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LodgingNews March 2014 Vol. 11 No. 2
c a n a d a ’ s
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Two new brands for Carlson Rezidor
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A Couple of Chicks’ Game Changer
In true Minnesota style, Carlson Rezidor executives Thorsten Kirschke (above) and Javier Rosenberg bundled up to go ice fishing in a humourous video to kick off Day 2 of the Radisson and Radisson Blu Americas Conference. Right, at a press conference on Carlson Rezidor Hotels’ new brands are, left to right, David Berg, COO Carlson, Gordon McKinnon, EVP and chief branding officer for Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, and Wolfgang Neumann, president and CEO of Rezidor Hotel Group. More Radisson coverage on page 6.
By Colleen Isherwood, editor MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Gordon McKinnon, executive vice-president and chief branding officer for Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, unveiled two new brands at the Radisson and Radisson Blu Americas Hotel Conference in Minneapolis on Feb. 19.
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Quorvus Luxury Collection The Quorvus Luxury Collection, to be launched in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, will allow luxury certification while promoting each hotel’s individuality, along the lines of Marriott’s Autograph Collection. In a press conference following the announcement, McKinnon said the collection would be “a notch above Autograph… just below Four Seasons or Ritz-Carlton.” McKinnon also said that while Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific were target areas, “if anyone has a property in New York or San Francisco that they want to share with us, we would be more than happy to have that conversation.”
Radisson Red The second brand, Radisson Red, will be launched in 2015 as an upscale
select brand. With upscale rooms and select hotel services, these types of hotels made up the top six JD Power brands in the upscale category in 2013. The brand would operate in the same space as Aloft, Indigo, Hyatt Place, Tryp, Element, Courtyard and Hilton Garden Inn. The target group for the brand will be the 89 million millennials in the U.S. Specs include a two-acre site and an 80,000-square-foot property made up of 70,000 square feet of guestrooms and 10,000 square feet of back-of-house and front-of-house space. Rooms will be 325 square feet in North America, although Wolfgang Neumann, Rezidor Hotel Group president and chief executive officer, noted that room size would be flexible in different geographical areas. McKinnon described the entry space as being “like a private gallery.” Check-in will be paperless, and there will be a bar and deli rather than a restaurant. Other elements include multifunctional areas, connectivity and a communal table. The modern, eclectic décor might include elements such as a pool table. The desk and office chair in the guestrooms or “studios” will be re-
placed by a flexible arrangement of a table and four chairs, while suitcases can fit under the beds. One guestroom style, called Studio Four, will house up to four people and may include bunk beds. Asked whether Radisson Red would have a cookie cutter design, McKinnon said that while the signature items (or bones) will be the same, the skin would be flexible.
“It is cookie cutter from an efficiency point of view, but it will have different touches and flexibility within the local market,” said McKinnon. Asked if Radisson Red would be appropriate for Canada, McKinnon said they are defining the product in the Americas market, with an eye to global expansion. Target markets include “first ring cities,” he added. More Radisson coverage on page 6.
HAC: Faster horses and millennials TORONTO— Sheryl Connelly is a futurist with Ford Motor Company, but 15 years ago, when she and her sister visited a fortune teller, she felt uncomfortable. Sheryl Connelly “It wasn’t like I actually believed—it was supposed to be fun. But when [the for-
tune teller] turned up the fourth and final card, and it was the death card, I saw it as an ominous sign of things to come. All these years later, I am alive and well. But I had the feeling I had done something wrong—good, bad or indifferent, I don’t want to know what the future holds.” Connelly provided the keynote address at this year’s Hotel Association of Canada conference, held at the Eaton Chelsea hotel on February 12.
This is Extended Stay. This is Studio 6.
Continued on page 6
Patricia Brusha will mix and match mentors and students in advance of Online Revealed 2014 in Toronto.
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Labour-saving laundry at Casino Rama
Casino Rama saves 15 person hours of labour each day thanks to implementation of an RFID laundry system.
Art deco accents at Bistrot Cartier
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Bistrot Cartier at the Best Western Gatineau-Ottawa—part of a multimillion dollar reno that is boosting business.
Studio 6 Canada 416.966.8387 studio6@realstarhospitality.com A division of Realstar Hospitality
Now open in downtown Toronto, Ontario!
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