The Rezidor Hotel Group has signed 11 new projects with almost 2,200 rooms in the second quarter of 2014. All new rooms were under fee-based contracts – supporting Rezidor’s asset-light, profitable and sustainable growth strategy in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Five signings represented upcoming hotels in Saudi Arabia, and two signings were related to Turkey – both key focus countries for Rezidor.
“Due to its fast economic growth and ambitious public spending initiatives, Saudi Arabia is a powerhouse in the Middle East. We have accelerated our development in the Kingdom together with strong regional partners, and are actively seeking further growth opportunities”, commented Wolfgang M. Neumann, President & CEO of Rezidor. “In Turkey, a hub between Europe and Asia, our network is equally expanding. In the mega-market Istanbul, Radisson Blu is now featuring seven hotels and 1,500 rooms and is the largest upper-upscale brand in town”, added Neumann.
In the second quarter of 2014 Rezidor opened five hotels with almost 800 rooms – among them one of Norway’s first dual-branded properties, the Radisson Blu and Park Inn by Radisson Hotel Oslo Alna. The other openings were the Radisson Blu Hotel Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; the Radisson Blu Mammy Yoko Hotel Freetown, Sierra Leone; and the Radisson Resort & Spa Zavidovo, Russia.
“Also our openings underline our focus on selected key countries and the emerging markets of Africa and Russia/CIS where huge natural resources, improving infrastructure, changing demographics and increasing demand offer considerable growth potential”, said Elie Younes, Senior Vice President & Head of Group Development of Rezidor.
In the mature markets of Western Europe and the Nordics, Rezidor continued its accelerated asset management and concluded three deals in Q2 2014. The lease agreement for a key hotel in Western Europe was restructured and will result in a € 300,000 increase of Rezidor’s annual EBITDA. In Norway, the group negotiated a 20 years extension of the management agreement for the 676 rooms flagship Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel, Oslo – one of the highest fee generating properties in Rezidor’s portfolio. Also the lease contract for the Radisson Blu Hotel, Ålesund was extended by 20 years.
“Such results show our continued success in upgrading our leased hotels and improving their financial performance – a core element of our Route 2015 turnaround programme”, said Wolfgang M. Neumann. Through Route 2015, Rezidor aims to reach an EBITDA margin increase of 6-8% by the year 2015. In 2013, the EBITDA margin grew by 3.3 percentage points to 8.8% and was above target. Besides dedicated asset management projects, Route 2015 comprises Revenue Generation activities, a focus on fee based growth, and cost savings.
