After more than a year since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Radisson Hotel Group is transitioning into its recovery phase.
In a video interview with Hotel News Now, Jim Alderman, CEO of the Americas for Radisson Hotel Group, said his company has been working with franchisees as they try to manage costs and attract new employees during the labor shortage.
On the development side, Radisson’s pipeline is looking much stronger than Alderman would have expected before. The company is working with Commonwealth Hotels, Lockwood Development Partners and Veteran Services USA in turning some full-service properties into multiuse developments that include housing, senior daytime activities and care and career training for veterans.
There are a lot of full-service assets trying to find their future, Alderman said. Radisson is working with partners in right-sizing assets that have 300 to 400 rooms in suburban locations while being surrounded by select-service properties over the years.
“When you think about how many select-service properties there are, they have really taken so much business out of a lot of these older, full-service properties,” he said.
The options are to tear them down or do something else with them, which is the approach Radisson is taking with these partners, he said.
In the select-service space, Radisson is working with the Country Inn & Suites brand and increasing awareness of its connection with Radisson, Alderman said.
“It’s Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, and by the time you get there, Radisson is the sixth word in the title,” he said.
Though the company doesn’t plan on moving Radisson to the front of the brand name, they plan to make the Radisson part more prominent, so more guests know of the connection with the brand, he said.
“I want to bring back what truly was one of the iconic brands,” he said. “Everyone remembers Radisson, but right now, we're just not in enough places for new people to develop memories at Radisson.”
The top six hotel brand companies take up about 84% of the new-build opportunities, Alderman said. The other hotel companies, even those with significant size, must compete for the remaining opportunities. That means most of Radisson’s portfolio growth comes from conversions.
There’s still more room for extended-stay properties, he said. The company is figuring out whether to develop its own stand-alone extended-stay brand or weave it into one of its existing brands. Guiding executives' discussions is determining the return on investment for owners.
Radisson’s soft brand Radisson Collection exists in international locations, mostly Europe and Asia, Alderman said. In the U.S., the company has its new Radisson Individuals collection, with one property open and several signings.
“Instead of it being an endorser brand, we’ve made it an embedded brand, and we’ve made Radisson the first name,” he said. “I want Radisson first because that’s what people identify with that, and its unaided awareness is still very strong to capture.”
For more on how Radisson has navigated the pandemic, watch the video above.