Minneapolis/Brussels, January 18, 2012:
Carlson, a global hospitality and travel company, and The Rezidor Hotel Group, one of the fastest growing hotel companies in the world, announced that they have established The Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. While the legal status and ownership structure of Carlson and Rezidor remain the same, the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group will pursue the global alignment and management of its brands, the ambitious development of its revenue generation engines, global purchasing opportunities, and people development, on a global basis. Commercial activities will be conducted under the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group name, irrespective of geographies.

“Carlson and Rezidor have a long common history and have grown together over the past 17 years,” said Hubert Joly, President & CEO, Carlson. “Going to market as one is a next and natural step. We are leveraging the strengths of two great companies to create value for all our stakeholders.”
“The goal of this development is to generate more attractive financial returns for the owners and greater value for all shareholders, to be perceived by business partners around the world as one global hotel company, to offer more compelling and consistent value propositions to the guests, and to offer global career and development opportunities to the staff,” said Kurt Ritter, President & CEO of Rezidor.

The chosen logo of the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group symbolizes several key elements: the combination of the Carlson name and the Rezidor name highlights the nature of the relationship, i.e., that of a partnership; and the Carlson symbol on top of the logo represents important values such as relationships, heritage, innovation and service.

The Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group is one of the world’s largest and most dynamic hotel groups, with a portfolio of more than 1,300 hotels, a global footprint covering 80 countries, and a powerful set of global brands (including including Radisson Blu; Radisson®; Country Inns & Suites By CarlsonSM, Park Inn by Radisson; Hotel Missoni; and Park Plaza®).
The Rezidor Hotel Group is one of the fastest growing hotel companies in the world. The group features a portfolio of more than 400 hotels in operation and under development with 88,800 rooms in over 60 countries.

Rezidor operates the brands Radisson Blu Hotels & Resorts, Park Inn by Radisson and Country Inns & Suites in Europe, Middle East and Africa, along with the Club CarlsonSM loyalty programme for frequent hotel guests.
Under a worldwide licence agreement with the iconic Italian fashion house Missoni, Rezidor also operates and develops the new lifestyle brand Hotel Missoni.
In November 2006, Rezidor was listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Carlson, a privately held, global hospitality and travel company, based in Minneapolis (USA), is the majority shareholder.
The Corporate office of the Rezidor Hotel Group is based in Brussels, Belgium.

For more information on Rezidor, visit www.rezidor.com.