Carlson Companies
Who was the owner of Radisson Hotel Group from 1962 to 2016?
Radisson Hotel Group Radisson Hospitality , Inc . ( trading as Radisson Hotel Group ) is an American multi-national hospitality company . It started as a division of Carlson Companies , which owned Radisson Hotels , Country Inns & Suites and other brands . In 1994 , Carlson signed a franchise agreement with SAS International Hotels ( SIH ) , after which SIH started to use the brand Radisson SAS in the Europe , Middle East and Africa markets . In 2005 , Carlson acquired 25% of the shares of SIH , at that time known as Rezidor SAS Hospitality . In 2010 , Rezidor Hotel Group ( formerly Rezidor SAS ) became a subsidiary of Carlson . The enlarged hotel group adopted a new trading name , Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group , which was one of the top hotel corporations in 2013 . In 2016 , Carlson Companies sold Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group to Chinese conglomerate HNA Group . In the fourth quarter of 2017 , Carlson Hotels , Inc . ( the holding company of the hotel group ) was renamed to Radisson Hospitality , Inc. , while the listed subsidiary ( Rezidor Hotel Group AB ) was renamed to Radisson Hospitality AB . In 2018 , HNA Group re-sold Radisson to a consortium led by a Chinese state-owned hospitality company , Jin Jiang International . As of 2019 , Radisson Hotel Group owns or operates seven hotel brands : Radisson , Radisson Blu , Radisson Collection , Radisson Red , Country Inn & Suites by Radisson , Park Inn by Radisson and Park Plaza . The loyalty program is known as Radisson Rewards . History . Predecessors . Curt Carlson , founder of the namesake company , bought Radisson Hotel in downtown Minneapolis , in 1962 ( Radisson Hotel Group claimed it was 1960 ) . 40 years later , the hotel division of Carlson had expanded into one of the top hotel corporations , as of 2013 . On top of Radisson Hotels , the division also owned several other brands , such as Park Inn , Park Plaza ( acquired in 2000 ) , Country Inns & Suites ( founded by Carlson in 1986 ) , etc . The division acquired the brand Regent in 1997 , but sold the brand in 2010 . In 1994 , the division expanded into Europe , the Middle East and Africa markets ( EMEA ) by signing a franchise agreement with SAS Groups SAS International Hotels ( SIH ) . SIH would use Carlsons brand Radisson in EMEA . The agreement gave birth of the co-brand Radisson SAS , which became Radisson Blu since 2009 . SAS International Hotels , later known as Rezidor SAS Hospitality in 2001 and then Rezidor Hotel Group in 2006 , had expanded into a hotel group that consisted of more than 320 hotels as of 2008 . The franchise agreement was renewed in 2002 and again in 2005 . The 2002 deal added Park Inn , Regent and Country Inns into the agreement , while in 2005 agreement , Carlson purchased 25% shares of Rezidor SAS from SAS Group . The 2005 franchise agreement would last until year 2052 . Rezidor Hotel Group also had other brands , such as Hotel Missoni , which was licensed from Missoni . Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group . Rezidor Hotel Group , formerly Rezidor SAS , became a listed company in 2006 . SAS Group ceased to be the shareholder of Rezidor Hotel Group in 2007 , while Carlson , a significant shareholder of Rezidor SAS since 2005 , became the parent company of Rezidor Hotel Group in 2010 . Since January 2012 , the enlarged hotel group was trading as Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group . In February 2014 , Carlson Rezidor terminated the license agreement of Hotel Missoni . Carlson Rezidors Hotel Missoni Edinburgh and Hotel Missoni Kuwait would cease to use the brand Hotel Missoni not later than June 30 , 2014 . In the same month , two new brands of the group were introduced , namely Quorvus Collection and Radisson Red . In March 2016 , Carlson Rezidor acquired a 49% stake in German hotel chain prizeotel , for €14.7 million , with a future right to acquire the remaining 51% of the shares . ( On October 4 , 2019 , Radisson announced that it was purchasing the remaining 51% of prizeotel. ) In April 2016 , Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group was sold to HNA Tourism Group , a division of Chinese conglomerate HNA Group . The loyalty programs : HNA Group and Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings Club and Radissons Radisson Rewards , signed a partnership agreement in June 2018 . Radisson Hotel Group . In the fourth quarter of 2017 , Carlson Hotels , Inc . ( the US-based holding company of Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group ) was renamed to Radisson Hospitality , Inc. , while the Brussels-based Swedish-listed subsidiary ( Rezidor Hotel Group AB ) was renamed to Radisson Hospitality AB in May 2018 . The whole group received a new trading name – Radisson Hotel Group . The customer loyalty program was renamed from Club Carlson to Radisson Rewards . Radisson Hotel Group was sold in August 2018 to Aplite Holdings AB , a consortium led by a Chinese state-owned hospitality company , Jin Jiang International . According to the press release , Radisson Hotel Group had more than 1,400 hotels in operation and under development at that time . As of December 2017 , the listed subsidiary Rezidor Hotel Group AB had been operating 369 hotels . Brands . Current - artotel - Country Inn & Suites by Radisson - Park Inn by Radisson - Park Plaza - prizeotel - Radisson - Radisson Blu - Radisson Collection - Radisson Individuals - Radisson Red Former - Hotel Missoni ( license agreement was terminated in 2014 ) - Regent ( sold in 2010 ) Country Inn & Suites by Radisson . Country Inn & Suites by Radisson , formerly Country Inns & Suites by Carlson and Country Inns by Carlson , is a hotel chain of the Radisson Hotel Group ( former Carlson Hotels ) . It was established by the former Carlson Hotels owner , Carlson Companies in 1986 as a middle-class brand . The sister brand , Radisson Hotels was classified as full-service , upscale brand of the group . Carlson Companies also owned the namesake , Country Kitchen restaurant chain at that time . In January 2018 , two years after Carlson sold Carlson–Rezidor hotel group to HNA Group , the chain was rebranded into Country Inn & Suites by Radisson . Radisson Collection . Radisson Collection was formerly known as Quorvus Collection from 2014 to 2018 . Quorvus Collection was introduced in 2014 as a luxury brand . The first hotel of former Rezidor Hotel Group in Copenhagen , was converted to use Radisson Collection brand .