WORLD PROPERTY CHANNEL ®

(MINNEAPOLIS, MN) -- Carlson Hotels Worldwide wasn't sitting on the sidelines in the second quarter.  The Minneapolis, MN-based developer and franchise operator signed branding deals with 33 hotels in 13 countries.

The activity stamped Carlson as one of the most active players in the international lodging industry.

Jay Witzel

"We are pleased to expand the global portfolio of Carlson Hotels Worldwide, offering our guests 33 additional properties at a variety of exciting destinations across the world," says Jay Witzel, president and CEO of Carlson Hotels Worldwide. "Our development pipeline also remains strong with 20 new properties signed during this quarter in 15 countries." 

The new properties include 13 Radisson and Radisson Blu properties; 15 Country Inns & Suites By Carlson properties; and five Park Inn® locations.

The company also announced that it signed franchise or management agreements for 20 new hotels during the same period, adding future locations in the United States, Brazil, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Poland, Morocco, Mozambique, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and India.

At the end of the second quarter, the Carlson Hotels Worldwide portfolio totaled 1,032 hotels with more than 153,500 rooms in 73 countries. Carlson hotel brands also include Regent® Hotels & Resorts and Park Plaza® Hotels & Resorts.

Radisson® Hotels & Resorts opened 13 properties in the second quarter of 2009 and signed six new hotels in six countries including Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Russia, Brazil and the United States.

The Rezidor Hotel Group, Carlson's primary partner in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, recently celebrated the opening of the Radisson Blu Hotel, Dakar, its seventh Radisson Blu hotel in Africa and first in Senegal.

Currently under extensive renovation, the new Radisson Royal Hotel, Moscow featuring 507 guest rooms and 38 serviced apartments, is scheduled to open its doors in December 2009.

In addition, The Rezidor Hotel Group opened its first Hotel Missoni in Edinburgh, Scotland, developed in collaboration with the renowned Italian luxury fashion dynasty Missoni.

Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts signed two new properties including its first properties in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China and Faridabad, India.

Country Inns & Suites By Carlson opened 15 new properties in the second quarter of 2009 with 12 locations in the United States and three in India. The brand also signed five new hotels in the second quarter including locations in Augusta, Ga., Seguin, Texas and three properties across India.

The Country Inn & Suites By Carlson Mysore, India, scheduled to open in 2011, will provide 120 well-appointed rooms and offer convenient access to festivities that take place during the period of Dasara, the state festival of Karnataka.

Park Inn opened five new properties in the second quarter of 2009 adding locations in Poland, Austria and the United Kingdom. The brand also signed six new hotels in the same time frame with locations in Belgium, Poland, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Mozambique, and Tunisia.

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