Sofitel Luxury Hotels received third place in the “Upper Upscale Tier” category Business Travel News’ 2010 U.S. Hotel Chain Survey. One of the industry’s most important indicators of business travel satisfaction, the survey revealed a significant jump for the hotel group which placed eleventh in 2009. Sofitel scored an overall 4.01 on a five-point scale for satisfaction with corporate travel buyers, separating the hotel group from first place by only .02 points.

Sofitel Luxury Hotels COO, Robert Gaymer-Jones cites the hotel group’s commitment to improving quality and brand consistency for this year’s top marks, which include highest in category ratings for commission payment systems and in-room business amenities.

“Business travelers choose Sofitel for our ability to deliver an excellent, quality experience that never loses sight of the importance of the aesthetic to the individual. It may be our French roots, but we believe this is the essence of luxury and we’ve taken great care to improve the Sofitel experience on all fronts, from improved employee training systems and enhanced bedding in the rooms to ambient touches in common areas including lighting, music and fragrances.”

In addition to this impressive ranking, Sofitel Luxury Hotels has been the recipient of 25 international awards since January 2010, a testament to the hotel group’s continued growth and success.

Currently, Sofitel Luxury Hotels has twenty hotels under development worldwide with ten openings scheduled for this year alone, including new flagships in Austria, Cambodia, Mauritius Island and the GCC countries, not to mention the recent openings of Sofitel Haikou and Sofitel Lianyungang Suning Galaxy as well as the upcoming openings of Sofitel Dongguan Humen Oriental and Sofitel Guangzhou Sunrich.