GLOBAL LEADERS: Katerina Giannouka

WE HAVE BEEN encouraged by the trend in recent months toward the reopening of international borders. Many countries, including in Asia Pacific, are starting to offer quarantine-free stays for fully vaccinated visitors as the global vaccination program gains traction. Over 5.8 billion doses have been administered in Asia – about70% of the world’s total – and many countries are now reaching vaccination rates of 80% and higher.

This gives us renewed confidence in our business recovery and to continue with our ambitious expansion plans. Our Asia Pacific portfolio now totals over 385hotels – 194 operational and 203 under development– and will reach 2,000 in the next five years. We have doubled our footprint in China in the last 18 months and recently opened our 100th hotel in India, which reflects our focused efforts in these key markets.

Radisson Hotel Group is one of the largest and most highly respected hospitality brands in India, built on many long-standing relationships in the country. In China, our partnership with Jin Jiang International puts us in pole position to ramp up our presence across the country. We are also focusing on Australasia and key Southeast Asian markets such as Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, while seeking hotel leasing opportunities in gateway cities such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, and Sydney.

One of our biggest opportunities lies in hotel conversion projects. Our recently launched soft brand, Radisson Individuals, is enabling us to meet the needs of individual owners and small chains who want to leverage our global scale, systems, and support, while also retaining independence and flexibility. The brand has seen traction in this region with deals signed in India, Australia, and Papua New Guinea. In the premium segment, the Radisson Collection brand debuted in Asia Pacific early last year in Shanghai and has already reached five properties with more in the pipeline.

Our portfolio expansion is tied closely to our talent recruitment strategy, which we enhanced with the launch of an online recruitment toolkit, new partnerships with hospitality schools, and localised, culturally relevant training programs through the Radisson Academy Online. This is a key pillar of our global vision to be one of the world’s top three hospitality companies for guests, owners, and talent.

Throughout 2021, we continued to drive our digital transformation strategy with the roll-out of new technology to enhance operational and commercial excellence. Intuitive branding initiatives such as online check-in and check-out and other functionalities through Radisson+ will elevate our guest experiences in 2022 and beyond.

Looking ahead, I am prudently optimistic for the coming year. There is significant pent-up travel demand, which will be gradually released by proactive tourism strategies and rising consumer confidence. I cannot overstate the importance of public and private sector collaboration in driving the recovery.

Radisson Hotel Group’s five-year strategy, which was initiated prior to the pandemic and is transforming every aspect of our business, has put us in a strong position to weather the storm and plan for a bright future. With our industry-leading brands, flexible partnership models, cutting-edge solutions and more, we have all the potential to stimulate and capture the recovery in Asia Pacific.

Number of hotels and rooms (Globally): 1,688 hotels and 260,194 rooms

Number of hotels and rooms (Asia-Pacific): 365 hotels and 53,039 rooms

Number of hotels and rooms (Australasia): 14 hotels and 2,306 rooms

Year the company was founded: 1938

Brands in the organisation: 9

Head office locations: Brussels, Singapore, Sydney