Rezidor’s main focus is improving profitability both in absolute terms and relative to the industry. In the current macroeconomic situation, we have to concentrate on what we can control ourselves – on ambitious activities that are expected to push our margins by 6 to 8 percentage points, representing MEUR 50-70 in incremental EBITDA. We have called our programme “Route 2015” and included revenue initiatives, cost savings, asset management activities, and plans to further grow our fee-based hotel portfolio.

The year 2012 started with a major announcement for Rezidor: we took our strategic partnership with Carlson to the next level by establishing the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. While the legal status of both our companies remains the same (Carlson is a privately owned enterprise; Rezidor a publicly listed company on the Stockholm Stock Exchange), we now operate in the worldwide market as a single entity and present ourselves as a single global hotel operator.

In September 2011, Rezidor’s President & CEO Kurt Ritter celebrated his 35th anniversary with “his” company; in fact, he is most probably the longest serving Chief Executive Offer in the hospitality industry. Here he looks back on his career and tells us what has changed over the years – and what has remained the same.