Carlson Rezidor Group reports more hotel openings but flat revenue

Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group said Tuesday it opened the most hotels since the Great Recession but experienced a marginal decline in revenue last year.

The group, which is known for its Country Inns & Suites and Radisson brands, said it opened 77 hotels worldwide, the most since 2009, and signed 122 new properties last year. Currently, its portfolio includes 1,143 hotels and more than 180,000 rooms.

Revenue was $7.2 billion in 2016, down from $7.3 billion in 2015.

The results come a few months after Chinese conglomerate HNA Tourism Group Co. took a controlling stake in Minnetonka-based Carlson in December.

"I am delighted to join this organization and look forward to working with the leaders of our regions and strengthening our partnership with Rezidor on developing strategies that further position our brands for growth," Federico González Tejera, newly appointed global chief executive of Carlson Hotels, said in a statement.

Effective last month, González, the former head of HNA-controlled Spanish hotelier NH Hotel Group, replaced David Berg who had been expected to keep his job after the Carlson sale.

In North and South America, Carlson had a record-breaking year for both signings and openings.

There were 65 new properties added to the pipeline and 41 openings, a 28 percent increase over the year before.

Carlson launched its first millennial-minded Radisson Red brand in the United States in November with the opening of a 164-room hotel in Minneapolis close to U.S. Bank Stadium.

The group also broke ground on a Radisson Red in Portland, Ore., and signed for a Radisson Red Miami.

In Latin America, Radisson Blu opened three hotels. There was also growth in the Asia Pacific region, which had 14 hotel openings last year.

The Carlson sale also made HNA the majority shareholder of the Belgium-based Rezidor Hotel Group, whose hotels are located in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

HNA has offered to buy the rest of Rezidor but last month Rezidor's board of directors called HNA's offer too low and recommended that shareholders reject it.

For Rezidor Hotel Group, revenue dipped close to 4 percent last year as the hospitality industry faced "increased volatility related to terrorist attacks and the lower oil price negatively affected some key countries," president and chief executive Wolfgang Neumann, said in the group's year-end report.

Nicole Norfleet • 612-673-4495

Twitter: @nicolenorfleet