Le Club AccorHotels has introduced Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts’ branded properties into its loyalty program worldwide.

Raffles is preparing to open its newest resort in the rare Maldivian oasis of Gaafu Alifu Atoll on 1 February 2019. Raffles Maldives Meradhoo is AccorHotels’ fourth property in the Maldives and is the first under the Raffles brand.

AccorHotels has announced it will debut a new luxury hotel brand under a partnership with Orient Express. Orient Express Hotels’ first property will open in the landmark King Power Mahanakhon Building in Bangkok, Thailand, opening in the fourth quarter of 2019.

In this week’s LATTE one-on-one interview, we speak exclusively with the CEO of AccorHotels Asia-Pacific, Michael Issenberg. Issenberg’s full-time hospitality career spans more than three decades and began in 1981 at the Westin St Francis Hotel in San Francisco. He has held senior positions across hotel management and property investment including Director of Development for Merlin Properties and was the CEO of Mirvac Hotels, a brand which joined the AccorHotels portfolio in late 2011.

The CEO of AccorHotels Asia-Pacific, Michael Issenberg, believes the Australian market could be a suitable fit for the group’s upscale brand with Swiss heritage, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts. AccorHotels acquired Mövenpick and its portfolio of over 80 hotels and resorts earlier this year. Currently the brand is present in 24 countries, but has not spread its wings Down Under.

Sofitel has partnered with Hainan Airlines to launch a premium collection of its iconic Sofitel MyBedT products across the carrier’s Business class. Passengers flying up the pointy end on Hainan Airlines will now be able to experience the ultimate sleep-time bliss with the luxurious Sofitel MyBed in the sky.

AccorHotels Pacific today confirmed a major multi-million dollar refurbishment project is scheduled to commence in late November at Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa, Denarau Island Fiji, including expansion plans for the resort’s exclusive adults-only, Waitui Beach Club. The project was foreshadowed by LATTE earlier this month.

After much anticipation, international luxury lifestyle hotel SO/ Auckland has removed the bollards and rolled out the red carpet, welcoming guests and nosy neighbours to eat, drink, stay and play in the heart of the city.

Art Series Hotels will open its eighth property at Howard Smith Wharves, Brisbane in March 2019. It will be the first new property for the Art Series brand since joining the AccorHotels family.

SO Sofitel Hua Hin has this month unveiled an 8,000-square-metre expansion with the launch of its brand-new wing, with state-of-the-art of leisure facilities and room types for business and leisure travellers. Guests staying at the hotel can look forward to the new 16-metre-by-60-metre Signature Pool, consisting of a water playground anchored by a Wibit adventure course running down the middle of the pool.

AccorHotel’s Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa, Denarau Island Fiji will embark on a multi-million dollar enhancement project starting at the end of this month, initially focussed on the resort’s adults-only precinct, Waitui Beach Club.

AccorHotels and Luneng Group recently signed a memorandum of understanding forming a strategic partnership in China. The MOU outlines cooperation between the two companies to create a solid platform combining the management of hotels, luxury and upscale serviced apartments and timeshares in unique destinations in China.