New deals for Rezidor SAS in the lifestyle and luxury tiers

Just three months after signing a licensing agreement with the Italian fashion house, Missoni, to develop a Missoni Hotels brand, Rezidor SAS has already signed agreements for the first three hotels. Two of the Missoni hotels will be in the Middle East - in Dubai (250 rooms on Palm Island, opening at the end of 2008) and Kuwait (over 200 rooms, opening in autumn 2007). A third Missoni, with 130 rooms, will open in a prime location in Edinburgh by the George IV Bridge and the Royal Mile at the end of 2008. This deal supersedes an earlier arrangement with Cerruti, which collapsed as a result of the partner's financial difficulties.

Development of the new Missoni brand looks set to move fast -the intention is to have 30 Missoni hotels either open or in development by 2010, says Kurt Ritter, President and CEO of Rezidor SAS Hospitality. He believes the time is now ripe to develop a truly global, yet individualistic, lifestyle brand.

“Missoni is one of the few fashion brands that has an inherent and instantly recognisable look”, he says, “and this essence fits perfectly with Rezidor SAS's aim to create a pure brand that is totally committed to quality and consistency in design and service.”

And at a luxury level, Rezidor's partner in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) - Carlson companies - will merge Regent Hotels with Radisson Seven Seas Cruises to form a single global Regent brand. For Rezidor SAS, which currently operates three Regent hotels in EMEA, this offers an excellent opportunity to participate in an innovative re-launch of the Regent brand. So far, there are just three Regents in the EMEA region - in Berlin, Zagreb and Almaty - but Rezidor already has plans for two more. The Regent Kuwait will open in 2007 on the beachfront of the Messila district, and the Regent Budapest, housed in the former Hungarian National Ballet School on Andrassy Boulevard, is also due in 2007. Elsewhere in the world, Regents are under construction in North America, in Bangkok and, in China, in Beijing and Ningbo.