radisson Blu line and owners that were not keeping up brand standards found their agreements terminated.
But with this turnaround, there is the issue of monetizing it over the long term and a large part of the hotels industry has been a love/hate relationship with OTAs. Kirschke has a moderate view of the sites toted by bargain-hunters, which have been searching for deals in ever-increasing numbers lately. "Principally, we have an opportunity with the OTAs," he explains. "Which I don't think we would have in terms of reach." However, he notes there should be a pit of "fair play," with remaining issues of parity. Carlson has been taking up talks to level the field as OTAs vary across theaters.
As important to Carlson is their global impact as a company, not just monetarily, but their lasting impression on the world they help service. Last year the hospitality company agreed to a global compact, the second hotel company to sign on, which agrees to have an actively exemplify corporate social responsibility. Kirschke explains that this will hold Carlson and its hotels responsible for the "impact on the environment" and "get involved on a commercial scale, representing the laws and rights of different countries around the world."
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