Clarion Hotel The Edge: Forbes Billionaire's off-piste hotel launch (Norway)
International hotel tycoon Petter Stordalen teamed up with Olympic alpine medalists Lasse Kjus and Ole Kristian Furuseth to make the opening video for his new flagship hotel, « Clarion Hotel The Edge », in Tromsø, Norway. |
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Clarion Hotel The Edge: Forbes Billionaire's off-piste hotel launch (Norway)
International hotel tycoon Petter Stordalen teamed up with Olympic alpine medalists Lasse Kjus and Ole Kristian Furuseth to make the opening video for his new flagship hotel, « Clarion Hotel The Edge », in Tromsø, Norway. |
Category: Europe - Norway - Industry economy -
Hotel opening
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2014-05-26
"From his previous hotel openings I knew he was quite the daredevil, but I just never anticipated that he would actually participate himself. I mean, this is some serious off-piste skiing, and the other guys are our Olympic alpine heroes," says director Sindre Kinnerød of Flash Studio, who shot the video of Stordalen's breathtaking stunt.
The 75 million USD hotel, located in the waterfront of the midnight sun capital of the world, Tromsø, was opened in the regular style of the hotel mogul, with world-renowned electronica duo Røyksopp DJing.
"It is really fantastic. This is probably the biggest party in Tromsø, and the North of Norway in more than 10 years," said Road Dons, chairman of the board at Pellerin, one of the investors in the unique 287-room hotel, which also boasts a restaurant by Michelle Obama's favorite chef, Marcus Samuelsson.
If there was ever a rock star in the global hotel industry, it would be Petter Stordalen - owner of Scandinavia's largest hotel chain, Nordic Choice Hotels. Named "the flashiest Scandinavian on the planet" by Forbes Magazine, the 51-year-old billionaire has completed an Iron Man race, chained himself to a bridge to protest against a UK nuclear treatment plant, and did a double arabian flip when invited on stage at a Prince concert.
But even for him, this latest promotional activity was pushing the limit.
"We were seven people ascending the top of the breathtaking Lyngen Alps by foot with our skis on our backs. Our two guides set off first, then me, then Lasse and Ole Kristian. It was a humbling experience, off-piste skiing in one of the world's most beautiful areas with two of the world's best skiers. We went from 1800 meters and all the way down to sea-level - it was a rare treat for a ski aficionado like myself," says Stordalen.
The whole idea of the video was to show Stordalen and his Olympic friends move «on the edge» as the promotional video for his new hotel « Clarion Hotel The Edge » in Tromsø - an hour's drive away.
"This part of Norway is all about the nature and the midnight sun. Everyone who has ever been to the North of Norway will want to return, especially now that we have created a hotel to match the experiences this area delivers," says Stordalen.
The Forbes billionaire is known for spectacular hotel openings (and for driving the world's first biofueled Ferrari): In 2012 Stordalen opened his 200 million dollar Clarion Hotel Post in Gothenburg, Sweden, descending from the ceiling inside a giant disco ball rigged out with drums, which he was playing. Three months later he opened Clarion Hotel & Congress in Trondheim, Norway, driving through the audience on his 2200 cubic custom built motorbike, before parking it onstage and giving his speech. He topped off the year by Australian abseiling - head first - down the 57 meter facade of Clarion Hotel Arlanda Airport in Stockholm.
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