Accor signs Pullman in Sydney: Accor has signed an agreement with Panthers Group for a new Pullman hotel at the Penrith Panthers precinct in Sydney, Australia. Located at the foot of the Blue Mountains, the upper upscale 153-key Pullman Sydney Penrith is scheduled to open in Q4 2023 and will be a part of Panthers Group’s transformation of the Penrith Panthers precinct to develop a new business and entertainment destination. The hotel will be adjoined to the new 1,250-square-meter Western Sydney Conference Centre, which will also open in the fourth quarter of 2023. The hotel’s announcement is off the back of Accor’s seven-year deal for the naming rights of Accor Stadium at the Olympic Park in Sydney. Currently, Accor has over 350 properties in Australia.
Four Seasons adds in China: Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and Sun Hung Kai Properties are planning a Four Seasons hotel in Suzhou, China, offering over 200 rooms, suites and private villas. Four Seasons Hotel Suzhou is slated to open in late 2023. Spread across nine hectares on a private island surrounded by Jinji Lake, the hotel will be led by General Manager Arthur Ho. Currently, Four Seasons operates 124 hotels and resorts and 50 residential properties across 47 countries with over 50 projects under planning or development.
China signals move to relax travel norms: China has hinted at easing international travel norms as part of incentives to attract more foreign investment into the country. In a notice issued by regulators, including the country’s National Development and Reform Commission, the government has directed authorities to make travel to China more convenient for executives of multinational companies, technicians and their families. All localities have been asked to make use of “fast lanes” for personal exchanges and further clarify the procedures for foreign personnel to come and leave China. The notice also encouraged authorities to conduct international industrial investment events for semiconductor and healthcare companies and economic forums for global and local firms to exchange information and views.