The Rezidor Hotel Group Celebrates 50th Anniversary

Released on: June 14, 2010, 2:47 am
Author: The Rezidor Hotel Group
Industry: Travel

The Rezidor Hotel Group is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The first hotel the Rezidor Hotel Group opened on July 1st in 1960 in Copenhagen and was called the SAS Royal Hotel.

The Rezidor Hotel Group was, in the early days, known as SAS Catering & Hotels and later as SAS International Hotels (SIH). Focused on growth from the beginning, the group opened their first hotel outside Scandinavia in 1980 in Kuwait. In 1994, SIH signed a Master Franchise Agreement with Carlson Hospitality Worldwide and created the world's first dual branded hotel chain: Radisson SAS. 1999 saw the company’s first hotel in Africa and in 2000 the group reached the milestone of 100 hotels in operation and under development.

The man behind Rezidor's story is Kurt Ritter who has run the company since 1989, making him the longest serving President and CEO in the hospitality industry. Kurt Ritter, who was born in Switzerland in 1947, spent his childhood in his parents' hotel, and graduated from the "Ecole Hotelière de Lausanne". His career with Rezidor started in 1976 as General Manager of the SAS Luleå Hotel in Sweden, and he took over leading positions in Kuwait and Singapore before being appointed President and CEO.

About Rezidor Hotel Group:
The Rezidor Hotel Group is one of the fastest growing hotel chains in the world. The Group has a portfolio of more than 385 hotels in operation or under development with over 83,000 rooms in 62 countries, including luxury hotels in London, luxury hotels in Paris and luxury hotels in Rome. Rezidor operates the brands the Radisson Blu Hotels & Resorts, Regent Hotels & Resorts, Park Inn and Country Inns & Suites in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Under a global licensing agreement with the classic Italian fashion house Missoni, operates and develops Rezidor also the new lifestyle hotel chain Hotel Missoni.

For more information on the Rezidor Hotel Group or this PR, please contact:
Christiane Reiter
Director Corporate Communications
The Rezidor Hotel Group
Avenue Du Bourget 44
B-1130 Brüssel
Belgien
+32 2 702 9331
www.radissonblu.com