Can a 63-year-old hotel be modernised without erasing a city’s memory? In Abidjan, the Sofitel Hôtel Ivoire is rising to the challenge, one project at a time.
Today’s hospitality news, 28 September 2026: major renovations, asset sales, appointments and management issues – here is what mattered in the industry today.
🇫🇷 France
⚖️ Employment According to an investigation by Le Monde, some fifteen current and former employees of Yann Couvreur’s pâtisseries describe gruelling working conditions: long runs of days without rest, understaffing and unpredictable rotas. Several shops have been inspected by the labour inspectorate since summer 2025. #Patisserie #WorkingConditions #Paris
🛒 Procurement ECO-ONE is launching ONE, a purchasing group designed for independent hotels, with no membership fees and no commitment. The platform gives them access to terms negotiated by a network of more than 2,300 properties in France, Spain and Portugal, along with a spending dashboard and a dedicated adviser. #IndependentHotels #Procurement #Sustainability
🍽️ Circular economy La Vaisselle des Chefs, which resells tableware from Michelin-starred restaurants, palace hotels and prestigious houses at affordable prices, has announced four sales for 2026/2027: Lyon (7-8 November), Orléans (22-23 November), Paris (27-28 February) and Nice (10-11 April). Part of the proceeds goes to charities. #Reuse #Gastronomy #PalaceHotels
🌍 International
🏗️ Renovation – Top story Opened in 1963 in Cocody, the Sofitel Abidjan Hôtel Ivoire (426 keys) is continuing its phased renovation: six lifts in the tower replaced by early 2027, the Le Toit and Le Pavillon restaurants repositioned, and then, from the second half of 2027, the conversion of the former 3,700 m² ice rink into a flexible conference space. Reliant on business travel for 95% of its activity and awarded Green Key certification in August, the hotel aims to support Côte d’Ivoire’s target of 10 million visitors by 2030. #CoteDIvoire #Abidjan #Sofitel #MICE #Renovation
💼 Transaction Christie & Co has been instructed to sell the YOTEL Glasgow, a 257-room hotel opposite Central Station, featuring the VEGA rooftop, refurbished in 2025 and complete with a four-lane bowling alley. In September, the asset joined Hilton’s distribution and loyalty ecosystem through the partnership agreed with YOTEL. Price on application. #Scotland #Glasgow #Investment #YOTEL
🥐 Food & beverage Honoured at the Turium 2026 forum, chef Ferran Adrià is calling for local produce to account for around 50% of breakfast offerings in four- and five-star hotels. The Catalan chef finds it incomprehensible that an upscale Spanish hotel should serve mainly foreign products. #Spain #Gastronomy #LocalProduce
👔 Collaboration One&Only (Kerzner International) has teamed up with Italian house SEASE, founded by Franco Loro Piana, on an eleven-piece men’s resortwear capsule fronted by sailor Tom Slingsby. The collection has been on sale since June in the NEO boutiques of seven resorts, from Kéa Island to Montana. #OneAndOnly #Luxury #Resortwear
✨ Appointment Rebecca Wang joins Shangri-La Group as VP, Chief of Staff to the Chairwoman and CEO, based in Hong Kong. #ShangriLa #HongKong #Appointment
✨ Appointment Structure Hospitality has appointed Sargis Mnatsakanyan as VP Operations. He will oversee operations across the portfolio: hotel performance, on-site management, brand execution and owner relations. #Appointment #Operations #HotelManagement
✨ Appointment Fabien Gastinel takes over as General Manager of the Waldorf Astoria Osaka, owned by ORIX Hotel Management. #Japan #Osaka #WaldorfAstoria
