BRUSSELS, BELGIUM— Park Inn by Rezidor SAS has signed a multiple franchise agreement for a portfolio of seven hotels in Germany. The hotels operated under a Holiday Inn franchise until the end of 2004 and will now be converted and branded as Park Inns. Rezidor SAS Hospitality President/CEO Kurt Ritter said that Park Inn aims to become one of Europes “leading mid-market hotel brands,” and plans to have 150 hotels in operation and under development by 2007. The seven hotels in Germany included in the new franchise agreement are: the Park Inn Bochum, a 162-room hotel; Park Inn Dortmund-City Centre, 125 rooms; Park Inn Dusseldorf/Kaarst, 192 rooms; Park Inn Hanover, 150 rooms; Park Inn Kamen/Unna, 94 rooms; Park Inn Cologne-Belfortstrasse, 120 rooms; and the Park Inn Cologne City-West, 205 rooms. Since 2002, when Rezidor SAS secured the master franchise agreement from U.S.-based Carlson Hotels Worldwide to operate Park Inn in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, 42 Park Inn hotels have opened bringing the current total to 49 hotels in eight countries.
