Radisson Hotel Group ramps up Asia Pacific expansion in 2021, with 137 new hotels added to the portfolio

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Radisson Hotel Group continued along its expansion path in 2021 as it added 137 new hotels to its portfolio reaching 191 hotels in operation in the region and introduced its world-class hospitality standards to some of the most exciting emerging markets in Asia Pacific.

The Group’s master brand development agreements in China are playing a pivotal role in expediting its global growth strategy. In partnership with Jin Jiang International and its subsidiaries, 122 new hotels and resorts were signed in 2021 covering four brands in the market.

The Group also signed 15 hotels as it continues its growth momentum in key markets in the region such as Australia, India, and a market entrance into Papua New Guinea. Radisson Hotel Group’s core brands expanded their footprint with the signing of Radisson Collection Hotel, Yangtze Shanghai, the anthology of iconic lifestyle hotels. Six upscale Radisson and upper-upscale Radisson Blu properties were signed in China and India, including Radisson Hotel, Beijing Daxing Airport, Radisson Blu Hotel Changyuan and Radisson Blu Resort & Spa New Gurugram. In the upper-midscale sector, four new Park Inn by Radisson hotels were added in India, located in Vellore, Vadodara, Ahmedabad and Jharkhand.

Radisson Individuals, the “soft brand” continues to attract independent hotels and small chains seeking global scale whilst retaining their independence and flexibility. The brand expanded into new destinations across India, Australia, and Papua New Guinea with four properties added to the portfolio. This includes Grand Papua Hotel, a member of Radisson Individuals in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea.

The Group celebrated the opening of 41 new hotels and resorts in 2021. Radisson Collection made its debut in Asia Pacific with the opening of five fantastic properties in China, located in Shanghai, Nanjing and Wuxi. Other key openings included Radisson Blu Resort Vishakhapatnam, Radisson Hotel Tianjin Aqua City, Park Plaza Beijing, Park Inn by Radisson Bacolod, The Oasis Mussoorie, a member of Radisson Individuals, and Radisson RED Chandigarh Mohali, which marked this cutting-edge concept’s first operational hotel in India.

“I am delighted by our achievements in 2021, as we remained focused on our long-term goals despite significant short-term challenges. Radisson Individuals and Radisson Collection are presenting us with exciting new opportunities, and our partnerships in China and India are accelerating the growth of our portfolio. With new brand concepts to be rolled out in 2022, we are putting ourselves in an excellent position to meet the needs of guest, owners, and talent in the post-pandemic era,” said Katerina Giannouka, President, Asia Pacific, Radisson Hotel Group.

“2021 was a productive year for our development team. We have doubled our footprint in China in the last 18 months and opened our 100^th hotel in India, which reflects our focus on these critical markets. Looking ahead, we will continue to ramp up our efforts in these key countries, as well as focusing on Australasia and South East Asia, and seeking opportunities including leasing, mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures in Asia Pacific’s gateway cities, such as Singapore, Seoul and Tokyo. We look forward to working with all our partners in 2022 and beyond,” commented Ramzy Fenianos, Chief Development Officer, Asia Pacific, Radisson Hotel Group.

Radisson Hotel Group’s Asia Pacific portfolio now totals 365 properties – 191 operational and 174 under development. To learn more about working with Radisson Hotel Group, please visit www.radissonhotelgroup.com/development

DepEd receives PRIME HRM Maturity Level II Recognition from CSC

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Geared towards excellence in human resource management, the Department of Education Central Office (DepEd CO) received its Program to Institutionalize Meritocracy and Excellence in Human Resource Management (PRIME-HRM) Maturity Level II recognition from the Civil Service Commission National Capital Region (CSC-NCR) last February 14.

 

In a virtual awarding ceremony, DepEd CO, under the leadership of Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones, formally received the certification for the PRIME-HRM Maturity Level II from CSC Director II of Field Office Makati Phillip C. Apostol.

 

“We thank the Civil Service Commission for recognizing our efforts to improve our HR system. This journey has been long but fruitful. We intend to keep on improving our systems and processes to empower not only our HRM officers but also our personnel,” Secretary Briones said.

 

For the first time since the inception of PRIME HRM in the agency, DepEd passed the CSC-NCR assessment on all four core HRM systems, namely Recruitment, Selection, and Placement (RSP), Learning and Development (L&D), Performance Management (PM), and Rewards and Recognition (R&R).

 

“We have witnessed in the Department of Education Central Office the change that happened in their HR systems, practices and competencies through PRIME-HRM. Nakita natin ‘yung desire ng CO PRIME-HRM team to be ‘PRIMEd’ and capacitated, nakita natin ‘yung series of meetings, series of trainings, series of orientations conducted to capacitate the HR focal persons, the top management, the top committees, all officials and employees of DepEd CO. Nakita natin ang bayanihan. We are now reaping the fruits of our hard labor,” Dir. Apostol shared. 

 

After the meticulous review and audit of its HR policies and processes from the team of assessors from the CSC-NCR, DepEd CO is initially granted CSC accreditation or the authority to take final action on appointments.

 

“Hindi lamang po dito ito nagtatapos. Hindi masusukat ang galing at success ng isang organisasyon kung mananatili ito kung saan ito narito ngayon. Sa halip, ito ay isang hamon para muli natin akyatin ang sunod na baitang and hopefully ay maka-level three tayo. Hopefully, after that, we can claim that DepEd, the largest bureaucracy in the government, is the pioneer in this excellence,” Undersecretary for Human Resource Management and Organization Development Wilfredo Cabral stated.

 

At present, DepEd CO is awaiting for the results of the CSC Central Office’s validation and regional recommendation for the agency’s PRIME-HRM Bronze Award. Upon its official conferment for Bronze, additional CSC incentives and privileges shall be granted to DepEd as Level II compliant agency.

 

“With the strong support of our top management, DepEd successfully passed the assessment of our HRM systems. We thank our Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones, our ExeCom and Central Office ManCom, the employees of our central office for giving top priority to PRIME HRM preparations and activities,” BHROD Director Atty. Anne Rachel Miguel said.

3 Philippine cities join global partnership to access better digital tool that can help achieve a 1.5C trajectory

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The cities of Baguio, Makati, and San Fernando (La Union) have joined an international partnership with 47 other cities from 17 countries to use new digital tools, accessible data, and quantified feedback for their transition towards the target of Net-Zero carbon emissions.

Through the partnership, the local governments of these 3 Philippines cities will be able to develop more impactful climate action plans while collaborating with their own city departments, residents, and other cities across countries.

The participation of Baguio, Makati, and San Fernando (LU) is part of their engagement in the One Planet Cities (OPC) project led by WWF-Philippines and is part of the “Year of Climate Action” partnership between WWF and climate technology software company Futureproofed.

“We are delighted to see our Philippine cities take a step further in their journey towards 1.5C alignment while also strengthening both external and internal collaborations. The digital platform provided by WWF and Futureproofed will surely help in complementing the cities’ One Planet City Challenge (OPCC) feedback results, which they can use in their assessment and ways forward to an effective climate action plan for their city,” said Imee Bellen, Project Manager of OPC from WWF-Philippines.

Relevant feedback will be offered to the participating cities, including which measures and policies lead to the most significant emissions reductions and which actions are cost-effective in achieving their part towards the 1.5C trajectory of the 2015 Paris Agreement.

“No matter how good our data, climate transition today is less of an information and technology issue, and more about implementation and cooperation. Sharing knowledge, in real time, across countries, contexts and continents, about what works and what doesn’t; aligning experts within cities and across departments behind an overarching political plan and motivating everyone to take ownership, will lead to success” said in an open letter dated January 27, signed and published by select participating cities, including WWF and Futureproofed for the launch of the “Year of Climate Action”.

As part of their starting activities, more than 30 City Government officials and staff from Baguio, Makati, and San Fernando City have joined the Local City Team Launch sessions last February 15 and 17, 2022, with other cities from Indonesia, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

The sessions consisted of two main parts, with the first one led by Futureproofed City Climate Coach Annabel Vanhoven presenting the role of cities in climate change and an overview on the OPCC and Futureproofed cities.

The second part was a breakout session where participants were divided into groups per city to discuss the status, challenges, and points of collaboration for their climate action plan with the various city departments present.

Meanwhile, results from OPCC, WWF’s friendly competition on climate action among cities globally, will be announced by March 2022, with other local OPC activities in the pipeline for the 16 PH participating cities for the rest of the year.

*Futureproofed is a climate technology software company that provides software-platforms FutureproofedCities and CarbonCap to help cities and organizations to measure, manage and reduce their CO2-emissions. The “Year of Climate Action” partnership with WWF runs for the entire 2022. See futureproofed.com/about