High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Sofitel is a luxury hotel chain managed by Accor, which opened its first property in Strasbourg in 1964. Its first overseas opening in Minneapolis, USA was in 1974. In 1995 Sofitel had 100 hotels in 40 countries and employed 12500 people. Two years later Sofitel joined the Accor Group, founded in 1983 and in 2000 opened its properties in Philadelphia and New York. In 2005, Sofitel continued its expansion with Sofitel Asia Pacific. In 2007, Sofitel created a strategy t o compete on the international luxury hotel market with its French Touch and the slogan "Life is magnifique". In the following year Sofitel became its own unit in the Accor group with 161 Hotels worldwide. In 2009, the new brands Sofitel Legends and SO by Sofitel were introduced.