Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts, commonly known as Swissôtel, is a Swiss chain of luxury hotels owned by Accor, which acquired FRHI Hotels & Resorts in 2015.[2]
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Hospitality |
| Founded | 1981[1] |
| Headquarters | Zurich Airport Kloten, Switzerland |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Hotels |
| Parent | Accor |
| Website | swissotel.com |
The corporate offices for Swissôtel are located in the Prioria Business Centre on the property of Zurich Airport in Kloten, Switzerland,[3][4] near Zürich.[5]
History
editSwissôtel was founded in 1981 as a joint venture between the Swissair and Nestlé groups, with its headquarters in the Swiss city of Zürich. Initially, hotels were operated in Bern, New York City, Geneva and Zürich. In 1990, the hotel group became a fully owned subsidiary of the Swissair group, and in 1996, its head office moved from Zürich to New York.[6]
In 2001, with the parent airline in the serious financial difficulties due to the events of 9/11 that year in the United States that eventually lead to its demise, Swissôtel was sold to Raffles Holdings Limited, the owner of the famous Raffles Hotel in Singapore. In July 2005, Colony Capital, a private international investment firm, acquired Raffles International Limited, the company that by this stage owned both the Raffles and Swissôtel brands.[6]
In May 2006, Colony Capital, together with Kingdom Hotels International, acquired Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. With the completion of the transaction, the Fairmont and Raffles International portfolios were combined, transforming the companies into a global hotel leader (headquartered in Toronto) called Fairmont Raffles Hotels International, with 120 hotels in 23 countries under three brands – Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel. After the transaction, the corporate office of Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts moved back to Zürich, where it was headed by its president, Meinhard Huck, who retired in 2013.
In December 2015, AccorHotels purchased Swissôtel, along with Raffles and Fairmont hotels, in a $2.9 billion deal.[2]
Properties
editSwissôtel currently has 29 properties worldwide.[7] The company also offers Swissôtel Living serviced apartments in three properties (two as part of hotels and one standalone).[8]
Paolo Guerrero case
editIn November 2017, the Peruvian football player Paolo Guerrero tested positive for a metabolite of cocaine in the run up to the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[9] His defence was that he had accidentally consumed the substance in herbal tea that was contaminated with coca tea[10] at the Swissôtel in Lima, Peru.[11]
Guerrero stated that the Swissôtel hindered him in obtaining evidence that was needed to sustain his case before the Court of Arbitration for Sport:
The hotel was an important factor that hurt me, that is very clear, when I came here to Peru to find the evidence of how this had been caused, the Swissotel turned its back on me, they did not support me at any time. What I wanted to know was the truth.[12][13]
They threatened the waiter so he would not talk. At the hotel they did not allow us to talk to him.[14]
In response, Peruvian citizens criticized Swissôtel, making negative comments in social networks like Facebook, Twitter and TripAdvisor, and calling for marches and boycotts against the hotel.[11][14][15]
References
edit- ^ "Luxury Hotels and Resorts - Swissotel Hotels & Resorts". Swissotel.com. Archived from the original on 20 July 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
- ^ a b "French hotel chain Accor buys Fairmont, Raffles and Swissotel for $2.9B US". CBC News. 9 December 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
- ^ "FULL TERMS AND CONDITIONS." (Archive) Swissôtel. Retrieved on 20 October 2012. "Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts, Balz-Zimmermannstr. 7, 8058 Zurich-Airport, CH. Registered number CH-020.3.925.568-2 "
- ^ "Priora Business Center." (Archive) Priora. Retrieved on 20 October 2012. "Priora Business Center Balsberg Balz-Zimmermann-Strasse 7 CH-8302 Kloten"
- ^ "JULIAN VAN DEN BOGAERDE APPOINTED REGIONAL VICE-PRESIDENT, CHINA FOR SWISSÔTEL HOTELS & RESORTS." Swissôtel. Retrieved on 25 June 2009. "Prior to his appointment in Shanghai, Julian van den Bogaerde was based in the head office of Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts in Zurich as General Manager."
- ^ a b "Press Release - Swissôtel mark their 30th anniversary". Swissôtel. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
- ^ "About Swissôtel". Swissôtel. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
- ^ "Swissôtel Living". Swissôtel. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
- ^ PA Sport (14 May 2018). "Peru captain Paolo Guerrero to miss World Cup after doping ban extended". ESPN. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ Jennings, Patrick (15 June 2018). "Cocaine, the captain & the frozen mummies: Paolo Guerrero's World Cup journey". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ a b LR, Redacción (14 May 2018). "Hinchas promueven marcha contra el Swissotel | LaRepublica.pe" (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ "Peruvians show support for Guerrero after World Cup ban". www.efe.com. Retrieved 2018-05-16.
- ^ "Paolo Guerrero critica hotel de concentración: "Me perjudicó, me dio la espalda" (VIDEO)". Diario Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-05-16.
- ^ a b "Paolo Guerrero: Resguardan el Swissotel ante anuncio de marcha por el delantero [VIDEO]". Peru21 (in Spanish). 2018-05-14. Archived from the original on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
- ^ Vásquez, Ricardo Guerra (2018-05-16). "Paolo Guerrero: ¿Qué debe hacer ante la crisis el Swissotel?". El Comercio (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-05-16.