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Radisson SAS Hotel London Stansted Airport, has this week changed its name to Radisson Blu Hotel, London Stansted Airport. This renaming is part of a total brand change of name, which includes seeing all UK hotels currently flying the Radisson SAS flag becoming Radisson Blu.

The change of name follows the announcement earlier this year that Radisson SAS Hotels & Resorts was being rebranded as Radisson Blu Hotels & Resorts. The small, but significant name change marks the latest step forward in the Radisson SAS success story and reflects the natural end of Radisson’s links with the SAS Group following Rezidor’s IPO back in November 2006.

The Stantsted hotel joins the other UK Radisson SAS hotels in becoming Radisson Blu, in addition to three properties that joined the portfolio earlier this year, opening as Radisson Blu hotels in Bristol, Brighton and Cardiff.

Radisson SAS was created in 1994 when SAS International Hotels (SIH) joined forces with the Radisson brand for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The resultant new, highly individual hotel brand grew rapidly and won a world class reputation for innovation, design and service concepts: many more recent Radisson SAS hotels, including the Stansted hotel, are “new breeds” – contemporary flagship properties with iconic architecture and bold design solutions – that have become increasingly synonymous with the brand.

Jens Hallman, General Manager, Radisson Blu Hotel, London Stantsted Airport said: “We are extremely proud to hoist the Radisson Blu flag and our new Radisson Blu signage outside the hotel. We will be celebrating our new name over the coming weeks with our guests and suppliers, so look out for lots of Blu themed promotions, special offers and events over the coming weeks.”

Earlier this year Gordon McKinnon, Rezidor’s Executive Vice President of Brands, revealed that the name Blu emerged as the most natural choice from Rezidor’s intensively researched quest to find the right new visual differentiator to replace the familiar SAS ‘blue box’.

“The name Blu started life as the project’s working title. But it soon became apparent that it was actually the most natural of choices. It’s simple, it’s short, it’s relevant and we’ve applied it in a way that adds a certain modernity to the identity without taking it too far,” he said. “Most importantly it also promotes our specific brand heritage by preserving the graphic ‘blue box’ which has become the recognised symbol of the distinctive characteristics of the Radisson brand in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Radisson Blu preserves the continuity of our unique brand, while taking it that one essential step forward to more accurately represent its true position and future ambitions.”