(Bloomberg) -- Accor SA, the French operator of Fairmont, Banyan Tree and Sofitel hotels, said it's keeping its 57 Russian locations open while suspending future developments in the country following the invasion of Ukraine.
The company, which has 3,500 employees in Russia, said it halted all services to hotels whose owners are under U.S. or European sanctions, as well as work on five hotels in development in Russia. It has also paused loyalty programs with Russian partners. Accor doesn't own any of its hotels in Russia, and it's the decision of local hotel owners whether a property should be closed.
Accor has seven hotels in Ukraine: four in Kyiv, two in Lviv and one in Odesa. One hotel remains open for guests in Lviv, while the others are being used to shelter employees, their families and members of the media, a company spokesperson said. Although none of the buildings has sustained damage, some of the fighting has gotten close. One hotel in Kyiv is located near a railway station that was bombed.
Accor is one of the largest hotel operators in the region, with 85 hotels in Poland, 20 in Hungary, and one in Moldova. It has been working with local authorities and NGOs to provide humanitarian relief. Currently 15 of its hotels are accommodating refugees, including five in Paris.
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