Radisson Hotel Group is set to further enhance its technology platforms by launching a new website that will have a bouquet of all its brands to choose from. Also, later this year Radisson will launch ‘Emma,’ which is a unified system designed to encompass revenue management, property management, business analytics and further increase personalisation.
Speaking about the plans, Katerina Giannouka, President, Asia Pacific, Radisson Hotel Group said, “We are coming up with a new website in June this year. Earlier, we had different websites for each brand, now everything will be at one website. It also comes with an application; it will be a cutting edge in the Industry. We will also define the room categories, so that guests can select the type of room they want. Marketing strategies will be further refined and bookings will be made easier.”
Divulging more details about ‘Emma’, she said, “Emma is our new technology platform which will create experiences and will link all our property systems, reservations, loyalty programme and creates customised and seamless services. We are working on giving key access to the best unique offer that others don’t offer. We are working on a concept where guests can select the particular room which they want just like the airline seats. This doesn’t exist today, but will come with the launch of Emma. We will have a lot more flexibility with the new website.”
In India, the group currently operates 94 hotels and has a strong pipeline of hotels across the nation. Radisson Blu will be the fastest growing brand for the group in India market. The Group signed 15 hotels in India in 2018 and it has already signed four more properties in 2019: Park Plaza Amritsar, Radisson Greater Noida, Radisson Gurugram Sohna Road City Center, and Park Inn by Radisson Kashipur.
Speaking about the India development plan, Zubin Saxena, Managing Director and Vice President of Operations, South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group said, “In India we have 94 operating hotels, and we are one of the largest international chains in India. We have also been the fastest growing brand in India in the last couple of years. We have around 50 hotels in the pipeline. This is an extremely active and robust pipeline. Our portfolio is growing in Tier I, II and III locations. We have been one of the first movers to get into the smaller markets and this has been a part of our strategy since the very beginning. Many of our hotels are landmarks in each of these smaller locations and are doing very well. We see amongst the portfolio in India Radisson Blu has the largest presence and this is our major growth brand.”
Radisson is now looking to further tap the MICE and family segments. The group is looking to introduce new concepts later this year to make MICE and family bookings further seamless.
Giannouka added, “One of the biggest growths last year was in the MICE segment. That business is growing fast. We are also launching brands in our company like ‘Radisson Meetings’, which is a new brand for us to tap this MICE business. Earlier we had different programmes, we will be packaging all these into ‘Radisson Meetings’. This will be launched in end of June. Also family and leisure travel is growing for us; we are also launching a new concept called ‘Rad Family’. This has been warmly received, we had an internal meeting and everyone recognises that this market is important.”
In India market, the group is also looking to partnership with f&b brands to further enhance the experience. Giannouka said, “What we are looking at in terms of new brand is alliance in the f&b space. We see the strength of working with recognised brands that complements our seven brands.”
Saxena further said, “In India nearly half of our business revenues come from f&b space. This leaves us to seriously enhance our food offerings. We are aggressively focusing on f&b as a core pillar of our business model. There are active discussions for tie-ups.”
