Accor Plans the Sale of 450 hotels

Accor Hotels, the French hotel group, has announced that they are remaking themselves as a major franchiser and operator of hotels, rather than a hotel owner. According to the chief executive, Gilles Pélisson, the group is planning to increase their number of rooms to 700,000, which is a 40% increase, by 2015. This will be done mostly through management contracts and services, he added.

Additionally, the hotel chain plans to sell 450 of their hotel buildings during the next 4 years. Pélisson says that the sales are estimated to generate €1.6 billion. This will also leave the company in ownership of 20% of real estate, rather than the 40% they own now. Accor’s network consists of 384,000 rooms, which are either leased, owned or under management.

Accor is moving to be the number 1 manager of hotels, offering all the know-how of operating and building hotels, as well as training staff, Pélisson continued, which is something that many franchisers don’t have. He also presented a new strategy to investors this week, naming it Ariane 2015.

The 450 hotels that Accor plans to sell accounts for over 25% of the company’s 1,600 properties. This will result in the decline of revenue by between €150 million and €200 million, while adjusted net debt will decline yearly by €200 million to €300 million.

The group is also in the process of demerging its two core businesses – hotels and services. This will mean that a new company will be created – Accor Services, which will enter the NYSE-Euronext Paris stock exchange, along with the hotel business, this July.