Park Plaza Hotels Europe have signed a sub master agreement for Scandinavia with Oak Hospitality Services AB, whose CEO, Claes Livijn was previously Vice President Development at Rezidor SAS.  With this agreement, Oak Hospitality Services AB will aggressively expand the Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts brand across Scandinavia and beyond, through both franchise and management contracts. After the relatively recent affiliation with the Wren’s Hotel group in Croatia and the FitzWilliam Hotel group in Ireland, Park Plaza Hotels Europe are in advanced negotiations with companies in various other countries as sub master agreements are currently the preferred development method for this rapidly expanding hotel group.  The agreement with Oak Hospitality Services AB will cover the countries of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.

Oak Hospitality’s CEO, Claes Livijn has an impressive hospitality background, more so recently within Rezidor SAS where he signed up 23 hotels in 18 months for the Park Inn brand.  He also developed 3 hotels in Sweden to join Radisson SAS.  Both Park Inn and Radisson SAS are sister brands to Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts, part of Carlson Hospitality Worldwide.  Claes brings nearly 30 years of hotel experience with him, including 7 valuable years working within Pandox and Securum, 2 well respected hotel real estate companies in Sweden.  Degree educated in Hotel Management from Glion Hotel School, Switzerland, Claes has also held various management roles in more than 10 hotels across Sweden and the Netherlands.  A Swedish National, Claes is fluent in English, Swedish and French, with knowledge of Danish, German, Spanish and Dutch.

 

Boris Ivesha, President of Park Plaza Hotels Europe is delighted to have signed this agreement with Claes Livijn:

 

“We believe that there is no better time for us to enter Scandinavia and I am certain that we have found the right partner to drive our development operations in this exciting region. Claes’s extensive experience of the industry, a fantastic network of contacts and his previous knowledge, understanding and experience of the brands’ parent company, Carlson Hospitality Worldwide, will prove invaluable for us.”

 

With over a dozen franchising negotiations coming to fruition in the very near future, expansion through sub master agreements was inevitable.  Initially focusing on Sweden’s most principal cities, Claes will then move to expanding the brand to other Nordic capitals.  Once this has been established, there are firm plans to develop across the Baltic States and beyond. 

 

Claes Livijn comments:

 

“I am extremely happy to have the opportunity to establish a close relationship with Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts.  I find the brand fresh, modern, and fast growing backed up by a focused company.  Oak Hospitality Services AB will do its utmost to make sure that the Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts brand will have fast growth and achieve strong brand awareness in the Scandinavian countries”. 
——-