Choice Hotels Expands Upscale Presence & Acquires Radisson Hotel Group Americas for $675 Million

Many deals, mergers and acquisition are happening in the hospitality industry despite pessimistic expert warnings of recession. On August 11, 2022, Choice Hotels announced the completion of the acquisition of franchise business, hotels, operations and intellectual property of Radisson Hotels Americas for approximately $675 million from Radisson Hotel Group.

Choice Hotels International, after this deal, will have added 624 hotels and approximately 68,000 rooms, expanding its presence in the upscale and uper-midscale segments. particularly in the West Coast and Midwest of the United States.

The deal includes the acquisition of 10 Radisson Blu hotels, 130 Radisson hotels, 9 Radisson Individuals, 4 Radisson RED Hotels, 1 Park Plaza, 17 Park Inn and 453 Country Inn & Suites owned by the Radisson Group in United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean.

“Choice has a well-established history of smart acquisitions in new segments where our world-class franchising engine can spur future growth,” said Patrick Pacious, president and CEO of Choice Hotels. “This transaction brings together two highly complementary businesses, enhancing our guest offerings in the core upper-midscale hospitality segments, while extending our reach into the upper upscale and upscale full-service segments and in higher revenue geographic markets. We are confident that guests and franchisees will significantly benefit by combining these two exceptional sets of brands.”

The acquisition is a continuation of a trend which has been going on in the industry where larger companies and franchises are contuining their market domination through mergers. Interestingly such kind of mergers and acquisitions continue despite the gloomy predictions by Wall Street experts about rising gas prices, climbing inflation rates and upcoming recession forecasts.

Tom Buoy, interim CEO of Radisson Hotel Group Americas, said, “Our associates have been working hard to solidify the power of our brands, build a better commercial engine and offer best-in-class solutions to franchisees and customers. We are very pleased that the Radisson family of brands in the Americas will join Choice Hotels. We believe that this acquisition will drive growth in a highly competitive market and enable stronger performance for our franchisees.”