Radisson Extends Partnership With PPHE To Expand Brands
Main Photo: The artotel Berlin Mitte
Date: May 2022
Name: PPHE – Park Plaza Hotel Europe and Radisson Hotel Group
Locations: EMEA
Number of Keys: TBA
Radisson Hotel Group and UK-based owner operator PPHE have extended their strategic partnership, promising both the opportunity to accelerate growth.
PPHE has for two decades been the master franchisee of Radisson’s Park Plaza brand across EMEA. The pair have now agreed to work together on other brands, in an arrangement that should be mutually beneficial.
The agreement will allow Radisson to seek out international sites, and exploit PPHE’s home grown art’otel brand. The pair are talking of jointly developing the brand globally in key gateway cities. It will also allow PPHE to launch hotels across the UK and mainland Europe under other Radisson brands, expanding its options when acquiring and developing sites.
At this year’s IHIF hotel conference, Radisson declared a target of signing 330 hotels this year across EMEA and APAC, and said it is keen to accelerate the expansion of its midscale lifestyle European brand, Prizeotel. The aspiration builds on a strong 2021, the group’s best year yet for new signings, and on an internal transformation led by Radisson’s Chinese owners to sharpen operating systems and margins.
At the time, Radisson Hotel Group CEO Federico Gonzalez commented: “Thanks to our five-year strategic plan, we quickly put in place all the necessary tools for a swift rebound which resulted in increased bookings since the start of the year, as leisure travelers sought to make up for the last two years, and a successful end to 2021 with the most signings in the company’s history.“
PPHE took over the operation of art’otel Berlin at the turn of the millennium, and acquired the worldwide rights to the art’otel brand in 2007. It opened art’otel Amsterdam in 2013, then added Budapest and is about to open in London’s Battersea. A second London site, in Hoxton, is in development, while a development site that PPHE acquired in New York for the brand was mothballed during the pandemic. PPHE’s Croatian subsidiary Arena Hospitality also operates a second art’otel in Berlin and one in Cologne. Recent mainland European acquisitions, including a hotel in Rome, may also be branded using the flag.
The first property to flag under the extended agreement will be the former Hotel Brioni in Pula, which PPHE acquired via Arena Hospitality. Originally planned to relaunch as an art’otel, the upgraded property has now reopened as a Radisson Collection hotel.
“We are thrilled to expand our relationship with PPHE and further support the growth and evolution of art’otel internationally,” said Gonzalez. “This bold brand will provide unique opportunities to our guests and owners in this growing upper upscale segment. We are equally excited to grow the Radisson Hotel Group brands across Europe with our trusted partner with the launch of the first Radisson Collection in Croatia of the renowned Hotel Brioni.”
PPHE and Arena have a pipeline of hotel projects in London, Rome, Zagreb and Pula, all of which could now be rebranded under the broad choice of Radisson brands.
For Radisson, there will also be the hope that PPHE can help drive the expansion of its midscale lifestyle brand, Prizeotel. Radisson bought a stake in the business in 2016, when there were three properties, and subsequently acquired the balance of the equity in the brand. Today, it has around 10 hotels with a further half dozen signed across Europe. In May, the group set a new target of 45 sites within five years, including a launch in the UK.
Elie Younes, global chief development officer for Radisson, told Hotel Analyst he expects PPHE to be able to support Radisson towards its aggressive growth targets, in both the UK and mainland Europe. “We had a very strong first quarter signing 30 hotels in EMEA.” In late 2021 the group signed seven hotels in Morocco, and Younes said he is working on several additions in Egypt. “And, working with our Chinese owners – Jin Jiang Group , we expect to add over 100 hotels this year in China.”
Younes said he was looking forward to exploiting the art’otel brand more fully. “I think it’s a brand that provides something quite special. Unlike other lifestyle brands, it has an element that is timeless – introducing art, there’s a strong cultural element.”
The partnership with PPHE works well, he said, and builds on the distribution and branding strength of Radisson. “It’s a very good relationship with PPHE – they know how to develop, how to innovate – they also know how to run hotels. When you marry the expertise of the two entities, you have a strong recipe.”
The deal could potentially impact Edwardian Hotels, with which Radisson has an ongoing branding arrangement that covers 13 hotels, of which 12 provide a substantial brand presence for Radisson across London.
Of the portfolio, eight hotels in central London are branded Radisson Blu Edwardian, along with similarly branded properties at Heathrow airport and Canary Wharf. Edwardian’s May Fair hotel sits under the Radisson Collection, as does a property in Manchester. Edwardian’s newly redeveloped hotel in London’s Leicester Square, The Londoner, operates without any Radisson affiliation.
Hotel Analyst understands that under the agreement between the parties, Edwardian has first call over use of any brands including the word Radisson within the M25 area, and in a central part of Manchester.
Price: Undisclosed
THPT Comment: When a partnership works…stick with it! Good to see this extension
First Seen: Hotel Analyst
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