Choice Hotels International, Incorporated has entered into a definitive agreement with Radisson Hotel Group to acquire the franchise business, operations, and intellectual property of Radisson Hotel Group Americas — which includes greater than 68,000 hotel rooms in 624 hotel and resort properties under nine brands in the United States, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean — for approximately $675 million.
Choice Hotels International Acquires Radisson Hotel Group Americas
The acquisition is expected to expand the presence of Choice Hotels in both the upscale hospitality segment and core upper-midscale hospitality segment — particularly in the west coast region and midwest region of the United States.
In addition to the Radisson Inn & Suites and Radisson Collection brands, the transaction will include the following 624 hotel and resort properties:
- 10 Radisson Blu
- 130 Radisson
- 9 Radisson Individuals
- 1 Park Plaza
- 4 Radisson RED
- 453 Country Inn & Suites by Radisson
- 17 Park Inn by Radisson
“The acquisition will be funded with cash on hand and revolver borrowings”, according to this official press release from Radisson Hotel Group Americas. ”Choice Hotels will independently own and control the brands in the Americas and will work with the Radisson Hotel Group to drive the growth, continuity and success of the brands. The transaction is not anticipated to change Choice Hotels’ current capital allocation strategy related to dividend payment policy and planned share repurchases.”
According to this official press release from Choice Hotels International, Incorporated, “The transaction has been unanimously approved by Choice Hotels’ Board of Directors and is expected to close in the second half of 2022, pending regulatory approvals and customary closing requirements.”
The global Radisson Hotels business organization was divided into two separate business organizations in June of 2021 — Radisson Hotels Americas, which served the United States, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean regions; and Radisson Hotels, which served the remainder of the world — in order to adhere to regulations which were imposed by the United States.
Meanwhile, Radisson Hotel Group will continue growing and managing its business in markets in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific with aim of doubling its portfolio of hotel and resort properties by 2025.
The portfolio of Choice Hotels International, Incorporated includes almost 600,000 rooms in nearly 7,000 hotel and resort properties in 35 countries and territories worldwide as of Thursday, March 31, 2022.
Final Boarding Call
The splitting of the global Radisson Hotels business organization led to two distinctly different frequent travel loyalty programs, which tended to cause confusion among its members. For example, Jane — who is a reader of The Gate — asked, “Brian, I’d rather use my Radisson points oversea instead of in the US. Is there any way to do it or am I limited to the Americas and the Caribbean? Do I get to choose?”
The acquisition of Radisson Hotel Group Americas by Choice Hotels International, Incorporated seems to generally be sensible — but if the names of the brands and hotel and resort properties are kept the same, confusion may still reign as it did with Ramada some years ago or when Hilton was once divided into two entities as two of a number of examples.
No details have yet been given as to how this acquisition will affect both frequent travel loyalty programs at the time this article was written.
As for me, I stayed at a Radisson hotel property only once at the Park Inn by Radisson Budapest; and the few points I had left in my membership account expired — and my view of Choice Hotels was soured significantly by my recent experience at an Econo Lodge hotel property which was so disgusting that I spent my night in a rental vehicle instead. The compensation which I received for that experience — which included blood stains, mold, and even a rat trap — was pitiful at best, in my opinion…
…so this acquisition will likely not affect me all that much.
All photographs ©2017, ©2020, and ©2022 by Brian Cohen.
