I spent about a decade working for Radisson Hotels starting in the 90s. I worked at what was the site of the first Radisson, in Downtown Minneapolis. (The original hotel, which was named after explorer Pierre-Esprit Radisson, was replaced with the current structure in the mid 80s.) We were corporate-owned and operated. The hotel was considered to be the Flagship for the brand and we often hosted developers and VIPs visiting the nearby corporate offices.

The hotel is now a Radisson Blu. Although the hotel is still corporate-owned, the building was sold to a California investment group.

I feel fortunate that I worked at the hotel while founder Curt Carlson was still alive. He was extremely proud of what he had created. Several times each month, he'd stop by the hotel with his wife (and occasionally with the grandchildren) for lunch. He was kind to everyone, myself included. Although, I do recall a few servers complain that he like to tell them long stories about random topics.

We were not wont for anything, including money for more frequent-than-average renovations. That attitude changed after he passed away in early 1999. His daughter, Marilyn Carlson Nelson, didn't seem to care as much about the reputation of the family business.

Over the years since, it seems as if the leaders have been more focused on pure profit than honoring the values set forth by Mr. Carlson. While the company still uses his credo, I think it's mostly marketing today. I pretty much still remember the credo word-for-word. It was repeated over and over when I worked there.
Perhaps it would have been impossible in today's analyst-driven business environment to continue running hotels the way Mr. Carlson did. But as someone who was around when the brand was solid (and theoretically improving), it saddens me to see the poor but accurate reputation of Radisson Hotels.