Signs of HNA’s influence are pretty apparent here. Now that it owns all of Carlson Hotels, will it attempt to buy the rest of the remaining shares of Rezidor that it doesn’t own?
The bigger question now is what will happen to Rezidor, and how will that impact HNA's other hotel investments in NH Hotels, as well as Hilton and Red Lion Hotels?
No hospitality merger or acquisition is ever as simple as it seems and, as this case shows, hotel buyers need to consider what kind of impact their purchases may have on their other investments.
Airline loyalty programs have offered TSA PreCheck as a perk, but this marks the first time a hotel company has done so. Here's hoping the PreCheck program, embattled by TSA budget cuts, will improve enough to become a real, tangible perk for travelers.
Although Carlson Rezidor saw one of its best years, financially, in 2015 since 2007, 2016 is proving to be a challenging one for the company, which has also been rumored to be up for sale.
Hotel brands have to strike a balance between listening to customers' current needs and anticipating their future desires, a strategy that takes seamless technology and conscious employees.