Scandic Hotels

Scandic Hotels AB
Subsidiary
Industry Hospitality
Founded 1963 (as Esso Motor Hotel)[1]
Headquarters Stockholm, Sweden
Area served
 Nordic countries
Belgium
Germany
Poland
Key people
 Even Frydenberg, President and CEO[2]
Products Hotels
Revenue Increase SEK 14,582 million (2017)
Increase SEK 1,570 million (2017)
Decrease SEK 711 million (2017)
Parent Hilton Worldwide (2001–2007) EQT Partners (2007–present)
Website scandichotels.com
Scandic Hotel in Tampere, Finland
Scandic Hotel in Lund, Sweden

Scandic Hotels is a hotel chain headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, with its main operations in the Nordic countries. Alongside hotels in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Faroe Islands and Denmark, the company also has a presence in Belgium, Germany and Poland. It is owned by EQT Partners.

History

The first hotel in what was later to become the Scandic chain was the Esso Motor Hotel in Laxå in the province of Närke, central Sweden. Opened in 1963, it capitalized on the increase in car travel, both for business and pleasure – the motel was a novel concept for Europe at the time. The chain grew to 59 hotels Europewide by 1972, when Esso sold the non-Scandinavian hotels. The remaining 32 hotels, five of them in Norway and Denmark, formed the largest hotel chain in its native Sweden in 1973.

Ratos

In 1983, the company was sold to a Swedish consortium headed by Ratos and the following year, it was named Scandic Hotels. Ratos became sole owner in 1985, and a year later, the first hotel outside Scandinavia opened in Koblenz, Germany.

The business was negatively impacted by the 1990/91 Gulf Crisis, and company management was replaced in 1992. In 1996, the group acquired Reso Hotels and became a publicly traded company on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Two years later, the Arctia Hotels group in Finland followed, giving Scandic a presence in all the Nordic countries, and in 1999, the group expanded into Estonia.

In 2001, Scandic was acquired by the London-based Hilton Group. The hotel chain changed ownership again in 2007, this time bought by Swedish private equity firm EQT for EUR 833 million.[3]

Facts and figures

As of 31 December 2017, the company employs 9,359 people and operates 262 hotels with 49,983 guest rooms. Operating result (EBITDA) for 2017 amounted to SEK 1,570 million.[4]

Sustainability efforts

Stairway and reflections, from above, at the Scandic Continental Hotel, Stockholm

Since 1994, Scandic profiles itself heavily as an ecologically sustainable business. Employees receive sustainability education and the company offers rooms built in an environmentally friendly way. In 2001, the breakfasts at all Swedish Scandics received the KRAV ecological product certificate, and by 2004, all Swedish hotels had earned the "Swan" ecolabel. Scandic has received national and international awards for its environmental efforts:[5]

  • St Julian Disability Award, S:t Julian – City of Stockholm, February 2006
  • Glassbjörnen Environmental Award – GRIP Forum, Norway, May 2006
  • Oslo’s Urban Environmental Prize – City of Oslo, Norway, June 2006
  • Best Environmental Work – Grand Travel Awards, Sweden, March 2007
  • Scandic Elmia & Scandic Portalen – Jönköping Municipality Environmental Award, June 2007
  • Stilpriset Hjärter Ess för tillgänglighet – Stil, Sweden, September 2007
  • Swedish Recycling Award, October 2007
  • The Sustainability Award – European Hotel Design Awards, London, October 2007
  • Best CSR Programme – Hospitality Awards, Paris, November 2007

Growth

In 2014, Scandic acquired the Rica Hotels chain, which added 72 properties in Norway and Sweden to its portfolio.[6]

In 2017, Scandic announced its buy-out of all 43 Restel hotels in Finland for 114,5 million euros, including those under the Cumulus and Holiday Inn brands.[7]

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ Scandic Hotels Corporate Information, http://www.scandichotels.com/settings/Side-foot/About-us-Container/Corporate-information/History/. Accessed 2012-12-06.
  4. ↑ Scandic year end report 2017. http://www.scandichotelsgroup.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/02/scandic-scandics-year-end-report-2017-180220.pdf
  5. ↑ Bohdanowicz, Paulina et al.: "Environmental Training and Measures at Scandic Hotels, Sweden". Research paper presented at B.E.S.T. Sustainable Tourism Think Tank IV, "Sustainability and Mass Destinations: Challenges and Possibilities", 2004-07-01-2004-07-04, Esbjerg, Denmark. http://www.greenthehotels.com/eng/BohdanowiczSimanicMartinacTT4Abstract.pdf. Accessed 2010-03-14.
  6. ↑ "Scandic acquires Rica Hotels - Strengthens its portfolio with the addition of 72 new hotels in Norway and Sweden". Hospitality Net. 11 February 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  7. ↑ "Scandic ostaa Restelin hotellit". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 2017-06-21.
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