Radisson SAS, Skanska talk about building $70 million hotel
"We are discussing with Skanska, we definitely want to have a hotel in Warsaw," said Arild Hovland, vice president for business development in Radisson SAS's office in Brussels.
Skanska is looking for an operator interested in pitching in on a luxury, 360-room hotel to be located on Aleja Jana Pawla at the Atrium South project. Skanska, which developed all of the Atrium buildings, wants to begin selecting a partner by the end of November or early December at the latest, said Anders Falkenius, the group's development director in Poland.
Radisson SAS, which was created through a merger of the U.S. hotel chain and the Scandinavian operator, already has a hotel in Szczecin and wants to have an additional six or seven locations in Poland. The site would be the group's first Warsaw hotel. "It's a good location and Skanska is a good builder, so if there is possibility to come to an agreement, we will be interested," Hovland said.
Skanska will create a joint venture with a hotel operator, the city and outside investors to finance the construction and to handle the day-to-day operations, Falkenius said. Construction on the hotel would start next spring and would take two to three years to complete, he said.
Falkenius refused to comment on discussions with Radisson, but said that his group was talking to "two or three" other groups.
Hotel industry sources said that many operators - such as Hyatt, Genesis Hotels and possibly Hilton - are trying to break into the Warsaw market where demand for modern hotels is high. Occupancy rates in the city's hotels run about 70-80% and prices are steep. One night in a basic room at the Marriott Hotel, for example, costs $245. Developers see those kinds of numbers as a sure sign new hotel projects will succeed.
"Everyone who is not here, would be interested," said Andrew Findeisen, president of the supervisory board of Global Hotels Development Group, which develops Holiday Inn hotels in Poland.
Despite that, Holiday Inn is not interested in the planned 360-room hotel. Findeisen said that the size is too large for the chain, which traditionally operates about 200-room hotels. Holiday Inn already has a hotel next to the central railway station in downtown Warsaw.
Other hotel operators that were interested in the project got bounced by Skanska. "We made an offer in fact, but they said they weren't interested," said Andrew Gutowski, president of Genesis Hotels, which intends to invest $150 million building Woodfin weekend and suite hotels in Poland.
Instead, Skanska wants to build a full-service hotel and more likely partners would be Hilton, Radisson SAS or maybe a German operator, Gutowski said. "It's a very good location - it's superb," he said.
Hilton would not comment on the Skanska project. "Central and Eastern Europe is one of our target areas for expansion, and Warsaw is certainly a key city in the region," said Hillary Baker, spokeswoman at Hilton International in London.
Global Hotels' Findeisen pointed to Hyatt as another possible partner for Skanska. But Hyatt is unlikely to be interested because it is about to begin construction on its own, 250-room hotel at the corner of ulicas Belwederska and Spacerowa, next to the Russian Embassy south of the city's center, said Rigoberto Caramanica, president of Cosmar Polska, the company developing the Hyatt.
Skanska is looking for an operator interested in pitching in on a luxury, 360-room hotel to be located on Aleja Jana Pawla at the Atrium South project. Skanska, which developed all of the Atrium buildings, wants to begin selecting a partner by the end of November or early December at the latest, said Anders Falkenius, the group's development director in Poland.
Radisson SAS, which was created through a merger of the U.S. hotel chain and the Scandinavian operator, already has a hotel in Szczecin and wants to have an additional six or seven locations in Poland. The site would be the group's first Warsaw hotel. "It's a good location and Skanska is a good builder, so if there is possibility to come to an agreement, we will be interested," Hovland said.
Skanska will create a joint venture with a hotel operator, the city and outside investors to finance the construction and to handle the day-to-day operations, Falkenius said. Construction on the hotel would start next spring and would take two to three years to complete, he said.
Falkenius refused to comment on discussions with Radisson, but said that his group was talking to "two or three" other groups.
Hotel industry sources said that many operators - such as Hyatt, Genesis Hotels and possibly Hilton - are trying to break into the Warsaw market where demand for modern hotels is high. Occupancy rates in the city's hotels run about 70-80% and prices are steep. One night in a basic room at the Marriott Hotel, for example, costs $245. Developers see those kinds of numbers as a sure sign new hotel projects will succeed.
"Everyone who is not here, would be interested," said Andrew Findeisen, president of the supervisory board of Global Hotels Development Group, which develops Holiday Inn hotels in Poland.
Despite that, Holiday Inn is not interested in the planned 360-room hotel. Findeisen said that the size is too large for the chain, which traditionally operates about 200-room hotels. Holiday Inn already has a hotel next to the central railway station in downtown Warsaw.
Other hotel operators that were interested in the project got bounced by Skanska. "We made an offer in fact, but they said they weren't interested," said Andrew Gutowski, president of Genesis Hotels, which intends to invest $150 million building Woodfin weekend and suite hotels in Poland.
Instead, Skanska wants to build a full-service hotel and more likely partners would be Hilton, Radisson SAS or maybe a German operator, Gutowski said. "It's a very good location - it's superb," he said.
Hilton would not comment on the Skanska project. "Central and Eastern Europe is one of our target areas for expansion, and Warsaw is certainly a key city in the region," said Hillary Baker, spokeswoman at Hilton International in London.
Global Hotels' Findeisen pointed to Hyatt as another possible partner for Skanska. But Hyatt is unlikely to be interested because it is about to begin construction on its own, 250-room hotel at the corner of ulicas Belwederska and Spacerowa, next to the Russian Embassy south of the city's center, said Rigoberto Caramanica, president of Cosmar Polska, the company developing the Hyatt.
