Choice Hotels International is continuing its push in the upscale segment, officially relaunching its Radisson and Radisson Blu brands last week at the NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference.
The brands are among nine upscale hotel flags that Choice assumed as part of its acquisition of Radisson Hotels Americas in 2022. The hotel company is repositioning Radisson as a conversion-focused brand, and both Radisson and Radisson Blu will see design and operational upgrades aimed to “drive down cost of ownership, without compromising the guest experience,” Philipp Mirow, director of upscale brands at Choice, shared with Hotel Dive.
The brand relaunches come after Choice in January first announced it was “redefining” five of its upscale and upper upscale brands, including Ascend Hotel Collection and Cambria Hotels, in an effort to “drive more value for owners and repeat stays from guests.”
Brand changes
Radisson will now be a conversion-friendly brand, catering to owners looking for a fast-to-market and cost-effective alternative to new construction.
The relaunched brand will address “some of the pain points from a guest perspective that we know [exist] in upscale full-service hotels,” Mirow said, including a lack of storage. Radisson guest rooms will now feature a “Cozy Nook” seating area with a built-in desk.
Radisson’s food and beverage program will also see changes. While the brand has historically required a full-service restaurant serve three meals daily on-property, Choice has cut the lunch requirement and is working with property owners to “find alternative ways to still deliver [lunch, but] in a more cost effective way,” such as grab-and-go items, Mirow added.
According to Choice Senior Vice President and General Manager of Upscale Brands Indy Adenaw, now is “a particularly key time for conversions.”
Last month, Choice relaunched Park Inn by Radisson, similarly repositioning it as a conversion-friendly brand. And other hotel players are expanding in the conversion space, including Marriott International, which launched a new conversion-focused transient midscale brand, dubbed Project Mid-T, at NYU last week. IHG Hotels & Resorts is also growing its conversion brand, Garner.
Choice’s upper upscale lifestyle brand Radisson Blu will see upgrades “touching all aspects of the guest experience,” including public space design and F&B, Mirow said. One key design change is that the guest rooms will include a “Get Ready Moment” wall, a space outfitted with a large dry vanity, optimal lighting and a full-sized wardrobe.
Meeting owner and guest needs
Mirow shared that while the guest rooms for both brands will be upgraded, these relaunches are not solely about physical property improvements.
“I think chains have gotten to the point where they require a lot, but it's not really clear what’s prioritized and what’s not. What we have done has been to actually think about this from both a guest and an owner perspective.”
Indy Adenaw
Choice Hotels Senior Vice President and General Manager of Upscale Brands
Roughly six months ago, Mirow helped set up a franchise council among Choice brands to understand the existing challenges owners face and incorporate their feedback into brand changes.
“It really is thinking about the end-to-end guest experience and revamping it through the lens of both the guests and the franchisee, so that we're looking to create approachable experiences for our guests [that are] equally approachable for our investors and our hotel partners,” he said.
This goal is especially poignant as owners and developers face pressure on the hotel business model, including rising costs, Adenaw told Hotel Dive.
“What we have heard a lot is [that] a fair amount of owners don't necessarily feel heard when it comes to the investments that they need to put into their hotels. I think chains have gotten to the point where they require a lot, but it's not really clear what’s prioritized and what’s not,” Adenaw said. “What we have done has been to actually think about this from both a guest and an owner perspective.”
Adenaw continued: “Is everything that we're asking meaningful for the guest? And is everything we're asking also appropriate for somebody that is trying to steward their business through rough or unpredictable economic times?”
Upscale push
The relaunches of Radisson and Radisson Blu come as Choice makes a strategic push in upper-tier segments.
The hotel company launched its largest marketing campaign to date earlier this year, featuring Radisson and the upscale Cambria brand in an effort to change the perception around its segmentation, Choice Chief Marketing Officer Noha Abdalla told Hotel Dive in January.
Choice has also expanded Cambria with openings in California and Nashville this year.
“We want to deliver as much value back to our existing owners,” Adenaw said. For now, that means growing the Radisson and Radisson Blu brands into “as attractive of markets as we can,” he added.
Choice is also “thinking through design, the operating experience [and] standards” across all upscale brands, so that in “six or seven months, [we] have brands that have been reinvented, experiences that are stronger, new customer audiences that we're targeting and hopefully new owners that are partnering with Choice,” Adenaw said.
Choice peer Wyndham Hotels & Resorts also made a play in upscale earlier this year, adding upscale extended stay brand WaterWalk to its portfolio. Choice ended a monthslong pursuit to acquire Wyndham in March.
