Scandic Hotels Takes Over Hotel in Finland, Plans Expansion

By Adelina Osan, Associate Editor
Vaasa, Finland—Scandic Hotels recently signed a lease agreement with Airaksinen Capital to take over the operation of a 68-key hotel located in downtown Vaasa. Scandic Hotels plans to expand the hotel by adding 140 new guestrooms, as well as more conference and congress facilities. The former Kantarellis hotel will be rebranded Scandic Vaasa.

Scandic Vaasa, Finland

Constructed in the 1930s, the property originally functioned as the printing house for the Pohjalainen newspaper. Airaksinen Capital Oy is the owner of the building. As of June 2016, Scandic Hotels will take over management of the property, adding new amenities and new guestrooms. The expansion of the hotel is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2017.

“Finland is an important growth market for Scandic and today, we are already the biggest hotel company in the Helsinki area. With Scandic Vaasa, we are further strengthening our network in the Finnish market,” said Frank Fiskers, president & CEO of Scandic Hotels Group, in a prepared release.

“Scandic is a strong, long-term and responsible partner for us to have and I look forward to jointly developing the hotel, conference and restaurant operations to realize the full potential of the hotel,” added Tommi Heikkinen, president & CEO of Airaksinen Capital Oy.