Strawberry (hotel company)#Brands
{{Short description|Hospitality companies of Norway}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox company
|name = Strawberry
|logo =
|type = Private
| traded_as =
|area_served = Scandinavia, Finland and the Baltic
|key_people = {{nowrap|Petter Stordalen, Owner and President}}
Torgeir Silseth, CEO
|industry = Hospitality
|products = Hotels
|services =
|revenue =
|operating_income =
|net_income =
|num_employees = >17,000
|parent =
|divisions = Comfort Hotel
Quality Hotel
Clarion Hotel
Home Hotel
Nordic Hotels & Resorts
|subsid =
|foundation = 1990
|location_city = Oslo
|location_country = Norway
|location =
|locations =
|caption =
|homepage = [http://www.strawberryhotels.com strawberryhotels.com]
}}
Strawberry (formerly known as Nordic Choice Hotels) is one of the largest hotel companies in Scandinavia with 240 hotels in Scandinavia, Finland and the Baltics and over 16,500 employees.{{cite web | title=Nordic Choice Hotels byter namn till Strawberry | website=Fastighetsvärlden | date=2022-06-20 | url=https://www.fastighetsvarlden.se/notiser/nordic-choice-hotels-byter-namn-till-strawberry/ | language=sv | access-date=2024-01-15}}{{cite web | last=Pilsetnek | first=Nellie | title=Petter Stordalens hotellkedja byter namn – Nordic Choice Hotels blir Strawberry | website=Resumé | date=2023-05-22 | url=https://www.resume.se/kommunikation/varumarke/petter-stordalens-hotellkedja-byter-namn--nordic-choice-hotels-blir-strawberry/ | language=sv | access-date=2024-01-15}} It is a franchisee of Choice Hotels International. The franchise agreement gives the company the right to use three brands and their umbrella brands. Apart from that, Strawberry is in most aspects run independently from Choice International. Strawberry also runs more than 120 restaurants, 20 SPAs and a number of gyms, conference halls and arenas.{{cite web | title=Nordic Choice blir Strawberry – "Målet är fortfarande att vara bäst" | website=Realtid | date=2023-05-22 | url=https://www.realtid.se/nordic-choice-blir-strawberry-malet-ar-fortfarande-att-vara-bast/ | language=sv | access-date=2024-01-15}}
History
Nordic Choice Hotels was established in Norway in 1990 as Choice Hotels Scandinavia. During 1994 the company signed a franchise agreement with Choice Hotels International that gave them the right to market its hotels as Comfort, Clarion and Quality hotels. The company was listed at the Oslo stock exchange in 1997, but was lifted in 2005 when Home Invest (owned by business man Petter Stordalen) bought 100% of the stock.
In 2018, Petter Stordalen transferred ownership of the company to his three children – Emilie, Jacob and Henrik Stordalen.{{cite web | title=Stordalen ger hotellkedjan till barnen | website=SvD.se | date=2018-01-20 | url=https://www.svd.se/a/ngwXEo/stordalen-ger-hotellkedjan-till-barnen | language=sv | access-date=2024-01-15}} In 2006 Torgeir Silseth became CEO for the Nordic Choice Hotels Group and continues to be the CEO in 2024.{{cite web | title=Corporate Management at Strawberry | website=Strawberry | date=2023-01-24 | url=https://www.strawberryhotels.com/about/corporate-management/ | access-date=2024-01-15}}
In 2021, the chain was hit with a Conti (ransomware) attack and hackers demanded $5 million in ransom.{{cite web | last=Stupp | first=Catherine | title=Inside a Ransomware Hit at Nordic Choice Hotels | website=WSJ | date=2022-01-12 | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/inside-a-ransomware-hit-at-nordic-choice-hotels-11641983406 | access-date=2024-01-15| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220112113230/https://www.wsj.com/articles/inside-a-ransomware-hit-at-nordic-choice-hotels-11641983406| archive-date=2022-01-12}} After the attack, the chain adopted ChromeOS on its computers company-wide.{{Cite web|date=2022-01-11|title=Hotel chain switches to Chrome OS to recover from ransomware attack|url=https://therecord.media/hotel-chain-switches-to-chrome-os-to-recover-from-ransomware-attack/|access-date=2022-01-12|website=The Record by Recorded Future|language=en}}{{cite web | url=https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/chrome-enterprise/nordic-choice-hotels-bounces-back-ransomware-attack-chromeos-flex | title=Nordic Choice Hotels bounces back from ransomware attack with ChromeOS Flex }} Hackers had previously leaked sensitive customer and employee data on the dark web.{{cite web | last=Andersson | first=Gustaf | title=Efter attacken mot Stordalens hotell – hackare läcker känsliga uppgifter | website=Dagens industri | date=2021-12-21 | url=https://www.di.se/nyheter/efter-attacken-mot-stordalens-hotell-hackare-lacker-kansliga-uppgifter/ | language=sv | access-date=2024-01-15}}
On 22 May 2023, Nordic Choice Hotels is renamed Strawberry.{{Cite web |date=2023-04-30 |title=Nordic Choice Hotels is becoming Strawberry |url=https://www.strawberryhotels.com/blog/smart-stuff/nordic-choice-hotels-strawberry/ |access-date=2023-05-21 |website=www.strawberryhotels.com}}
Brands
File:Quality Hotel Globe.jpg]]
File:Clarion Hotel Post (15368556852).jpg in Gothenburg]]
The hotels are marketed under four brands and one independent group.{{Cite web|url=https://annualreport.choice.no/|title=State of Nordic Choice|website=State of Nordic Choice}} As of 2024, Strawberry operated overall 242 hotels located throughout Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Lithuania.[https://www.strawberryhotels.com/hotels/?resetDestination=true strawberryhotels.com - Hotels] retrieved 21 April 2024
- Clarion Hotel
- Home Hotel
- Quality Hotel
- Comfort Hotel
- Nordic Hotels & Resorts, often under Ascend Hotel Collection branding, with many operating under an additional independent name
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.strawberryhotels.com Official website]
{{hotel chains}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Hospitality companies established in 1990
Category:Hospitality companies of Norway