Radisson Collection Resort, Nanjing

In a new instalment of our exclusive series, we explore how the multinational’s expansion efforts ramped up in the early days of the pandemic but have since been curtailed.

Few events have had such a devastating effect on the hospitality sector as the Covid19 outbreak, which has created enormous challenges for the top six hotel groups, Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide, Accor, IHG, Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Radisson Hotel Group. Below, we reflect on what the consequences have been for Radisson’s development slate.

Part of Shanghai-based Jin Jiang International, Radisson is a real industry heavyweight, with more than 1,600 hotels in operation and under development across 120 countries around the world. Its nine brands include Radisson Collection in the affordable luxury sector, and Radisson Blu, Park Plaza, Radisson Red, Radisson Individuals and Radisson in the upscale and upper-upscale segments. But its remarkable geographic spread certainly resulted in plenty of headaches for management in early 2020, as countries rushed to impose lockdowns, travel bans and curfews to limit the spread of coronavirus.

Radisson’s pipeline shrinks after initial surge

When Covid19 first went global, we asked our research team to keep tabs on how Radisson’s expansion programme was holding up amid such unprecedented turbulence, and we’re sharing this data here for the very first time:

What we can see from this table is that Radisson had 209 live hotel projects as of 13 May 2020 – when Covid19 was tearing through Western Europe and the Americas in particular – but that the corresponding number had dipped to 202 as of 4 October 2021. This only works out as a 3% drop over the last 18 months, which is much smaller than say the sharp decline we’ve seen at Marriott (-12%), but equally rather underwhelming compared to the hike we’re tracking at Accor (+8%) – it’s a pretty flat growth rate in all honesty.

If we delve a bit further into the figures, however, we can perhaps detect a more curious pattern emerging. The total number of projects in progress actually increased fairly steadily from 207 at the start of Q3 2020 to 230 at the beginning of Q2 2021, but has since been whittled away again. It’s hard to know exactly why Radisson’s pipeline has been rising and falling in this way, but we would’ve expected such a big name in hospitality to be actively building up rather than winding down its pipeline as countries gradually get back on their feet.

Checking out the hospitality company’s key projects

What does all this mean on the ground? Well, maybe it’s worth highlighting that the group’s continuing to open a variety of high-profile schemes despite these uncertain times, including Radisson Collection Resort, Nanjing, a lakeside development that reflects the fluidity of water through its curvilinear lines and transparent glazing; the cricket-themed Radisson Blu Resort Dharamshala, near the Dhauladhar mountain range in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh; and Radisson Red London Greenwich The O2, a quirky and bold venue near landmarks like the Cutty Sark and Royal Observatory.

And while the company’s pipeline is being squeezed somewhat, exciting projects are still being added on a regular basis. Among the newly announced schemes that we’ve started following recently in the TOPHOTELPROJECTS construction database are the likes of Radisson Blu Hotel, Changyuan, set to become the Chinese city’s first internationally branded upper-upscale property; Radisson Hotel Casablanca Gauthier La Citadelle, due to become the Radisson brand’s first Moroccan hotel; and Radisson Hotel Beijing Daxing Airport, a contemporary newbuild aiming to host athletes during the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Radisson’s wary of overextending

In the final analysis, Radisson appears to be adopting a fairly selective approach towards new hotel development opportunities, and certainly can’t be accused of taking on more than it can handle. We’ve found that the company did scale up its expansion programme in late 2021 / early 2022, but has since changed tack and reined in its ambitions somewhat, with the result being that it now has roughly the same number of projects in the works as it did when the pandemic first took hold.

There are encouraging signs that key global markets are slowly getting on top of Covid19 thanks to the rapid rollout of innovative vaccines and effective treatments, however, so all eyes will be on Radisson to see what it does next – and whether management decides to invest once more in the sort of explosive growth that used to be commonplace among the world’s top hotel groups.

Click here to read our exclusive Q4 2021 Covid development update series in full: Marriott International | Hilton Worldwide | Accor | IHG | Hyatt Hotels Corporation | Radisson Hotel Group | Marriott and Hilton slumps hit pipeline

Many TOPHOTELNEWS articles draw on exclusive information from the TOPHOTELPROJECTS construction database. This subscription-based product includes details of thousands of hotel projects around the world, along with the key decision-makers behind them. Please note, our data may differ from records held by other organisations. Generally, the database focuses on four- and five-star schemes of significant scale; tracks projects in either the vision, pre-planning, planning, under-construction, pre-opening or newly opened phase; and covers newbuilds, extensions, refurbishments and conversions.

Learn more

Related Articles