Radisson Blu is an international hotel brand managed and operated by Radisson Hotels, and owned by Choice Hotels, Jinjiang International and the Radisson Hotel Group. Founded as the SAS Hotels in 1960, the Radisson Blu brand name came into existence in 2006 with a rebranding of Radisson SAS. Its operates in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region with 324 operating worldwide as of 2022.[6]

Radisson Blu
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryHospitality
Founded1960; 64 years ago (1960)
Headquarters
Number of locations
324 (2022)
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Wolfgang M. Neumann (President & CEO)
Owner
Websitewww.radissonhotels.com/en-us/brand/radisson-blu

History

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Room 606 at the Radisson Collection Royal Hotel, Copenhagen in Copenhagen, designed by Arne Jacobsen.

Foundation as SAS Hotels

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SAS Hotels has roots dating to the opening of the then named SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1960. Architect Arne Jacobsen designed every aspect of the hotel for the SAS Group, from the building, to the now-iconic furniture (including the Egg chair), to the tableware.[7]: 378–379  The hotel was initially operated by the catering division of the group, but merged with the hospitality division to become SAS Catering and Hotels.[7]: 379  In 1982, the hotels were spun off as a separate division, operating under the name SAS International Hotels.[8][7]: 379 [8]

In 1994, Radisson SAS Hotels was created, as a partnership between Radisson Hotels International and SAS International Hotels, for operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.[8] By the year 2000, the brand was operating 100 hotels.[9]

Rebranding to Radisson Blu since 2009

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Radisson Blu in Trondheim

In 2009, the partnership with SAS ended and the Radisson SAS properties were rebranded as Radisson Blu.[10] The name ‘Blu’ was chosen as part of a research project to find a new visual identity as the company sought to replace the familiar SAS blue box.[9]

Radisson Blu entered the United States market with the opening of its first hotel in Chicago, Illinois in 2011. The hotel occupies part of the Aqua skyscraper developed by Studio Gang Architects.[11] In 2013, it opened its second location. It was connected to the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota.[12] In 2010, Radisson Blu was named the largest upper upscale hotel chain in Europe.[13]

Concept

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Radisson Blu hotels are mainly located in major cities, key airport gateways and leisure destinations. It is described as an "upper upscale" hotel brand.[14]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Americas region[1]
  2. ^ Rest of the world
  3. ^ Americas region (United States, Canada, Caribbean, and Latin America)[1] since 2019.[2]
  4. ^ China, and co-branded Radisson Blu in Frankfurt, Germany, with Radisson Hotel Group, since 2018.[3][4]
  5. ^ Rest of the world.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Radisson Blu".
  2. ^ https://www.radissonhotels.com/en-us/corporate/about-us/our-company. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ^ http://www.jinjianghotels.sh.cn/htmls/Main%20Business/index.html. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ^ "Jin Jiang International Holdings Co. To Buy Radisson Hospitality Inc".
  5. ^ "Radisson Hospitality AB Annual Report and Consolidated Financial State- ments for the financial year 2022" (PDF). Radisson Hospitality AB. 2022. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  6. ^ "Radisson Blu Fact Sheet 2022" (PDF) (Press release). 2022. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  7. ^ a b c Cohen, M. L. (2010). Pederson, Jay P. (ed.). "Rezidor Hotel Group AB". International Directory of Company History. 118. Farmington Hills, Michigan: St. James Press (Gale, Cengage Learning group). ISBN 978-1-4144-4729-2.
  8. ^ a b c McDowell, Edwin (August 12, 1994) [digitalized on n.d.]. "Radisson and SAS Form Hotel Pact". The New York Times. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  9. ^ a b "RADISSON SAS HOTELS AND RESORTS TO CHANGE THEIR NAME TO RADISSON BLU" (Press release). Globe Newswire. February 4, 2009.
  10. ^ "Radisson SAS Hotels & Resorts In Europe, the Middle East and Africa to Change Their Name to Radisson Blu". Franchising.com. Retrieved 2019-09-18.
  11. ^ Citation error. See inline comment how to fix. [verification needed]
  12. ^ "LOOK: The Surprising Location Of This New Hotel". HuffPost. 2013-03-14. Retrieved 2019-09-18.
  13. ^ TAYLOR, MIA (April 9, 2018). "Radisson Blu is Europe's Largest Upper-Upscale Hotel Brand". TravelPulse.
  14. ^ "Radisson Blu Hotel, Kyiv". Hospitality Net. 22 February 2020.
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