Scandinavian hotel chain Scandic is taking over two Polish currently being hotels run by the Holiday Inn, as part of its Eastern Europe expansion strategy.

One hotel is in the city of Wroclaw and has 164 rooms, the other is in Gdansk and has 143 rooms. Both hotels will become part of the Scandic group on 1 January 2009 and will be rebranded as Scandic Wroclaw and Scandic Gdansk.With almost 40 million people, Poland offers the hotel chain potential for establishing its brand in the mid-market segment. Scandic has already declared its ambition to expand in Europe. These two new hotels will form a key element of that strategy in Eastern Europe.

“We have high expectations of our new hotels. Poland is the largest of the new EU member states and both cities, Gdansk and Wroclaw, have enjoyed good growth in recent years,” comments Frank Fiskers, President & CEO of Scandic.

Each of the hotels enjoys a city centre location. Wroclaw is the economic hub of south-west Poland, with many major international companies established there, while the port of Gdansk, in the north of Poland, is a vital centre of import and export.

The hotels represent Scandic’s first venture in Poland, and offer modern and comfortable rooms, a restaurant and bar, a gym and well-equipped and functional conference facilities. Scandic has signed a long-term lease with the property owner Invesco’s European hotel real estate fund.

“We are investing not only in two hotels, but in a whole market - a market that we believe offers considerable potential for a hotel company such as ours. In recent years, hotel occupancy has been on the rise in Poland, and it is expected to increase even further. There is also a need for good hotels in the mid-market price range, and that is where we will be establishing ourselves,” concludes Frank Fiskers.

At the end of 2007, Scandic announced its aggressive new growth strategy, aimed at advancing from the current 150 hotels to 200 in just five years.
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