Brussels | Rezidor SAS Hospitality, the Brussels-based, multi-brand hospitality management company, announces the opening of the Park Inn Ekaterinburg, in the third largest city in Russia. Rezidor SAS is the largest international chain in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, with management agreements signed for eight new hotels within the last 15 months. This is the first hotel in Russia to open under the Park Inn brand.

The Park Inn Ekaterinburg features 160 guestrooms with flat-screen televisions; a conference room with natural daylight; ‘Magellan,’ an all-day restaurant offering popular local cuisine; and free broadband service, including wireless Internet access, throughout the hotel.

Ekaterinburg is the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Region, located at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, on the eastern slopes of the Ural Mountains. It is a major industrial city and one of the largest centers for the Russian heavy machine-building industry. The city has a strong economic base and is the main commercial center of the Western Siberian region. The Ural University and the Ural Scientific Center of the Academy of Science of Russia are both located in Ekaterinburg. The city is home to the main airport in the region, which also acts as a hub for trans-national and international flights.

Marko Hytonen, area vice president for Rezidor SAS Hospitality, said: “We are very happy to announce the opening of the first Park Inn hotel in Russia. The arrival of the international brand in Ekaterinburg is especially significant, as it comes at a time when the city is going through such an amazing development. We are proud to be part of that.”

“With this hotel, Rezidor SAS is pursuing its strategy of strengthening the company’s presence in the Russian hotel market. The Park Inn opening represents a significant step in the new multi-brand expansion strategy for Rezidor SAS in Russia. Our goal is to reach 20 hotels within the next five years. The fastest growth is planned for Park Inn, focusing on large regional cities of Russia where the demand for mid-market hotels is very high,” he said.

Park Inn hotels are known as highly efficient, fresh and innovative mid-market hotels. Park Inn puts an emphasis on mastering the essentials of a great hotel experience within its class and having warm and friendly service. The newly-built hotel in Ekaterinburg serves as a prototype for further expansion of the Park Inn brand in Russia.

The Park Inn hotel project is a joint venture between Rezidor SAS Hospitality and three Nordic government investment funds: Swedfund International AB (Sweden), The Investment Fund for Central and Eastern Europe (Denmark) and the Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation Limited (Finland) where each party is making an equal contribution, including Rezidor SAS.

Park Inn by Rezidor SAS is a fresh and energetic upcoming mid-market hotel brand, set for extensive growth across Europe, Middle East and Africa. Currently operating over 60 hotels in 11 countries, Park Inn by Rezidor SAS focuses on mastering the essentials of a great hotel experience within its class; having warm and casual service, being spotlessly clean and easy to use. For more information, visit is www.parkinn.com.ru

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 .

By the end of 2005 the company had 17 Hotels in operation (10) or under development (7) in Russia and other CIS countries. The company currently has the following Radisson SAS hotels open and under development in Russia: in Moscow (3 hotels), St. Petersburg and Sochi (3 hotels), under Park Inn brand: in Ekaterinburg. Further seven hotels open and under development in other CIS countries – in Baku (Radisson SAS and Park Inn), Kiev (Radisson SAS), Tashkent (Radisson SAS), Astana (Radisson SAS), Almaty (Radisson SAS) and Tbilisi (Radisson SAS).

Colleen McCormick
Account Coordinator
212-219-7560
Radisson Hotel Group