Changes Are Coming, But Can Radisson Rewards Really Redeem Itself?

I’ve been a huge Club Carlson fan since the Big Win promotions of 2012. I earned over 550,000 points for less than $700 out of pocket and have held onto the co-branded credit card since.

I even wrote a series about their best hotels and feel I’ve done a lot to change people’s minds about the program. Then Club Carlson took a hacksaw to their rewards program, before rebranding as Radisson Rewards.

That rebranding came with a devaluation of the credit card’s annual free night. Now, Radisson Rewards is trying to gain back loyalty with a series of changes. Is it working? Time will tell.

Last year, I wrote about what Club Carlson could do to win back loyalty. It seems they’re following through on two of the tips I outlined: Expansion into major U.S. cities and more brand consistency. They changed their program name to “Radisson Rewards” which provides a bit more brand consistency than “Club Carlson” which had nothing to do with their hotels. As for consistency across their various brands? Time will tell. Right now, I can’t distinguish the various Radisson brands from one another – or from their Country Inn & Suites, for that matter.

Radisson Rewards has announced a hotel expansion within the U.S. market, which is good news. They even announced that 10 – 15% of their hotels would be removed from the program for “non-compliance” with the new brand. Translation? Fewer roach-infested airport hotels. Radisson is even building a new 320-room hotel in Times Square, which is great considering they recently unveiled a new property in Chelsea. The bad news? The only other planned property at this time is a new Radisson in Anaheim. Anaheim! That doesn’t exactly scream “expansion.” Take some risk, Radisson, and expand into other major hotel markets rather than aiming for low-hanging fruit (i.e. Disneyland).

Time will tell if Radisson is serious about its plans to expand in the U.S. One thing is for sure: the devaluation of the free night certificate from the credit card will continue to annoy cardholders until there are decent stateside hotels where they can be redeemed. The recent announced changes are part of a 5-year plan, but so far I don’t see much of a change.

Two new stateside hotels, some mention of rebranding existing hotels, cleaning up their existing portfolio, and an expansion in the Middle East, Europe and Africa. It doesn’t sound like solid or much of a change. But I’m going to remain hopeful. Radisson Rewards is one of the best hotel programs for earning free nights. Hopefully, the 5-year plan makes the program appealing beyond this fact.

What are your thoughts on the new Radisson Rewards brand: Do you think the company can redeem itself, provide an improved guest experience, and win back loyalty after all the devaluations?