R ADISSON BLU I T I S YO U
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THE BLU STORY OUR HERITAGE FROM THE BEST OF STOCK A CLEAR MARKET POSITION THIS IS RADISSON BLU OUR NOT SO COMPETITIVE SET OUR GUEST MADE FOR WHERE OUR CULTURE AND OUR VALUES OUR DEFINING FEATURES ARCHITECTURE DESIGN DESIGN SOLUTIONS ROOMS, SUITES, BATHROOMS BARS AND RESTAURANTS OUR PEOPLE OUR SERVICE PHILOSOPHY OUR IDENTITY AND PERSONA OUR LOYALTY OUR FUTURE RADISSON BLU
OVER
270 H OT EL S G L O B A L LY
86 H OT EL S I N T H E CONTR AC TED PIPELINE
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T H E B LU S TO RY
E A R LY 19 6 0 ’ S T WO UNIQUE VISIONS WHEN CURT CARLSON PURCHASED THE RADISSON HOTEL IN DOWNTOWN MINNEAPOLIS IN 1962, IT WAS ALREADY A BEACON OF STYLE AND GLAMOUR – NOT JUST IN THE AMERICAN MID WEST – BUT ACROSS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TOO.
minds, serendipity, or strategic brilliance, the two brands fortuitously found each other. Radisson SAS was born, as one of the world’s first co-branding ventures and a strategic alliance was agreed under the governance of a Master Franchise Agreement (MFA) for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and pockets of Asia.
Around the same time in the Danish capital, Scandinavian Airline Systems (SAS) had just opened their first hotel, The Royal Copenhagen, a unique vision of modern hospitality, created by the iconic architect and designer, Arne Jacobsen. No level of detail was left untouched in what became renowned as the world’s first designer hotel: from the integration of air, road and rail travel, to the design of the sophisticated cafés, bars, restaurants, meetings, events and, of course, the remarkable guest rooms.
This special relationship was the catalyst for the growth and success of both brands. By the year 2000, Radisson had a total of more than 400 hotels worldwide – including the landmark first 100 Radisson SAS properties in EMEA. Radisson SAS was becoming a major player in its own right, known as one of the industry’s fastest growing hotel brands. It was also seen as distinct from Radisson in other parts of the world. The unique Radisson SAS blend of innovative thinking and true hotelier hospitality was winning the hearts and minds of guests as it evolved into an industry leader. With the brand’s signature Yes I Can!SM service philosophy at the very heart of the experience.
Fast forward to 1994: Curt Carlson and his companies had become a great American success story. The Radisson experience, helped by dynamic marketing, was established throughout the US – and had started to make its mark internationally. Meanwhile, SAS International Hotels (SIH) had also expanded domestically and was actively pursuing global growth, with a strong sense of self-identity. Through a meeting of
And so the foundations, shape and form of Blu were born.
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Curt Carlson buys the Radisson Hotel in downtown Minneapolis, USA. The SAS Royal Hotel opens its doors in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Carlson and SAS hotels create Radisson SAS, a strategic alliance for EMEA.
Carlson become shareholders in SAS hotels.
SAS devolve their hotel interest through an IPO. Radisson SAS is now operated by a plc, The Rezidor Hotel Group, listed in Stockholm, Sweden, with Carlson as a major shareholder.
With SAS no longer involved in the hotel business, Carlson and Rezidor decide to rebrand Radisson SAS to Radisson Blu.
With the opening and launch of Radisson Blu Aqua in Chicago and the rebranding over 30 hotels in Asia Pacific, Radisson Blu goes global.
Over 270 hotels worldwide with a contracted pipeline of over 85.
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O U R H E R I TA G E
NOW O N E G LO B A L BLU RADISSON SAS GREW FROM ITS POWERFUL FOUNDATIONS, SWIFTLY ESTABLISHING A REPUTATION FOR DESIGNING, BUILDING AND OPERATING HOTELS THAT TRULY REFLECTED THE NEEDS OF MODERN GUESTS AND TRULY REFLECTED THE SPEED OF SOCIAL CHANGE THAT CONTINUES TO AFFECT ALL OF OUR LIVES.
The brand also developed an increased sense of independence: its parent operating company, now called Rezidor, became publicly listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, with a major shareholding from Carlson. When all formal ties with SAS came to a natural end, the blue box SAS graphic differentiator used by Radisson in EMEA simply evolved to Blu. And so Radisson Blu global was born, a new book rather than a new chapter, full of worldwide opportunity and promise. With a storyline that has now seen Radisson Blu launched in the Americas and Asia Pacific with great success: the flagship US$130M Radisson Blu Aqua, Chicago, opened to huge critical acclaim – with other truly spectacular ‘new blu’ landmarks following, including The Mall of America and St Martins. Radisson Blu – is going all the world over – from Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and back to the Americas – where the Radisson story all began.
Contemporary hotels, individual hotels for individual minds, for individual markets: cookie cutter was gone, replaced by a constant level of relevant Yes I Can!SM service that focused on the detail of the experience, with highly contemporary design. The hotels were as unique as the markets they served. True modern thinking hoteliers’ hotels. This visionary approach proved the tipping point for the Radisson SAS success story. The 100 hotels became 200 in 2008. And the brand had established a footprint in all major EMEA markets, from Tromso in northern Norway – to Cape Town in southern South Africa – from Galway in western Ireland – way east to Beijing in China – with most major destinations covered in between.
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HOTELS
RESTAURANTS
TRAVEL
More than 1,300 hotels in operation and development in 80 countries.
More than 920 restaurants 60 countries
Global leader specializing in business travel management 150 countries
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FROM THE BEST OF STOCK
WORLDWIDE WORLD CL ASS T R AV E L A N D H O S P I TA L I T Y CARLSON IS THE PROUD OWNER OF RADISSON BLU AND RADISSON – PLUS OTHER INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED BRANDS. HEADQUARTERED IN MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, USA, CARLSON TRULY IS A WORLDWIDE, WORLD CLASS TRAVEL AND HOSPITALITY GIANT.
A global success story, Carlson now has more than 1,300 hotels in operation in more than 80 countries and territories across all brands – and more than 920 restaurants in over 60 countries and territories, while CWT has a leading position in more than 150 countries throughout the world. In total, Carlson’s brands employ nearly 170,000 people and generate a combined US $7billion in sales.
Through its select business sectors of hotels, restaurants and travel, Carlson’s highly respected brands include: the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group and its consumer brands Radisson Blu, Radisson®, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson, Country Inns & Suites by CarlsonSM and Hotel Missoni.
The Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group is a visionary, ambitious and global partnership that forms a cornerstone of the Carlson group. Carlson is Rezidor’s major shareholder. And, early in 2012, both companies agreed on a strategy to go to market and do business together as partners – in terms of revenue generation and other areas of natural synergies. The award-winning Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group is now one of the world’s top 10 hotel companies.
Carlson also owns the unique TGI Fridays restaurant brand and Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) – the world’s largest business travel management company.
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A CLEAR MARKET POSITION
ICONIC STYLISH S O P H I S T I C AT E D BY INDUSTRY DEFINITION, RADISSON BLU IS AN UPPER UPSCALE HOTEL BRAND.
Whichever way we describe our dynamic, contemporary hotel brand, Radisson Blu still remains loyal to the vision of its forefathers, delivering a hospitality experience that matters, an experience that understands, an experience that cares, an experience that is both culturally and socially relevant. All wrapped, of course, in a highly defined, minutely designed polished, detailed and eco-aware environment, with an acute sense of place.
This is a price based segmentation definition, which, in our eyes, offers no real reference point for how guests really view a hotel experience. So, while we accept and use this term in industry circles, we prefer to talk to our guests using the clear language that is characteristic of our brand. Language that defines Radisson Blu as an individual, not as one of a group of the same.
This loyalty to the past will also help lead us to our future success. Radisson Blu: arguably the hotel brand of the future, maybe even in industry terms, the hotel brand position of the future.
To us, Radisson Blu is iconic, stylish and sophisticated: it provides the full range of hotel services. And then some. Our innovative, first class hotels deliver truly genuine hospitality. With four or five stars – in traditional industry terms – depending on your country of origin. Or, to put it another way, an impressive lifestyle experience in a big brand box context…
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THIS IS RADISSON BLU
SMILE S AY H E L L O TO B LU OUR BRAND CHARACTERISTICS BASED MARKET POSITIONING SAYS IT ALL: AN ICONIC, STYLISH, SOPHISTICATED, FULL SERVICE PLUS, MODERN HOTEL EXPERIENCE. THIS IS RADISSON BLU.
areas, bars and restaurants, inspirational meetings and events, world-class leisure, fitness and spa facilities, all created with a beautiful sense of place and global citizenry, designed in the most minute contemporary detail – plus a choice of super stylish, modern and desirable room and suite styles with simply brilliant bathrooms.
A 360° experiential view that anticipates all hotel guest touch points and delivers with a unique Yes I Can!SM attitude and a 100% satisfaction guarantee, through a filter of these all three important words: iconic, stylish, sophisticated.
All, most importantly, presided over in every detail by Radisson Blu’s genuine hospitality culture, with its trademark Yes I Can!SM attitude and its World of Radisson Blu service concepts.
Every individual Radisson Blu hotel makes a spectacular mark wherever we establish our designer footprint on our ongoing international adventure from EMEA, to the America’s, Asia Pacific – and around the world.
Style and innovation may be at the forefront of the Radisson Blu brand, but the culture – and the hospitality experience it delivers – remains king. And the people are everything, in terms of establishing the brand in the hearts and minds of the modern global traveler.
Key brand characteristics include: truly unique and signature architecture by the some of the world’s leading and most environmentally focused designers – like Studio Gang in Chicago. Extraordinary public
This is Radisson Blu.
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OUR NOT SO COMPETITIVE SET
A B E ACON OF BLU IN A SEA OF BROWN WE ALL KNOW THAT THE HOTEL WORLD IS FIERCELY COMPETITIVE.
choice – is now such that the latter three are interchangeable and tradable. Guests buy up and down the scale. And their loyalty is now often to individual properties, as opposed to brands.
We also all know that this has been compounded in many ways: by access to data, by instant communication, by social and attitudinal change, by new levels of expectations, new kinds of buying habits, new kinds of product and hugely inconsistent brand offerings.
Throughout all of this, Radisson Blu remains true to itself. And continually seeks ways to improve its product, its communication and its services while remaining within the same – or even a better – cost structure. We recognize the need for international and regional competition: we embrace both the challenges and the drive that it creates.
So fierce competition has reached new heights. And the industry is in danger of commoditizing itself where it hasn’t done so already.
To that end, we generally measure ourselves against those brands that we believe compete with Radisson Blu, aiming to offer the best in the upper upscale sector, including: Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, Westin, Intercontinental and Sofitel.
The consequence? It’s dog eat dog: and within the brand, hotel to hotel, very few two competitive sets look the same. Just like no two markets are the same. The hierarchy of the decision making process: location, price, purpose,
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OUR GUEST
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE INDIVIDUAL AT RADISSON BLU, THE ‘TARGET MARKET’ IS ALL ABOUT PEOPLE’S ATTITUDES AND EXPECTATIONS.
down the scale – based on the purpose of trip – and on who’s paying. This reflects our belief in our product, in what it stands for and what it delivers – and our belief that there’s a far bigger audience for what we offer than our supply can meet.
There are many ways we can split down our business. We can segment it – like the rest of the industry – using the rate code or source of the business to define the purpose of the stay: Business, Leisure, Corporate, Group, Individual – all with acronyms or abbreviations to match. And numerous assumptions can then be made about the type of individuals behind these transactions. But this doesn’t tell the whole story – and it’s also strongly supply based, as opposed to demand driven.
We have to attract exactly the right type of customer who will respond to the right kind of product. It is therefore essential that we effectively get our channels of sales and marketing narrowcasting to the most appropriate audience, at the most appropriate value based pricing. It is also crucial that our message is presented in the most consistent, brand representative way – stylish, iconic and sophisticated.
At Radisson Blu, we believe in understanding what the guest at the front edge of our price point wants, whether they are staying on business, leisure, vacation, or a mix of all three. We aim to deliver against these expectations at a level that represents good value, relative to any other experience they could have. Better than any other experience they could have found in a comparable price bracket.
So what do we learn from the research, analytics and performance indicators about our model guest? The profile that emerges is of a professional, aged from late 30’s to early 40’s, who is a regular traveller. They split roughly 50/50 by sex, suggesting we have a slightly higher female pull – and 50/50 by leisure or business. We also know that this is an aspirational set: we pitch our brand to them in order to attract a much wider group. The attitude and the product expectations of this bigger audience are critical, and the actual demographics are far broader than the defined target market would suggest – by choice.
We then believe in a new elasticity within the hierarchy of the decision making process, whereby that price point is only an axis, around which a far wider group of potential guests can respond as they make conscious decisions to buy up or
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MADE FOR WHERE
TURNING THE WORLD BLU ONE OF THE MOST CRITICAL ASPECTS OF UNDERSTANDING RADISSON BLU, IS UNDERSTANDING FROM A BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT PERSPECTIVE, THAT IT DOESN’T WORK IN ALL MARKETS.
This in no way, however, restricts the potential of the brand. There is so much ‘blu space’ in the world still to be exploited, despite our 350 hotels already open or under development. We’re looking at mega cities, primary cities, mega destinations, exclusive destinations, major airports and transport hubs – throughout the world. Location by location, where analysis shows that a market exists to deliver against the investment, or that an opportunity exists to create a market, Radisson Blu is there – or has the desire to be there. With single properties or a depth of market clusters, dependant on what the market can maintain.
And the fact that Radisson Blu shouldn’t work in all markets is actually a strength: it reflects the expectations that fans have of the brand. Radisson Blu requires a certain level of market performance to maintain the product and service standards that are so critical to the overall success of the brand. It has to be ‘iconic’ by location, or architecture or features – or any combination of all these attributes. And it has to have the ability and resources to deliver on the style and sophistication of product and service that are now so eagerly expected and anticipated.
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O U R C U LT U R E A N D O U R VA L U E S
YES I CAN! IS OUR B E AT I N G HE ART WHILE DESIGN AND STYLE MAY BE KING, IT IS OUR PEOPLE – AND THEIR ATTITUDE – THAT ARE EVERYTHING.
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We’re passionate about people, ambition and integrity. We’re strong advocates of personal and business growth. And we believe in our people, with a pro-active policy hiring from within. So we ensure that all of our people are continuously trained and developed to help them be the best they can be.
The hotel business is a people business. So our Radisson Blu people must be reflective of our brand. Our Yes I Can!SM ethos is both the foundation and the driving force of our culture, therefore of our brand and our business as a whole. It is way, way more than just a training program; it is a purpose, it is the basis of a commitment to building meaningful personal relationships. It’s the beating heart of Radisson Blu. An upbeat, pro-active attitude, focused on noticing, anticipating and making things happen. It’s empowering, enabling, enlightening. It’s in everything Radisson Blu is, what it does, how it does it and what it wants to be. And it allows everyone at Radisson Blu to make a significant difference, in their own individual way.
It’s obviously important that we train prospective managers to excel at executive level. But we strive for absolute excellence in all areas and at all levels of service and management. To be the best concierge, the best telephone operator, the best accountant, the best service provider, and even the best deal maker – these are the ambitions that fuel the growth and success of Radisson Blu. So we school and encourage all of our people to achieve their own ambitions. And, often, to exceed them. This is Yes I Can!SM
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O U R D E F I N I N G F E AT U R E S
I N D I V I D UA L H OT EL S FOR INDIVIDUAL MARKETS AND INDIVIDUAL MINDS RADISSON BLU IS A GREAT BELIEVER IN SENSE OF PLACE.
These essential elements are encapsulated in our World of Radisson Blu program. This is a unique offering that considers the holistic guest journey and the guest touch points, understanding all the complexities of traveling in the modern world: it defines and delivers brand components in answer to every question or need arising along that path. Some of them are small, all of them are significant. It’s a 360° view of hospitality designed to ensure that the guest enjoys a memorable experience – for all the right reasons – and one which they will choose to repeat.
We totally understand and passionately believe in the imperative for a consistent brand standard of service, style, design tone, function, relative scale and market position. We also get that all of the above mix has to be delivered with a subtle nuance and relevance to each and every individual hotel, its micro location and the greater market in which it sits. We are also great believers in the art of hospitality, relationships, authenticity and transparency: we do not believe in marketing tricks, gimmicks or short term fixes. We are hoteliers, who are ardently opposed to the commoditization of the hotel experience. And in many ways, we believe it is not what we do – but the way we do it – that makes us unique.
Defining Radisson Blu brand features include: Our belief in significant contemporary architecture and design Our satellite receptions Our gallery Our room styles and choice Our Club Lounges Our Experience Meetings Our Super Breakfast Our unique Yes I Can!SM attitude Our 100% Guest Satisfaction Free Internet Our passion for Responsible Business
So, it is the collective sum of our range of facilities and services – applied through our ‘iconic, stylish and sophisticated’ filter, our belief in design with a purpose and our Yes I Can!SM attitude that constitute the defining features of Radisson Blu.
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ARCHITECTURE
ICONIC BLU THERE ARE MANY DEFINITIONS, MANY INTERPRETATIONS OF THE WORD ‘ICON’.
We understand all too well how difficult that can be within the hotel world. We understand that, as a hotel operator, we often come to the party too late to influence the primary planning issues. Even as a developer, it is often too late, even at the very beginning of a project, because it is rare that an opportunity arises from a blank sheet of land.
From its ancient beginning in religious art, to its current role within the software world – in particular between competing operating systems and the flattening world of apps. Like all three of the Radisson Blu branddefining words, iconic is interrelated with the other two, and in many ways should not be allowed out on its own. For us, ‘iconic blu’ in an architectural sense, means it needs to be memorable in a stylish or sophisticated way. But there is, of course, much more to the equation than that. Architecture, in our view, has a huge responsibility. First and foremost, it has a responsibility to the function – most critically, in the operations of a hotel. But it also has a responsibility to a sense of place. And, increasingly, to the environment.
But at Radisson Blu, we do not deny our responsibility And we have proven time after time, through Europe, the Middle East and Africa to the America’s and greater Asia pacific, that we can deliver the memorable, big idea, inside out: highly functional architecture that equally has a strong point of view in its own context.
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DESIGN
STYLISH BLU AS WITH ARCHITECTURE, WE PLACE ENORMOUS IMPORTANCE ON THE TONE AND QUALITY OF RADISSON BLU’S INTERIOR DESIGN. AND ON DESIGN IN GENERAL.
It is equally though, a partnership: a joint process from concept to finished design documentation and implementation. It is the collective brand’s responsibility to deliver the design with the designer, not a devolved process, where all eyes turn to the external consulting or developing team for the solution. It is far too important for that. For Radisson Blu, this is not only our face: it is a reflection of our heart and soul, around which we must deliver the brand experience across all the touch points. And, along with our passion for the contemporary and dynamic, we still endorse and commit to our Radisson Blu design, understanding it is also an investment in time, not just a reflection of now.
Our thinking about design is rooted deep in form and function, as well as in big ideas, relevance and our brand defining contemporary viewpoint. To achieve this, we work with some of the best design talents in the world: talents who are on the way up as opposed to at their pinnacle, talents who are as pragmatic, practical and inventive as they are strong in their own abilities and beliefs in the right thing to do – within the budgets available to them. Talents who totally understand that this remains design for a market and a purpose, not design for any individual’s sake.
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DESIGN SOLUTIONS
FORM FUNCTION PROCESS WOW IT IS POSSIBLE TO INTERPRET AND DELIVER EXTRAORDINARY DESIGN SOLUTIONS WITHIN THE DEFINITION OF RADISSON BLU.
This control includes the approval of the project Interior Designer. The design solutions that we can then subsequently bring to the table become selective to every individual project or property. So we can either support speed to market, help maximize the level of available investment funds, or both.
In fact, in many ways, that is the very essence of the brand from a product hardware point of view – individual hotels, for individual markets and individual minds – iconic, stylish, sophisticated.
To that end, we have developed a range of component parts to the nth degree. These can be used in whole or in part, including our satellite reception pods, our room styles, the ‘Radisson Blu Collection’ and our definitive restaurant concepts. Each one tailor made for Radisson Blu, each one created to meet brand design and operational standards, each one tried and tested, each one with the flexibility for cultural nuance. Each one gloriously, unmistakably Radisson Blu, in mix and match form.
We are, however, ever the pragmatists in this regard. We recognize that we have a role to facilitate and a responsibility to guide and nurture appropriate design solutions through the vast array of different development and investment types in the hotel industry worldwide. We take our brand ownership very seriously: we mandate the level of design, brand, operational and technical services that we must provide on every project.
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R O O M S , S U I T E S , B AT H R O O M S
DESIGN PURPOSE D E TA I L GORGEOUS THE DEVELOPED ROOM STYLES FOR RADISSON BLU – AND THE RADISSON BLU COLLECTION – ARE A MEANS OF BRINGING THE BENEFITS OF BRAND SCALE TO A HOTEL DEVELOPMENT – WITHOUT REVERTING TO A COOKIE CUTTER APPROACH.
The Radisson Blu Collection is a scrupulously curated range of furniture, fixture and equipment (FF&E) that takes the element of design detail and flexibility to whole different level. These are individual pieces that have been designed specifically for Radisson Blu or have been specially selected, working with some of the best and most high profile designers and manufacturers in the world. They bring benefits of scale, along with certain aspects of image transfer, through the association to the design and manufacturing houses involved. The Radisson Blu Collection has also taken into consideration geographical and cultural opportunities.
Three, stunning, meticulously planned, designed and executed rooms. Created to complement one another, yet sufficiently different from one another to present consumer choice. At Radisson Blu, we believe in offering room choice for both our guests and for our business partners, with a concept to broadly suit every specific location and need. Each fresh and easy concept is fully worked through and co-ordinated in minute detail, guaranteeing an end result that’s inspirational, cost effective, functional and simple to implement, with nothing left to chance.
All of the Radisson Blu room styles have Suite options and bathrooms to match. And at Radisson Blu we never underestimate the value of either. The Suites are designed to be Suites, not padded rooms. The bathroom may be the smallest room in the house, but we see it as one of the most important. Beautifully presented, using natural materials with the finest attention to detail, extraordinarily functional, our bathrooms more than deliver on new levels of expectation and desire. Any less, just simply wouldn’t wash at Radisson Blu.
Radisson Blu room styles include: Mansion House – a strong, sexy, stylish update of an urban, uptown mansion; Naturally Cool – soul soothing with its contemporary, neutral palate, enlivened by hints of neon and metals with smooth, pale wood and touch-me textiles, and; And Relax – a laid back and inviting, resort option with soft hews of taupe, gentle, meditative flowing patterns and an emphasis on calm. 33
B A R S A N D R E S TA U R A N T S
WE OWN BARS AND R E S TA U R A N T S WE FULLY UNDERSTAND THE CONSTANT GLOBAL INDUSTRY DEBATE OVER HOTEL RESTAURANTS. AND THAT DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD HOLD DIFFERENT VIEWS.
And we are proud of our brand’s enormous successes in creating, building and operating bars and restaurants. It is another inherent part of our DNA, both at Radisson Blu and at the Carlson Group.
At the end of the day we know it’s a revenue and cost issue, no matter how you cut it. We believe however, that all Radisson Blu hotels need to have significant, signature, well performing bars and restaurants wherever you are in the world.
In recognition of our responsibility and role to facilitate the vast array of different project types, time frames and investment models worldwide, we have developed a number of award winning restaurant concepts within each of our theaters of operation. These offer a range of neat solutions.
After that, in an equitable way, we remain open to how that is achieved. What is most appropriate for the locale, what is most appropriate for the guest and what is most appropriate for the business as a whole.
Our concepts include Filini, a stylish and authentic contemporary Italian bar and restaurant with delicious seasonal ingredients. And, for the US market, we offer Firelake, an American grill and wood burning oven restaurant and bar with a strong focus on organic local produce. These – along with our other F&B concepts – are hugely successful and hugely detailed in their design, their build, their operational standards and their execution.
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OUR PEOPLE
S O P H I S T I C AT E D BLU SOPHISTICATED IS A CROSS CHARACTERISTIC WORD THAT WE USE TO DEFINE AND FILTER MANY ASPECTS OF RADISSON BLU, INCLUDING SOPHISTICATED ARCHITECTURE, SOPHISTICATED DESIGN, SOPHISTICATED FABRICS, MATERIALS, MARKETING AND WEBSITES.
closer to the kind of equation that we consider appropriate in the people world of Radisson Blu. So you’ll also begin to see why ‘sophisticated’ becomes a word that’s at least worthy of consideration. OUR CREDO – RADISSON BLU IS RICHLY ENDOWED WITH A UNIQUE HERITAGE… A heritage that is steeped in design and innovation and service, but also in a belief in our people. Our ultimate founder Curt Carlson, left this credo as part of his legacy, and his words still resonate today. Very importantly they are clearly understood, welcomed, appreciated and used to great effect throughout our company, all day, every day, by every one of our highly motivated people.
But sophisticated could be considered a strange word in connection to hotel service and hotel people. Hospitality is often seen as such as a simple process, such a simple service. But we understand that view serves to undervalue the whole notion of the profession and the degree of difficulty involved in delivering the level of required experience that is now expected. And we also know that it is not the norm within the market segment in which Radisson Blu plays.
Whatever you do, Do with integrity. Wherever you go, Go as a leader. Whomever you serve, Serve with caring. Whenever you dream, Dream with your all. And never, ever give up.
It was once said that ‘good service is simple, employ nice people’. A basic truism, but one that tells only part of the story: you then need to add in the tried and tested idea of ‘treating others as you would want to be treated’ along with our Yes I Can!SM beliefs and our commitment to learning and growing from within – and you get
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O U R S E RVIC E PH I LOSOPHY
360° BLU THOUSANDS OF MOVING PARTS, PEOPLE, PROCESSES, INTERACTIONS AND EMOTIONS COMBINE TO CREATE A HOTEL EXPERIENCE, A SOPHISTICATED HOTEL EXPERIENCE, AT WHATEVER LEVEL OF PROMISE. WE BELIEVE THAT IT IS PEOPLE AND SERVICE THAT LUBRICATES, FACILITATES AND BRINGS THESE THOUSANDS OF MOVING PARTS TO LIFE.
It’s empowering, it’s enabling, it’s kind of clichéd, but its success has been totally proven. It influences every single aspect of everything we do – and the way we do it. It is the soft but fine filter beneath ‘iconic, stylish and sophisticated’, keeping us grounded and reminding us of what it’s all really about.
360° Blu is the embodiment of that lifeforce: it literally means the world to us, which is why we called it the World of Radisson Blu.
It is also a catalyst for thinking through every element, every aspect of our service and our guests’ expectations. Other brands may claim some of these services: but we are committed to them, consistent with them and guarantee them.
Service is everything. It is instinctive to us and it is proven: in every piece of research or analysis undertaken, service is always the one leading guest factor. Every hotel company claims it is important to them, but few live up to what they say. For us, it is so important we deliver our Yes I Can!SM service with a special promise – Our 100% Satisfaction Guarantee: ‘If you aren’t satisfied with something please let one of staff know during your stay and we’ll make it right or you won’t pay, it’s guaranteed’.
This includes our more business orientated features, like Free Internet, our Online Price Guarantee, our Early Check-in, our Express Check-in / Check-out and our Late Check-out – along with our softer service aspects, like 3 Hour Laundry or our Grab and Run Breakfast. All illustrate our commitment to service, all demonstrate that we understand what it’s like to travel in today’s world – and that we are determined to ensure that the Radisson Blu hotel experience is always the highlight of any trip.
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TURNING THE WORLD BLU RADISSON BLU. STYLISH. CONTEMPORARY. ICONIC. WITH OUR UNIQUE YES I CAN! SM SPIRIT OF SERVICE. OVER 300 HOTELS AND RESORTS WORLDWIDE – OPEN AND UNDER DEVELOPMENT. INCLUDING OUR MUCH LAUDED AND AWARDED BRAND NEW RADISSON BLU AQUA IN CHICAGO. RADISSON BLU. SMILE. IT IS YOU.
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EXTERIOR, RADISSON BLU AQUA CHICAGO, USA
ExtErior, radisson Blu duBai MEdia City, uaE
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A CLEAR MARKET POSITION
ICONIC STYLISH S O P H I S T I C AT E D BY INDUSTRY DEFINITION RADISSON BLU IS AN UPPER UPSCALE HOTEL BRAND.
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stars, depending on your country of origin, is of course old school but still used and understood by most. Or a lifestyle experience in a big brand box context, is another way of looking at our position, if you want to impress.
Throughout all of the words, however, Radisson Blu remains loyal to the vision of its forefathers, delivering a hospitality experience that matters, an experience that understands, an experience that cares, an experience that is both culturally and socially relevant. All wrapped, of course, in a highly defined, highly designed, highly polished, highly detailed, environmentally aware, environment, with an acute sense of place. In this loyalty to the past however, ironically lies the path to the future, arguably the hotel brand of the future, maybe even in industry terms, the hotel brand position of the future.
This is a price based segmentation definition, that in our eyes is truly inside out and has no bearing, or has no reference point for how the guests view a hotel experience. So as much as we naturally accept and use this term in industry circles, we prefer to talk to our guests in slightly simpler brand characteristic based language. Language that defines Radisson Blu as an individual, not as one of a group of the same.
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To us, Radisson Blu is stylish, iconic and sophisticated; it provides the full range of hotel services, and some.
Innovative, first class hotels that provide truly genuine hospitality. Four or five
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EXPERIENCE MEETINGS
TURNING SHANGHAI
MAKE THE ORDINARY EXTRAORDINARY
LONDON
EXPERIENCE RADISSON BLU. FIRST CLASS HOTELS AND RESORTS. NOW BOOMING ACROSS ASIA PACIFIC. FREE INTERNET. YES I CAN! SERVICE. 100% GUEST SATISFACTION GUARANTEE. SMILE. DISCOVER BLU. IT IS YOU.
RADISSON EDWARDIAN IS NOW RADISSON BLU EDWARDIAN, LONDON. WE’RE CHANGING OUR NAME, BUT THE THINGS THAT MAKE US DIFFERENT STAY JUST THE SAME. DESIGN THAT DOESN’T COMPROMISE ON COMFORT. THE MOST DESIRABLE LOCATIONS. GENUINE, INDIVIDUAL SERVICE THAT ANTICIPATES BUT NEVER ASSUMES. COMPLIMENTARY WIFI THROUGHOUT DISCOVER NEW BLU. IT’S VERY YOU.
SM
B LU
BLU JUST GREW
FREE INTERNET
HOTELS DESIGNED TO SAY YES!
HOTELS DESIGNED TO SAY YES! radissonblu.com/experiencemeetings
PAVILION, SHANGHAI, CHINA
radissonblu.com China 800 96 8356 (Hong Kong) China 400 6780 290 (Mainland) Australia 1 800 333 333 Singapore 800 616 1283 India 1800 1800 333 Philippines 1 800 1 611 0293 Thailand 001 800 61 10504
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HOTELS DESIGNED TO SAY YES!
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OUR IDENTITY AND PERSONA
10 0 % BLU IN THIS EVER MORE COMPETITIVE VISUAL WORLD, WE ARE ALL SUBJECTED TO MILLIONS OF DIFFERENT IMAGES EVERY DAY COMPETING FOR OUR ATTENTION.
element of the brand’s external and internal persona. Online, web, mobile, tablet, social, traditional advertising, video, film, collateral, merchandise, external signage, in house, in print, uniforms, tone of voice, trade, sales, multi lingual, and cultural variants: these are just some of the illustrative areas in which it is so important and so critical to present the brand on message.
At Radisson Blu we are realistic enough to know that we cannot compete on this level. We are, however, pragmatic enough to equally understand that we can deliver a consistent, memorable and ‘on brand’ persona that will, at least, give us a chance in the world at large. And a sure opportunity to own space within the hotel world that’s not so large.
With the ‘bluotone’ identity and the tone of language established, Radisson Blu has an opportunity to indeed own its own territory within the space where we compete. Global, regional, national, local, property specific all have a part to play in ensuring that the sum of the whole is far greater than the individual parts alone.
The need for consistency is not for debate in this realm. The little voice we have in this greater context is simply diluted by dividing the whole by the number of variables that we choose to use system wide. Dilution is not an option. Which is why we create and maintain brand standards and guidelines across every
Radisson Blu – iconic, stylish, sophisticated – the brand’s identity and persona are that in abundance.
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O U R L OYA LT Y T H E C LU B C A R L S O N S U CC E S S S TO RY
10 0 % YO U RADISSON BLU UNDERSTANDS ‘LOYALTY’. AND WE BELIEVE IN TRUE LOYALTY. THAT’S WHY CLUB CARLSON HAS BEEN CREATED IN THE WAY IT HAS. A FASTER WAY TO A FREE NIGHTS STAY – IS ONLY PART OF THE STORY. ONE OF THE WORLD’S FASTEST GROWING REWARDS PROGRAMS, CLUB CARLSON REALLY IS: LOYALTY, APPLAUDED, REWARDED, AWARDED.
Its Express Awards means guests can use their points for selected services and amenities during their stay. Club Carlson has no blackout dates on standard rooms and features an ever-expanding range of first class redemption partners. Everything from $10 retail cards for some of the most sought-after names in retail, to luxury holidays. It also features a unique concierge level for elite members, delivering a multi-language, 24-hour concierge line, which top ranking members can call on for just about anything.
Club Carlson is our proprietary Carlson group loyalty program. It is a unique online loyalty scheme that really delivers on its exceptional promises. It offers faster earning and lower redemption hurdles than its rivals, meaning customers are rewarded for their loyalty more quickly and more often. It’s available at more than 1000 participating Carlson hotels in over 80 countries worldwide and more than 20 airlines partners across the globe.
Club Carlson is one of the fastest growing loyalty schemes in the industry today – active membership increased by almost a third in the past year, 2012 – with over 10 million members now recognizing that it’s a faster way to a free night and more. And it is also now available B2B to with separate programs having now been established for corporate planners and SME’s (small and medium enterprises) too. Very importantly, Club Carlson is also a significant business tool for Radisson Blu as well. It is one of the foremost promotional channels for the brand and also a rich source of data and analytics.
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OUR FUTURE
TURNING THE WORLD BLU THE FUTURE OF RADISSON BLU, IS BRIGHT, SHINING BRIGHT. WE BELIEVE IT IS A BRAND, A PRODUCT – AND MOST IMPORTANTLY A HOTEL, WHICH IS POISED TO MOVE TO THE NEXT STAGE OF ITS DEVELOPMENT AND RECOGNITION AND SUCCESS.
Following an equally successful launch in Asia Pacific, albeit through a very different conversion strategy approach, the brand is equally now poised here to move to the next stage. With 38 hotels now open and a similar amount in the contracted pipeline across all the developing markets, Radisson Blu is a success story to date and yet still has enormous potential to fulfill.
The strategy is under way to establish Radisson Blu in the key, mega US cities. After a hugely successful brand launch through the US$130m Radisson Blu Aqua, Chicago, and the recent opening of the Radisson Blu Mall of America, the result of a further US$130m investment, the brand has achieved its initial momentum. With now two more poised to open in the US in 2013.
In its core market of EMEA, the Radisson Blu 200+ hotels continue their remarkable success and growth in to the depths of key markets and more excitingly is really capturing the emerging markets of Russia, Eastern Europe and Africa. Radisson Blu is committed to growth, committed to working in localized business models and with local business partners to facilitate that growth. We are committed to turning the world Blu, and we know there is the Blu space to do it.
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RADISSON BLU
IT IS YO U We believe all this with passion. It has the heritage, it has the authenticity, it has the pedigree. It is poised in the right place at the right time. It is product right for the right time. The right product mix for the right time. It is relevant. It understands glocalization. It understands the need to evolve and change before time dictates. It has the space to manoeuver and grow. It has a growing reputation. It has an expectant and loyal following. It has all the right tools, all the right people, all the right systems.
RADISSON BLU IS A UNIQUE STORY. RADISSON BLU IS A UNIQUE BRAND. RADISSON BLU IS A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY.
We believe in Radisson Blu.
So we understand that it is difficult to encapsulate that in three words or one statement. This book in its totality. When words fail though look no further.
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