Messukeskus Helsinki extends Restel hotel partnership for 10 years

Finland’s Restel Ltd has agreed a 10-year hotel partnership extension with Messukeskus Helsinki. The partners will revamp The Holiday Inn Helsinki – Messukeskus during 2018, with the stated aim “to make it the best event hotel in Northern Europe”, says Anni Vepsäläinen, managing director of Messukeskus Helsinki, Expo and Convention Centre. She says the renovation will cover the entire building from hotel rooms to service points and from technology to interior design. The hotel’s capacity will remain unchanged, with 245 double rooms. A new service concept will include an Open Lobby service, designed to turn the hotel lobby into an interesting common area for working, relaxing and eating not only for the hotel guests but also for all city residents. “We have a unique environment. More than a hundred different fairs and exhibitions and 1,500 meetings and congresses are held annually at Messukeskus. We want to make events and meetings part of our hotel guests’ service experience,” says Vepsäläinen. “We are happy that our long co-operation with Messukeskus will continue and that we will be able to build an event hotel of the future on the basis of completely new ideas,” says Mikael Backman, CEO of Restel, who confirmed the hotel would continue to be part of the Holiday Inn chain. The Holiday Inn Helsinki – Messukeskus hotel was built in 1997 and is directly connected to the exhibition halls and conference rooms of Messukeskus. The hotel will close during the renovation from 20 February 2018 to 2 January 2019. Restel Ltd operates 43 hotels in Finland and employs 5,000 hotel and restaurant professionals across the country.