Radisson’s Grand Bahama Acquisition Part of Upscale Strategy

Radisson Hotels & Resorts’ recent addition to its portfolio of the Radisson Our Lucaya Resort, Grand Bahama Island represents a new market strategy for the hotel firm, according to Fredrik Korallus, executive vice president and COO. Radisson currently operates resorts in Aruba and St. Martin.

“We are excited about the Grand Bahama acquisition,” Korallus said of the former Westin property. “This marks our third AAA Four Diamond brand in the region and completes our Caribbean portfolio for now.”

The 740-room Radisson is one of two properties in the Our Lucaya complex. The other is the 478-room Our Lucaya Reef Village, the former Sheraton Grand Resort.

The destination itself complements Radisson’s existing portfolio, Korallus said. “Here in the Americas we need key destinations. Our primary focus has been to enhance our city properties in the U.S., particularly New York, Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco. When an opportunity arises to do the same for the leisure and meetings and incentive markets, as it did in Grand Bahama, we seize it.”

While Radisson is targeting the U.S. market as its primary customer base for Our Lucaya, Korallus said the destination also “does well out of Latin America, South America and Europe. The strength of the Radisson brand in the Caribbean and globally will be key elements in building our future business success.”

The news of Radisson’s foray into the Bahamas is welcome news for the destination’s tourism industry, which has been challenged by the economic recession and dwindling visitor numbers, as has much of the Caribbean region in the past year.

Radisson’s expansion into the Bahamas was followed by the announcement that Sandals Resorts International will reopen the former Four Seasons resort on Exuma in the Out Islands on Jan. 22. Sandals currently has a resort in Nassau and another in Fowl Cay in the Exuma chain.

Radisson’s inroads into the Caribbean region began in 1998 when Carlson acquired the former Golden Tulip hotel on Aruba and rebranded it as the Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino. The property closed in 1999 for a $55 million renovation, reopening in 2000 with a 358-room resort. The addition of its Larimar Spa in 2007 was the capstone to the project.