Sofitel hotel to rebrand as Pullman

The hotel, located in northern Bucharest, has been operating under the Sofitel brand since 1994 and is the first international brand to enter Romania after 1990. At the time, the only international brand in Bucharest was InterContinental, which has operated in Romania for 35 years. “All Sofitel hotels worldwide are undergoing a re-classification process to become five-star [units]. Our clients are mostly foreign businesspeople, and Pullman is a brand 100 percent suited for this segment. Amid current market conditions, I do not see fit to become a five-star hotel,” D’Addio added. Pullman is a four-star brand, and part of international Accor group’s portfolio, which also includes Novotel and Ibis hotels on the local market. Some 20 Pullman hotels are operating worldwide. Sofitel registered €7.8 mln. worth of business in the first nine months this year, slightly higher than the €7.7 mln posted for the same period in 2007. In the past two years, the company has invested some €0.5 mln. to renovate the unit’s 203 rooms. It is owned by the World Trade Center company.