EXCLUSIVE BY JAMES WILKINSON IN HONG KONG
Carlson Rezidor remains positive about growth across the region despite the confirmation the Radisson Resort Gold Coast will leave the group by the end of 2012.
Speaking exclusively to HM at the Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP) in Hong Kong late last week (Oct 12), Carlson Rezidor’s President of Asia-Pacific, Simon Barlow, said the group would leave the South East Queensland market on good terms.
“We will exit the Gold Coast at the end of the year and someone else will take over,” Barlow said.
“We have had a good run there and we are leaving on good terms,” he said.
Barlow said while Carlson was losing the Gold Coast property, the company was seeing sustained growth right across the Asia-Pacific region.
“We signed 21 hotels last year and 16 hotels this year and have 80 properties in our Asia-Pacific pipeline,” he said.
Earlier this year, Carlson announced a major deal in India, with the signing of 49 Park Inn hotels across the sub-continent in partnership with Bestech Hospitalities.
On the back of that deal, Barlow said Carlson was “gathering momentum around the Park Inn brand” across Asia-Pacific, as well as the company’s flagship Radisson Blu brand.
Specifically, Barlow said growth was coming across China, India, Indonesia and The Philippines.
“We are seeing great success in our roll-out strategy in those four countries,” he said.
Radisson Blu is set to get a boost in the region with the 2013 opening a new property in Bangkok.
“We are getting great traction on Radisson Blu and [Radisson Blu] Bangkok Sukhumvit will be a game-changer for us,” he said.
While Carlson saw a major change at the top of the company – with Trudy Rautio replacing Hubert Joly as President and CEO on August 20 – Barlow said the organisation’s ‘Ambition 2015’ plan would remain firmly on track.
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