The Rezidor Hotel Group concluded 2015 with a record 41 hotel signings and 24 hotel openings, up 30 per cent from 2014, with a number of new properties opened in the Middle East.

The group opened three new hotels in Saudi Arabia, one in Istanbul, Turkey and one new Quorvus Collection member in Muscat, Oman.

During the past year, Rezidor also reached the milestone of 100,000 rooms in operation or under development.

”2015 was a successful year for us and an important stage on our journey towards increased profitability. Building on our achievements, using the momentum in many markets and rigorously pursuing our strategy, we grew the number of hotel signings by almost 30 per cent compared to 2014”, said Elie Younes, executive vice president and chief development officer of Rezidor.

In the course of last year, Rezidor signed projects in seven new countries (Armenia, Congo, Cyprus, Iraq (Kurdistan), Mauritius, Slovenia and Togo) and is now present in 80 countries across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The signings also included three Radisson RED hotels in Cape Town/South Africa, Glasgow/UK and Brussels/Belgium.

”We are particularly excited about our RED roll-out. This lifestyle select brand ideally complements our portfolio and unlocks commercial and shareholder value by capturing the growing guest segment of the millennial travellers. It is all set for future ambitious development in urban destinations”, said Younes.

In 2015, Rezidor opened 24 hotels with 4,000 rooms. Despite the challenging external environment, Rezidor opened four properties in Russia – clearly strengthening its position as the leading international operator in the area. The group also opened hotels in Saudi-Arabia where it has a country development agreement with regional company Al Hokair and In Turkey, Rezidor cemented Radisson Blu as the largest upper-upscale brand in Istanbul – and launched the very first mid-scale Park Inn by Radisson in the city.

”Our total portfolio continues to feature a solid pipeline of 20,000 rooms. 85 per cent are located in developing markets which are often high RevPAR markets where we operate with fee-based contract models generating high EBITDA margins. While we continue to lead the upper-upscale segment in Europe with Radisson Blu, we remain committed to these emerging regions and mitigate market-inherent risks through our asset-light business model, a focused geographic execution and increased security measures,” Younes added. – TradeArabia News Service