08 Mar 2006
Park Inn, the new and energetic mid-market hotel brand operated by Rezidor SAS, expands its portfolio in Ireland with the opening today of Park Inn Dublin in the country�s capital city.
The property currently has 73 guest rooms, with an additional 20 rooms to be added in 2008/9. Other facilities include a restaurant, a bar, a business centre and meeting and conference facilities including a state-of-the-art auditorium. In addition, the hotel houses the Chimney Viewing Tower offering excellent views over the city of Dublin.
The hotel, previously operating as Chief O�Neill�s, is located in Dublin�s city centre in an area known as Smithfield, which is the largest purpose-built civic space in Europe and the fastest growing legal and commercial office district in Dublin. Within close proximity to the hotel are shops, restaurants, the Old Jameson Distillery, the Guinness Storehouse and the National Museum of Ireland.
Ireland is a key growth market for Rezidor SAS and Park Inn Dublin is the third property in the country under the Park Inn brand, following the openings of both Park Inn Dundalk and Park Inn Mulranny in March 2005. Two further openings are scheduled for 2007 � Park Inn Ballinasloe and Park Inn Newry in Northern Ireland. With the new Park Inn Dublin, the well established Radisson SAS St. Helen�s Hotel and the new opening later this year of the Radisson SAS Royal Hotel in Dublin, Rezidor SAS will be operating three properties in Ireland�s capital city, giving the company a significant presence in the market place.
�The opening of Park Inn Dublin marks a significant development for the Park Inn brand in Ireland and also for Rezidor SAS in the city. With presence now in the mid-market sector and with the opening at the end of the year of the new Radisson SAS Royal Hotel, the second Radisson SAS in the capital, Rezidor SAS will become a significant operator in Dublin�s hotel market.� commented Puneet Chhatwal, Vice President Development for the UK & Ireland region for Rezidor SAS Hospitality.
Since Rezidor SAS launched their new mid market brand in January 2003 with the opening of the Park Inn Berlin Alexanderplatz, the hotel brand has grown at a considerable pace and now operates more than 60 hotels across Europe and Africa. 27 of these hotels are in the home markets of Rezidor SAS in the Nordics. In June 2004 Rezidor SAS took over the former Partouche Group in France, five of which became Park Inn hotels and in January 2005 seven former Holiday Inn hotels in Germany were successfully converted into Park Inn hotels. Park Inn was launched in the UK in May 2004 with the opening of Park Inn Heathrow, followed by Park Inn Hyde Park, London in June 2005 and the acquisition of a further nine hotels in the UK in late 2005. The rapid expansion is planned to continue with the intention to achieve in excess of 100 Park Inn properties in operation or under development by the end of 2006.
Park Inn performs successfully in a variety of locations from capital cities and regional gateways to high-traffic travel hubs. Currently operating over 60 hotels in ten countries, the brand has aggressive growth projections and aims to have 100 hotels in operation and under construction throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa by the end of 2006 and plans to become Europe�s number one mid-market hotel brand.
For further information please contact: Natasha Rhymes Rezidor SAS Hospitality PR & Communications Manager, UK & Ireland Tel: +44 20 8283 2025 Email: natasha.rhymes@rezidorsas.com
About Rezidor SAS Hospitality Rezidor SAS Hospitality is one of the fastest growing hospitality companies in the world and currently has 267 hotels, encompassing over 50,000 rooms, in operation and under development in 49 countries, with the aim to develop 700 hotels across its different brands by 2015. In September 2002, Rezidor SAS announced a unique deal with US-based Carlson Hotels Worldwide to expand selected Carlson brands in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Rezidor SAS now operates Radisson SAS Hotels & Resorts, Regent International Hotels Park Inn and Country Inns & Suites along with the goldpointsplus� loyalty programme for frequent hotel guests. Initially Rezidor SAS Hospitality was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Stockholm-based SAS Group. In June 2005 Rezidor SAS Hospitality completed the strategic agreement with US-based Carlson Hotels Worldwide, which resulted in an enhancement of their long-time franchise partnership into a shareholder agreement. Carlson Hotels Worldwide acquired a 25 percent shareholding in Rezidor SAS Hospitality from SAS group in return for renegotiated commercial terms of the parties� current Master Franchise Agreement. Rezidor SAS Hospitality head office is based in Brussels. In November 2005 Rezidor SAS signed a worldwide license agreement with the Italian fashion house Missoni, to develop and operate a lifestyle hotel brand of the same name: Hotel Missoni. For more information on Rezidor SAS and its different brands, visit rezidorsas.com