Fairmont Hotels & Resorts

• 1. Railway Roots And Grand Hotels

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  The Mount Stephen House opened in 1887 as one of the first hotels operated by Canadian Pacific Hotels. This structure sat along the rail lines of the Canadian Pacific Railway during the late nineteenth century. The railway company built many resort hotels to serve passengers traveling through rural and urban Canada. By the 1980s, the collection included the Chateau Lake Louise and the Banff Springs Hotel. Rival railways like the Grand Trunk Railway copied this approach with properties such as the Jasper Park Lodge. The Canadian National Railway also created a hotel division called Canadian National Hotels. In 1988, Canadian Pacific Hotels purchased that rival division to become the nation's largest hotel owner. The chain later acquired the Princess Hotels chain in 1998.

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• 2. The Swig Family Expansion

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  James Graham Fair bought land in San Francisco where the Fairmont San Francisco now stands. The nearly completed structure survived the earthquake of 1906 despite heavy damage from subsequent fires. Architect Julia Morgan renovated the building before it finally opened in 1907. Benjamin Swig acquired the property in 1945 and began developing a luxury chain across the United States. Operating as Fairmont Hotels Management, the family added the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans in 1965. They renamed it the Fairmont Roosevelt and then Fairmont New Orleans. The Fairmont San Jose opened by the chain in 1987. The company assumed management of the Plaza Hotel in New York in 1995. By 1998, the company managed seven properties in the United States including the Copley Plaza Hotel.

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• 3. Corporate Merger And Rebranding

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  Canadian Pacific Hotels acquired a majority interest in Fairmont Hotels in April 1999. The parent company held 67% of the shares during this transaction. Canadian Pacific Limited reorganized its hotel division in 2001 to unify the brands under one name. The newly re-organized Fairmont company transferred several properties to its Delta Hotels subsidiary. It retained most signature hotels and resorts under the new Fairmont banner. In October 2001, Canadian Pacific Limited spun off all subsidiary companies into separately traded independent entities. This starburst move was designed to increase valuations of individual divisions. Fairmont became a publicly traded company separate from its former parent organization.

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• 4. Global Consolidation Under FRHI

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  Colony Capital purchased a cluster of Fairmont Hotels for US$3.9 billion in early 2006. The acquisition united Fairmont with Raffles Hotels and Swissôtel to form Fairmont Raffles Hotels International. Kingdom Holding Company entered a joint partnership with Colony Capital shortly after. The Middle East became a new target market where Fairmont opened in Dubai in 2001. The Fairmont Dubai property was the first Fairmont branded hotel in that region. In 2010, the company opened the Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel within the Abraj Al-Bait skyscraper complex. Fairmont reopened the Peace Hotel in Shanghai in 2010 and opened in Baku's Flame Towers in 2011. The chain also opened its first hotel in India in 2012 at Jaipur.

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• 5. AccorHotels Acquisition Era

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  AccorHotels announced the acquisition of Fairmont Raffles Hotels International in 2015. The French hotel group gained access to the lucrative North American market through this deal. Acquiring Fairmont added Raffles and Swissôtel to its Luxury Hotel Brands portfolio. Fairmont stated it would invest in two new hotels in Egypt during 2015. The company opened the Fairmont Quasar Istanbul in 2017 as its first hotel in Turkey. A South American debut occurred in Brazil in 2019 when the first local property opened. Fairmont Taghazout Bay hotel opened in Morocco in 2021 alongside the Fairmont Ambassador Seoul in South Korea. The chain made its debut in Japan with the opening of Fairmont Tokyo in 2025.

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• 6. International Property Portfolio

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  Fairmont operates more than 70 properties worldwide with a strong presence in Canada. The portfolio includes heritage sites like the Fairmont Banff Springs established in 1887. New openings span Asia, the Middle East, and South America. The Fairmont Beijing opened in 2009 while the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles was acquired in 2021. Properties range from the historic Fairmont Le Château Frontenac in Quebec City to modern developments like the Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver. The Fairmont Olympic Hotel in Seattle dates back to 1924 but joined the management group later. The Fairmont Nile City in Cairo represents expansion into Africa starting in 2010. The Fairmont Jakarta opened in Indonesia in 2015 completing global coverage across multiple continents.

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