Scandic Hotels has revealed plans to seek a broader European presence, as it looks to disciplined growth for its portfolio in Scandinavia and to the south. The company is busy growing its second brand, Scandic Go, and revealed broader geographical aspirations as it announced solid first half 2024 results.
“It seems that our brand has really done well outside the Nordics, and that means that more and more owners are reaching out,” said CEO Jens Mathiesen. “We are maintaining a high pace to expand our pipeline, and we are also investing to create an even more competitive offering.”
Building a budget brand
Currently, Scandic has a pipeline of almost 2,500 rooms with nine signed hotels. This includes five properties for its new Scandic Go budget brand, plus three Scandic hotels and a further addition to the group’s Signature Collection. There is also a 230 room hotel, Scandic Norra Bantorget, due to return to business following refurbishment, plus a further 266 rooms to be added from extensions to existing properties.
Scandic Go is the group’s urban hotel concept that delivers the essentials a guest will need, at a great price. It launched with a hotel in Stockholm, and is designed to suit the traveller looking for experiences in the city from a simple hotel base. The slimmed down service means there is a limited food and beverage offering, and guests will operate everything to do with their stay from their mobile phone.
In late 2024, a second Scandic Go site is scheduled to open in Stockholm, adding 234 rooms to the portfolio. It will be followed by an opening in Oulu, Finland in the third quarter of 2025.
In July 2024, the group added two more properties to the Scandic Go pipeline, with an agreement signed for the conversion of office buildings in central Gothenburg, and in the university town of Umea in northern Sweden. Both sites will see their property owners manage the switch from offices to a hotel, with a 176 room hotel created in Gothenburg, and a 100 room hotel in Umea. The designs will have some flexibility, with the Gothenburg hotel featuring a number of rooms with bunk beds, more suited to travelling groups and school parties.
Building on an existing presence
Operationally, both properties will be delivered into a market where Scandic already has a presence, and a management team on the ground. This will be the group’s tenth hotel in Gothenburg, while in Umea, Scandic already operates two properties.
A sixth Scandic Go is also in the pipeline, for delivery in early 2028. This will be part of a dual hotel development in Helsinki, Finland, part of the Garden Helsinki project that will also see a Scandic hotel delivered on the same site.
While Scandic has strong coverage in the four nations of Scandinavia, it has already grown the portfolio south. In Germany, the group has hotels in key cities including Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich and Nuremberg. The brand has also established a presence in Poland, with hotels open in Gdansk and Wroclaw.
