Scandic’s “muscle” brings new opportunities to exciting hotel

Designhotellet in Värnamo to become a new Scandic in the New YearToday’s hotel and conference guests have high expectations when it comes to comfort, accessibility and functionality, as well as demanding exciting design, good food and inspiration. With Scandic now signing a franchise agreement with Designhotellet in Värnamo, the hotel chain is continuing to expand its offer of smart hotel choices across the whole of Sweden.

“Värnamo, with its central location in the county of Småland, in southern Sweden, has previously been a blank space on the Scandic map. Now, we’re plugging that gap with an extremely exciting and active hotel by signing a long-term franchise agreement. Combining the strength of Scandic as a major hotel chain with the spirit of enterprise locally is entirely in line with our vision for the future,” comments Frank Fiskers, President and CEO of Scandic.

Designhotellet – “The Design Hotel” -, which will be renamed Scandic Värnamo on 1 January 2009, is a well-known hotel in Småland with strong local ties and great facilities for welcoming leisure and business travellers alike. The hotel, which created a sensation when it first opened in 1955 with its functionalist architecture and modern design, has 120 guest rooms and seven conference rooms. There is capacity for major conferences or the option of smaller rooms – many exciting ideas have been born in the Creative Room, for instance. The hotel has recently been fully refurbished and furnished in collaboration with several leading furniturebrands, including Bruno Mathsson and Källemo.

“Entering into a franchise agreement with Scandic is very much the right decision. We need help in raising our profile and achieving good profitability, and have long felt the need for more muscle on the marketing front. Scandic has ideas and values that are very close to our own, including huge investment in the environment and accessibility for all, and we’re now looking forward to doing even more together,” explains Lillian Johansson, owner and sales manager at Designhotellet in Värnamo.

For more information, please contact:
Jessica Agert, Media Relations Manager, Scandic, tel: +46 709 73 50 13
e-mail: jessica.agert@scandichotels.com
Scandic is a leading European mid-market hotel company with about 150 leased, managed and franchised hotels in operation and under development, with a total of around 30,000 rooms in nine countries. The aim is to grow the number of hotels to 200 over the next years, focusing on the Nordic region, Northern and Eastern Europe and Russia. Since 1994, sustainability has been an integrated part of the business and Scandic is proud of being a recognised industry leader today. From the start in 1963 the business concept has been to offer trouble-free and accessible hotel services for all – today delivered by 6,400 enthusiastic team members. Visit scandichotels.com