Rezidor Hotel Group announced the opening of five hotels (1,300 rooms) and signing of 10 hotels (2,300 rooms) in the second quarter of 2012, which is ahead of last year's quarterly results. In the first half of the year, the group opened nine hotels featuring 2,300 rooms, and added 16 hotels featuring 3,700 rooms to the pipeline.

The second-quarter openings include two flagship resorts in Corsica and Gran Canaria, further strengthening the group's resort portfolio which now features almost 50 properties and 13,000 rooms across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Additionally, two new-build hotels were signed in East London for a total of 380 rooms.

In line with the group's Route 2015 strategy to uplift the EBITDA margin by six to eight percentage points by 2015, Rezidor has successfully converted a committed contract in Rome to a franchise contract, securing more profitable income streams in the years ahead and reducing its risk exposure. Rezidor currently features 22,000 rooms, all with managed or franchised contracts; all due to open within the next three to four years. By the end of June 2012, Rezidor operated 332 hotels and 72,900 rooms in 54 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The group's portfolio features additional 100 hotels and 22,000 rooms in the pipeline.