Thon Hotels (formerly known as Rainbow Hotels) is a Norwegian-based hotel chain. It is currently the 3rd largest hotel chain in Norway with 93 hotels in Norway, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands.
 | |
| Company type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Hospitality |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Headquarters | |
Area served | Norway, Sweden, Denmark Belgium and the Netherlands |
Key people | Olav Thon, CEO |
| Products | Hotels |
| Website | thonhotels.com |
History
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The Thon Hotel chain was established in 1989. Thon Hotels is part of the Olav Thon Group (Olav Thon Gruppen) which in turn is owned by the Olav Thon Foundation (Olav Thon Stiftelsen). The Norwegian philanthropist and property investor, Olav Thon bought Hotel Bristol in Oslo in 1974. In 1983 Thon bought his second hotel, before he founded Rainbow Hotel in 1989, which included 10 hotels. Over the next couple of decades, the hotel chain grew in numbers, and Thon extended his hotel business to Brussels in 1995 when he bought two hotels in the Belgium capital. Rainbow Hotels were rebranded to Thon Hotels in 2005.[1] [2][3][4]
Controversy
editIn 2023, the company has been criticized for banning Pride flags during Pride Month. The main union representative at the company Ann Kristin Sletvold said she was "shocked" over the ban, and said it was "the wrong signal" only a year after a terrorist attack on Pride.[5][6] After intense backlash, the company reversed its decision.[7]
References
edit- ^ "Hotel Bristol". Kulturminnesøk. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
- ^ "Om Olav Thon Gruppen". Olav Thon Gruppen. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
- ^ "Olav Thon Gruppen". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
- ^ Jon Gunnar Arntzen. "Olav Thon Stiftelsen". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
- ^ "Thon Hotels med forbud mot å heise Pride-flagg". VG. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- ^ "Thon Hotels forbyr regnbueflagget: – Jeg ble rett og slett sjokkert" [Thon Hotels bans Pride flags: – I was shocked]. TV2. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- ^ "Thon Hotels opphever forbudet mot å heise pride-flagget". VG. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
Further reading
editExternal links
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Media related to Thon Hotels at Wikimedia Commons