Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | hospitality, tourism |
| Founded | 1960 |
| Headquarters |  Toronto, Canada |
Key people | Isadore Sharp, (Founder, Chairman & CEO) Kathleen P. Taylor, (President & COO) James FitzGibbon, (President Hotel Operations) |
| Website | www.fourseasons.com |
Four Seasons Hotels, Inc. is a five-star Canadian-based international luxury hotel chain. It is considered among the finest luxury hotels worldwide, according to Travel + Leisure[2] magazine and Zagat Survey[3], and operates 55 AAA[4] Five-Diamond properties.
History
Isadore Sharp founded Four Seasons Hotels, Inc. in 1960 with the Four Seasons Hotel opening in 1961 in Toronto, Ontario as a small hotel in the downtown area.[5] In 1970, the first European hotel, Four Seasons Hotel London, was opened. This developed the luxurious five-star Four Seasons as it is today that has medium size properties and a distinctive service. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Four Seasons grew and opened more luxury hotels throughout North America. During this time, Four Seasons Hotels developed the hotel to a first class property by including luxury items within guest rooms. After this, Sharp opened its first Hawaiian resort in the early 1990s, Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea which is an AAA Five Diamond and Mobile five star Property today.[5] The first full-service spa was introduced in 1986 at Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas and since 2001, all Four Seasons hotels have had spa facilities.[5]
Business
Four Seasons is a private corporation headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The company currently manages the 76 Four Seasons hotels in 32 countries, and 31 properties under development (22 May 2008 figures).[1] In 2007, the company agreed to a buyout by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia for $3.7 billion.[6]
The Four Seasons name was introduced to the Middle East by Al-Waleed bin Talal, who owns some of the properties in the region as well as a substantial stake in the Canadian parent company, including Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.[7]
Operation
Four Seasons Hotels operates private residences at seven Four Seasons that involves the sale of villa and penthouses as private properties.
Controversies
In late 2006, it was announced that the Robin Paterson (former CEO of Hamptons International) and Mike Pemberton (Caribbean hotel developer) were planning to build a new high-end Four Seasons Resort on the Mount Hartman Estate on the island of Grenada.[8]
This has been subject to much debate, as it is an important site for the critically endangered Grenada Dove. The Grenada Government has issued statements saying the resort can be built on the site without significantly affecting the dove.[9] This has been questioned by BirdLife International, which, together with other organizations (such as American Bird Conservancy) and private individuals (such as Graeme Gibson and Margaret Atwood), have started a campaign against the plans.[10]
Philanthropy
On June 19, 2002 the Canadian Opera Company announced Four Seasons Hotels as the naming donor for the COC's new Opera House, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, located in Toronto, Canada.
Footnotes
- ^ a b Four Seasons - About Us
- ^ World's Best 2006, Travel+Leisure.com
- ^ Zagat Survey Rates, Hotel-online.com
- ^ Four Seasons Awards and Accolades
- ^ a b c FourSeasons.com: Four Seasons, Four Decades
- ^ Staley, Oliver. Four Seasons Hotels agrees to bid from Gates and Alwaleed. Bloomberg News, February 13, 2007.
- ^ Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Zawya.com
- ^ British duo build new millionaires' playground
- ^ Grenada government refutes threat to dove habitat
- ^ Protect the Grenada Dove
See also
External links
| Africa and Middle East | |
|---|---|
| The Americas | |
| Asia / Pacific | |
| Europe | |
| Future properties | |
| Former properties | |
