Published 12-14-04
Submitted by Carlson Hospitality Worldwide
Radisson recently announced that it will be exchanging its existing king, queen and double-sized beds for the Sleep Number(R) bed by Select Comfort(TM) at 249 Radisson hotels and resorts in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean, with the majority of Radisson's 90,000 beds to be upgraded in 2005 and 2006.
"Our exclusive agreement with Select Comfort will bring hotel bedding to a new level of comfort and choice in our industry and will help our hotels increase guest satisfaction and obtain a leadership position in the marketplace," said Bjorn Gullaksen, executive vice president of Carlson Hotels Worldwide Full Service Hotels and Brand Leader for Radisson Hotels & Resorts. "We also wanted to provide an option for our hotels to put their existing beds to further good use and help those in need, rather than just liquidating the beds or having them end up in a landfill."
Those beds donated will be made available - in bulk - to nonprofit agencies. The Radisson Plaza Hotel Minneapolis, Radisson's flagship property, is the first hotel to begin to donate beds to the coalition. Organizations must commit to taking at least 200 beds to qualify for the program. Greater Twin Cities United Way is now working with other United Way organizations across the nation to spread the word about how agencies can receive donated beds. Hope for the City is another driving force behind the partnership, distributing the beds with the help of its connections across the nation and in Canada and of Single Source Solutions (SSS), a Denver-based company that will coordinate the removal of the beds.
Downloadable photos available:
http://pix.procolor.com/chw/gallery/Bed-Donation