Sofitel North America Corporation history

In 1973, Sphere SA was created as a holding company for a new chain of two-star, no-frills hotels, called Ibis; the first Ibis was opened the following year.

1974: The first Ibis hotel is opened.

The purchase of the Mercure hotel chain in 1975 pushed the company into metropolitan areas and the business traveler market, and again, as with Novotel, these hotels varied according to regional demands in style, character, and restaurant offerings.

In 1980, Novotel invested in Jacques Borel International, which owned restaurants and luxury Sofitel hotels.

After losses in the hotel business forced Borel to sell the Sofitel chain to Pelisson and Dubrule in 1982, Novotel and its holdings were incorporated under the name Accor and became one of the top ten hotel operations in the world, an elite group typically dominated by American firms.

The company opened Pizza del Arte, a chain of Italian restaurants, in 1983 in commercial and city centers and entered a partnership with the bakery and catering company Lenôtre two years later.

By 1986 Accor's revenues had reached around $2 billion, with net profits of $32 million.

Occupancy rates were high, and ten Formule 1s were in operation by early 1987, and another 30 were under construction across Europe.

In 1988, the company invested in France Quick, ranked second in the French fast-food market, and launched the Free Time fast-food chain.

Steady growth allowed the company to sell equity, including a $340 million issue in January 1990.

In 1991, Accor bought 53 Regal Inns and Affordable Inns from RHC Holding Corp. in order to expand Motel 6 into the preeminent budget hotel company in the world.

In 1992, the European Community approved Accor's nearly $1 billion bid for a 69.5 percent controlling interest in Wagons-Lits.

With the privatization of industry in Hungary, Accor entered into a partnership in 1993 to buy 51 percent of the hotel company Pannonia from the Hungarian government.

One of the first signs its steamrolling expansion would not continue was the loss of Accor's 1994 bid for a 57 percent stake in the four-star hotel chain Meridien.

The same year Accor sold several Dutch Wagons-Lits enterprises and in 1995 sold its catering operations.

In 1997 the company's founders, Dubrule and Pelisson, reorganized the management of the company to reduce their involvement in the day-to-day decision making.

Suite Novotel is the new generation Suitehotel: the Suitehotel brand that was created in 1998 now joins the Novotel family and becomes Suite Novotel.

Accor also entered a joint venture with the Moroccan and Tunisian governments to build and manage resorts and spas in those countries, with an investment of at least $250 million in 1999.

Accor finished 2000 with revenues of EUR 7.01 billion, with hotels bringing in EUR 4.74 billion, services EUR 437 million, and its travel agencies, casinos, restaurants, and onboard rail services the remaining EUR 1.83 billion.

2001: Accor partners with the Beijing Tourism Group and Zenith Hotel International for expansion in China.

For 2002 Accor continued its Asian expansion, buying the remaining interests in its Hong Kong partner, Century International, and China's Zenith International Hotels.

"Commission Clears Accor, Hilton, Six Continents Internet Bookings Joint Venture," Europe Media, May 20, 2003.

Accor opened its fifth Sofitel in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2004, bringing its total properties in Asia to more than 200 hotels in 15 countries.

2005: Several Accor properties are damaged by a devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia.

2006: The United States Department of the Interior identified the Sofitel Washington DC Lafayette Square as one of the main contributing structures to the recently created Fifteenth Street Financial Historic District.

In 2007 Accor brought in longtime hotel industry veteran COO Robert-Gaymer Jones to revitalize and reposition the brand, and he was subsequently promoted to CEO last year.

2014: The Sofitel Washington DC Lafayette Square underwent another extensive series of renovations that sought to reconfigure each one of the hotel’s fantastic guestrooms.

AccorHotels partners Viva Technology Start Up Connect Paris 2016.

Sofitel Washington DC Lafayette Square was even listed in Travel + Leisure's “The Top 10 Hotels in Washington, DC” and inducted into Historic Hotels of America in 2018.