Renaissance Hotels
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Renaissance Hotels is a worldwide brand of hotels and resorts. The brand is owned by Marriott International and many Renaissance Hotels are managed by Marriott, however some are operated under a franchise license.
Renaissance Hotels, Resorts and Suites cater to an upmarket segment of the traveling public and are distinguished by stylish surroundings and savvy service. While initially acquired by Marriott as a secondary-brand, in recent years Renaissance has established itself as a boutique-like hotel chain.
[edit] History
Renaissance Hotels were originally founded as Ramada Renaissance Hotels, the upscale segment of the Ramada Inns, Inc., which eventually established Renaissance as a stand-alone brand. In 1989 the bulk of the Ramada hospitality and franchise system was acquired by New World Development Company of Hong Kong (the U.S., or domestic rights to the Ramada name were sold to Prime Hospitality), and the former Ramada Corp. was renamed Aztar Corp. In 1996 New World acquired Stouffer Hotels Co. from Nestle, folded it into the Renaissance chain and took the expanded management and franchising company public, while retaining ownership of many of the individual hotels through its CTF Holdings subsidiary. In 1997 Marriott acquired the Netherlands-incorporated Renaissance Hotel Group N.V., and retained the Renaissance brand, while eventually shedding the Ramada International business in phases to Cendant Corp. In 2005 Marriott acquired most of the remaining New World/CTF owned Renaissance Hotels in North America and Europe, with the intent of selling them under long-term management and/or franchise contracts.
