Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group looks set to deliver on its promise to ramp up its presence across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands as it appointed a director of development Australasia to be based in Sydney.
The hotel group, which has headquarters both in Minneapolis and Brussels, incorporates Radisson, Radisson Blu, Radisson Red, Park Plaza, Quorvus Collection, Park Inn, Country Inns & Suites and Club Carlson.
Barry Fleischmann has been appointed to the new role, joining Carlson Rezidor from Best Western Australasia where he was general manager of development for three years.
“Barry is an asset to Carlson Rezidor and his appointment is testament to our increased commitment to Australasia, where we are growing our team to support of our expansion plans, including the roll-out of our full brand portfolio,” executive vice president Asia Pacific Andreas Flaig said.
“With Barry’s extensive experience in launching new brands and driving strategic growth initiatives, we are now even better placed to fully capitalize on the opportunities of this strong and growing market.”
In order to accelerate the company’s growth in the region, Fleischmann will leverage Carlson Rezidor’s development platform to sign new management contracts and franchise agreements. In addition, he will be responsible for strengthening relationships with owners and other key stakeholders, as well as initiating new strategic partnerships with developers across Australasia.
The appointment is in line with the Australian ambitions laid out by Carlson Rezidor’s Asia Pacific president Thorsten Kirschke back in July.
“We have lost a little bit of momentum for growth and are very encouraged to reignite the momentum, and we will do that with people, with boots on the ground,” he told Travel Weekly at the time.
Getting Radisson Blu into key cities such as Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and the Gold Coast, was a vital part of the plan, along with the roll-out of the new Radisson Red brand.
In Australia, the company currently operates the Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel Sydney and Radisson Hotel & Suites in Sydney, as well as the Radisson on Flagstaff Gardens in Melbourne.
