Magnus Berglund Scandic Hotels

There are hotels that are more exclusive, hotels that are cheaper and hotels that are trendier - but there is no hotel as smart as Scandic. Smart, because you get a more conscious and inspiring hotel experience on so many levels. Visit scandichotels.se presenting more than 160 hotels in 9 countries and many exciting offers.

Fantastic accessibility solutions and dedicated people

Award Winning Disability Tourism in the Nordics Rooms for disabled with a fantastic view on the 21:st floor, the worlds first detailed accessibility information on every hotel’s website, well designed solutions that go almost unnoticed, except by those who really need them. Hooks, mirrors and keyholes at two heights appreciated by children, short adults and those who use a wheelchair. All described in the industry’s first internally made Accessibility Standard with 110 check points that helps Scandic to create accessible solutions in 160 hotels in the Nordics. Welcome to Scandic, the leading hotel chain in the Nordics, where the many times awarded and price winning accessibility work is totally integrated into the everyday business. A company where every team member you meet started their Scandic career with training course in a wheelchair. Background This is a short background on how the hotel industry’s first Disability Ambassador Magnus Berglund, together with dedicated colleagues and management, set a new standard for disability tourism in the Nordics and created examples that inspire decision makers, UN-officials, people like you and me and the 50 million Europeans that have some kind of disability. A growing community since we tend to get older and the elderly Europeans love to travel. Disability tourism will continue to grow and we will all gain if our environment gets more accessible. For Scandic it all started in 2003. After being on sick leave for five years due to a muscle disease the former cook Magnus Berglund contacted his former employer, the hotel chain Scandic, with his ideas on how the chain of hotels could increase the accessibility and use accessibility to gain competitive advantage. In 2003 he was appointed Disability Ambassador. His first task was to design his own role and he started by creating the Accessibility Standard as a platform for all accessibility work at Scandic. The standard has grown over the years and today it contains 110 check points to follow. The work towards more accessible hotels have led to numerous awards over the years, and last fall Scandic, represented by Magnus, was invited to speak at the UN in Geneva about accessibility issues.


A couple of fresh examples Scandic Victoria Tower is the brand new spectacular 34-floor, design hotel in Kista, Stockholm. It demonstrates that it is perfectly possible to offer rooms for disabled with fantastic views high up in the building, with the help of fire-safe elevators that allow wheelchair users to evacuate the building easily. It also shows that it is perfectly possible to incorporate accessibility with design. The hotel is unique with its sequin dress inspired building designed by Gert Wingårdh. The interior of the entire hotel features world renowned designs by Vitra, Montana, Flos, Kasthall and Dinesen. Another strong example on Scandic and Accessibility can be found in Stockholm where an iconic building from 1885 have been carefully transformed into an urban hotel, restaurant and club environment without neglecting the strict accessibility standard. The hotel is called Scandic Grand Central.

In Norway Scandic has built its most accessible hotel ever – the Scandic Oslo Airport, opened in late 2010. This hotel was designed to meet all different kinds of disabilities and it is unique since every part and every detail in the hotel is allergy safe. That’s why the hotel was approved by the Norwegian Asthma and Allergy Association (NAAF) and in November 2011 the hotel won the Norwegian Innovation Prize for Design, competing with 52 other buildings in Norway.

And finally Scandic Sydhavnen in Copenhagen, Denmark, Scandic’s most accessible hotel in Denmark, offering 11 new rooms for disabled and reception, restaurant and conference area all on the entrance level, with easy access from the car park. This is a new hotel that proves that high level of accessibility is a good investment. The hotel has a number of creative accessibility solutions, which is one of the reasons that it gathers larger conferences such as the upcoming EU-conferences held in Copenhagen.

Scandic Accessibility Standard Autumn 2003 saw the appointment of Magnus Berglund as Disability Coordinator for Scandic. One of his first tasks was to train our team members. Everyone needs to understand what it is like for a guest with a disability. Different disabilities, different requirements. Everyone needs knowledge and insight into how we can facilitate and help. Today, all the team members at our hotels are trained in accessibility. For one thing, they get to try working in a wheelchair. In consultation with disability organisations, hotel guests and team members, Scandic have drawn up a checklist of 110 points called Scandic's accessibility Standard. 81 points are mandatory for all our hotels and for new hotels all points must be considered. Based on this, every hotel works to make life easier for its guests. The standard encompasses everything Scandic offer and is to be an integral consideration for all products and services at the hotel.


At the newly opened flagship hotel in Stockholm City, Scandic Grand Central, the accessibility solutions are carefully integrated in the design. On this picture you see the wheelchair ramp in the hotel lobby. Design for All is a key concept in Scandic’s accessibility work. The aim is for the rooms for disabled to be just as well designed as any other room, with practical solutions that go almost unnoticed, except by those who really need them. Hooks, mirrors and keyholes at two heights are appreciated by children, short adults and those who use a wheelchair. Height-adjustable beds and extra spacious bathrooms are popular with all guests. Scandic’s comprehensive 110-point accessibility programme covers everything from team member training for all staff to adapted rooms and extensive, detailed accessibility information on every hotel’s website, something that is unique in the industry.


One of the super accessible rooms at newly opened Scandic Victoria Tower where disability rooms are located on the 21:st floor with a fantastic view over Stockholm, a unique solution that demonstrates the Scandic way of working with Accessibility. A couple of examples A lowered reception desk for wheelchair users, a guest computer in the lobby at a comfortable height for a wheelchair and an ordinary chair, a hearing loop in conference facilities and reception, and vibrating alarm clocks that also hear the fire alarms are just some examples of smart solutions that ensure a high level of accessibility. A couple of more examples from the 110 point checklist called the Scandic Accessibility Standard.

• Walking stick/cane holder at the reception desk • Meeting rooms without carpets • Hearing loop in plain sight in reception • Portable hearing loop available for meetings


• Vibrating alarm clock that also signals a fire alarm • No allergenic garnish on the buffet breakfast • Gluten- and lactose-free bread at breakfast • Guide dogs are always welcome at our hotels • Braille factsheet available in reception at our Swedish hotels. This includes

information on breakfast times and check-out time • Height-adjustable bed in rooms designed for people with disabilities • Telephone on the bedside table (along with a remote control) • Handrail on the inside of the door, under the door knob, so that closing it is

easy from a wheelchair

Double eyeholes at two hights so that everyone can see who is at the door.

Vibrating alarm clock that also wakes the guests with a hearing disability.


Accessibility Prizes and Awards Scandic has been rewarded many times for its Accessibility and Sustainability work. Some of the more recent rewards are:

• Scandic Oslo Airport wins the Innovation Prize, November 2011. The hotel was rewarded for furniture, interior design and accessibility. All guests are accommodated well and included. Everyone is equal and can participate equally in all contexts. The hotel has been designed well for guests with impaired vision, hearing and mobility, with good accessibility, visual alarms, telephones with induction loops, systems for charging electric wheelchairs and much more besides.

• Scandic wins Nordic Council Nature- and Environmental Prize, November 2011. Scandic was rewarded by the Nordic Council for its efforts to promote sustainable tourism in the Nordic Region and beyond.

• Magnus Berglund was nominated Social Entrepreneur of the Year in Swedish newspaper Veckans Affärer's Social Capitalist Awards, September 2011, for his accessibility work. In just five years, the Social Capital Award has established itself as the leading award for people who have united capitalism and social benefits in Sweden.

• Scandic’s guests most satisfied in Europe. The 2010 European Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study, a report published by JD Power and Associates, shows that Scandic ranks highest for customer satisfaction in the mid-scale full service category.

• Scandic Berlin becomes first German hotel to gain the EU Ecolabel. Scandic Berlin Potsdamer Platz, in the heart of Berlin, opened on 1 October 2010. Now the hotel has become the first in Germany to meet the EU's stringent environmental criteria and become certified according to the official EU Ecolabel. At the same time, the newly opened hotel has received a prestigious silver medal from DGNB, the independent German organisation that certifies, promotes and rewards sustainable building. Scandic Berlin Potsdamer Platz is the first hotel in Germany to be built according to such sustainability principles.

Older Awards 2006 St Julian Award, part of the City of Stockholm’s Accessibility Project aimed

at becoming the world’s most accessible capital city by 2010.

2007 The Swedish STIL Award, for the first time given to an organization. The municipality of Norrköping’s accessibility award.


Improved accessibility – a commercial success Scandic is intensifying its successful focus on improved accessibility. In 2011, more than 100 new rooms for disabled were added to the portfolio and 2012 there will be even more to meet the large and growing demand. More and more companies and organisations seek rooms and conference facilities that are accessible to all. At the same time the numbers of older, active private travellers who are attracted by improved accessibility are increasing. Improving accessibility has proven to be a commercial success for Scandic, the Nordic region’s leading hotel chain.

There are more than 50 million people with some form of physical disability in Europe alone and, when it comes to staying in a hotel, they can find their options extremely limited. Back in 2003 Scandic, the leading hotel chain in the Nordic region, recruited Magnus Berglund as the company's very own Disability Coordinator. Needless to say, a lot has happened since then. Today, Scandic has its own accessibility standard with 110 points for increased accessibility and all our team members are trained in accessibility issues. Scandic was also the first hotel chain in the world to post full accessibility information online for all its 160 hotels.

“When we take over a hotel, we implement our accessibility programme within three months and, after just one year, we tend to notice more bookings from private guests and from companies and organisations, thanks to our accessibility work. This gives us a clear competitive advantage and, as well as showing our commitment to social responsibility, we see major commercial benefits in being accessible to all, relates Anders Ehrling, President and CEO of Scandic.”

“We want all guests, whether they have a mobility issue, allergies or impaired sight or hearing, to feel welcome and enjoy the same value for money as guests without a disability”, states Magnus Berglund, Disability Ambassador at Scandic. “We have entered an exciting phase, where interest and bookings show our accessibility work is appreciated by many more people than just the guests with a disability.”


Magnus Berglund, Disability Ambassador Scandic Magnus Berglund has been responsible for all disability issues at Scandic since 2003, reporting directly to the Group Executive Committee. Scandic has created and implemented the industry’s first accessibility standard with 110 check points followed by 160 Scandic hotels in 9 countries. The accessibility work is fully integrated into the everyday business covering all parts of the hotels. Every one of the 7 000 team members get an accessibility training and as the first hotel chain in the world Scandic provides an extensive 80-point detailed accessibility information on every hotel´s website. Magnus Berglund´s work at Scandic has been recognized in international media such as CNN and last year he was invited to the UN to share his thoughts on accessibility. Scandic and Magnus have also received a number of national and international Disability Awards. On a personal level the former chef loves good food, his friends and taking a walk with his dog Ada, the 12-year-old Corporate Dog at Scandic. Magnus Berglund, Disability Ambassador Scandic, and his rehab dog at a lowered reception desk that provides accessibility to guests using wheel-chair.


Scandic in short Scandic is the Nordic region's leading hotel chain, with 160 hotels in nine countries; Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Estonia, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Poland. Total number of hotels rooms: 29 910.

We have a total of 6,600 team members ready to make travelling both accessible and comfortable for as many people as possible. Our guests come from across the globe and visit us on holiday and when travelling on business.

Scandic has over the last two years opened flagship hotels in city centers such as Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen and Berlin.

In 2007 Scandic was purchased from Hilton Hotels Corporation by Swedish Private Equity company EQT.