Carlson, a privately held, global hospitality and travel company, today announced that its Park Plaza® brand was voted the “Best Mid Range Hotel Brand” at the recent Outlook Traveller Awards in New Delhi, India.

The Park Plaza brand, featuring warm, engaging service and trendsetting design capturing the energy and style of each location, was the only international hotel brand to be recognized at the coveted annual awards.

“Smart, spirited service is the cornerstone of our full service Park Plaza brand and our staff take pride in living the brand promise by providing a consistently high level of service to guests. On behalf of our Park Plaza staff, we are honored to be recognized as a frontrunner in India’s hotel sector,” said Simon Barlow, president, Carlson Hotels, Asia Pacific.

In India, Carlson today has six Park Plaza hotels in operation and another 13 hotels under development.

“This award is a strong endorsement of the strength of the Park Plaza brand in South Asia, where Carlson is also the largest international hotel operator,” said K.B. Kachru, executive vice president, Carlson Hotels, South Asia.

The annual awards by Outlook Traveller, one of India’s leading travel magazines are based on a reader’s survey by The Nielsen Company.

Carlson has won several other India industry awards, including the “Fastest Growing Hotel Chain in South Asia” at the Hospitality India Awards, the “Best International Brand in India” by Today’s Traveller and the South Asia Travel & Tourism Expo Excellence Award.

About Carlson
Carlson is a privately held, global hospitality and travel company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn. Carlson encompasses more than 1,070 hotels, including Radisson®, Country Inns & Suites By Carlson^SM, Park Inn® and Park Plaza®; more than 900 T.G.I. Friday’s® restaurants; and a majority stake in Carlson Wagonlit Travel®, the global leader in business travel management. Carlson operates in more than 150 countries and its brands employ about 150,000 people. http://www.carlson.com

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Contacts:
Jay Krishnan, Carlson | 65 6511 9297 | jkrishnan@carlson.com Sarada Chellam, ICON International Communications | 65 6220 2623 | schellam@iconinternational.com.sg

Joan Cronson or Ben Gardeen, Carlson | 1 (763) 212-1418 or 1 (763) 212-8129| jcronson@carlson.com or bgardeen@carlson.com