Raffles Hotels & Resorts
 | |
| Industry | Luxury hotels |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1989 |
Number of locations | 11 |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Parent | AccorHotels |
| Website | www.raffles.com |
Raffles Hotels & Resorts is a chain of luxury hotels owned by AccorHotels since 2016. Founded in 1887 with the opening of the original Raffles Hotel in Singapore, the company started to develop internationally in the late 1990s. It acquired Swissôtel in 2001. As of November 2017, Raffles Hotels & Resorts operates 11 luxury hotels.
History
Raffles Hotel
Raffles Hotels & Resorts was formed in 1989 to restore, redevelop and manage the Raffles Hotel. The corporation also undertook the restructuring and management of the I.M Pei-designed Raffles City development, thus laying the foundation for Raffles Hotels and Resorts to become a hotel management company.
The Raffles Hotel reopened after a complete restoration on 16 September 1991.
International development
In 1997, the company opened the restored Grand Hotel d'Angkor in Siem Reap, Cambodia, marking the launch of its luxury resort brand.[1]
In April 2001, Raffles Holdings acquired Swissôtel from SAirGroup for 268 million euros, thus increasing its room capacity by 139% to 13,500 units in 17 countries.[2]
In 2005, Colony Capital bought Raffles Holdings for $1 billion from the Singapore government. Raffles and Swissôtel joined Fairmont Hotels in the newly formed holding FRHI Hotels & Resorts in 2006.[3] In June 2005, Raffles Hotels signed with the Wafi Group the construction contract of the Raffles Dubai, Raffles’ first property in the Middle East that opened two years later in 2007.[4]
In March 2009, Raffles Hotels and Resorts signed an agreement with the King Holding Company to operate Le Royal Monceau in Paris, which reopened in 2010 after 2 years of renovation work.[5]
In 2015, AccorHotels announced the acquisition of Fairmont Raffles Hotels International (FRHI), thus adding Raffles Hotels & Resorts, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and Swissôtel to its luxury hotel brands collection.[6]
After Indian Hinduja Group and Spanish Obrascón Huarte Lain bought the iconic War Office in London, they decided to transform the administrative building into a hotel and signed a deal with AccorHotels in June 2017 to add it to the Raffles portfolio of luxury hotels.[7]
Other products
In 2015, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Singapore Sling, Raffles Hotels & Resorts partnered with London-based microdistillery Sipsmith to create a brand-made gin, the Raffles 1915 Gin.[8]
Notable properties
| Photo of properties | Name | City | Country | Managed by Raffles since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raffles Jakarta | Jakarta |  | 2015 | |
| Raffles Istanbul | Istanbul |  | 2014 | |
 | Raffles Praslin, Seychelles | Praslin |  | 2011 |
| Raffles Makkah Palace | Mecca |  | 2010 | |
 | Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor | Siem Reap |  | 1997 |
 | Raffles Hotel Le Royal | Phnom Penh | | 1997 |
 | Raffles Singapore | Singapore |  | 1887 |
References
- ↑ "A history of hospitality… Raffles Hotel Le Royal, Phnom Penh". Iltm.com. November 1997. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ↑ "European Hotels Transaction 2002" (PDF). Hvs.com. 2002. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ↑ Deborah Orr (9 August 2006). "Recolonizing Raffles". Forbes.com. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ↑ "Wafi Group signs up with Raffles International". Ttnonline.com. June 2005. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ↑ "Kingdom sells interest in Four Seasons Geneva". 4hoteliers.com. 9 March 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ↑ "French hotel chain Accor buys Fairmont, Raffles and Swissotel for $2.9B US". Cbc.ca. 9 December 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ↑ Mark Caswell (15 June 2017). "London's Old War Office to become Raffles property". Businesstraveller.com. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ↑ Kenneth Goh (1 January 2016). "Gin from Raffles descendant". Straitstimes.com. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
