In an attempt to capitalize on the growing generational gap, Radisson is launching a new hotel brand that is meant to specifically target millennials.
Introduced by parent company Carlson Rezidor, Radisson Red will officially open its first hotel by next year and is expected to have 60 hotels up and running by 2020.
Radisson Red’s model particularly focuses on a sleek new design and state-of-the-art technology.
From The Wall Street Journal:
Radisson, often considered a reliable, no-frills choice, plans for Red to be more daring. It will feature modern design with a large bar area. The hotel will allow guests to personalize their rooms to a larger degree than many of its peers.
Visitors, Carlson Rezidor says, will be able order a car to pick them up at the airport, request that the room’s minibar be stocked with certain drinks, order a sandwich to be waiting at the hotel’s 24-hour deli, and arrange for family photos to beam from the television screen when they enter their room. Guests will pay for these additional amenities on an a-la-carte basis.
“Red will focus on the younger traveler, but we see this as a long-term play,” says Gordon McKinnon, Carlson’s chief branding officer. He said the company expects the brand to evolve to keep up with “changes in attitudes and technologies.”
Millennials, those born between 1980 and 2000, will most likely account for 50% of business-flight spending by 2020, and Radisson is expected to cash in on this trend.
“It’s really to speak to a changing generation,” President of the Americas for Carlson Rezidor Thorsten Kirschke said at last month’s American Lodging Investment Summit in Los Angeles while discussing preliminary plans for Radisson Red.
“We don’t want to be perceived as a hotel company that has embraced the Baby Boomers at one point but forgotten to stay ahead of its time.”
Yet Radisson isn’t the first hotel company to capitalize on the generational shift.
Hyatt Hotels Corp.’s Andaz hotels has attracted younger guests by using iPads as check-in devices, while Starwold Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc.’s Aloft Hotels will allow visitors to use their cell phones as room keys.
Marriot International Inc. and Hilton Worldwide Holdings are also both planning on rolling out a new brand that is meant to cater to millennials.