Accor CFO Says Weaker Euro Lifted 2010 Results

French hotel group Accor SA's (AC.FR) 2010 results benefitted from the lower value of the euro against the dollar, Brazilian real and Australian dollar, its financial chief Sophie Stabile said Wednesday.
The exchange rate boost, along with improved business in Europe, prompted the company to increase its full-year guidance for earnings before interest and tax to around EUR440 million, from a previous target of between EUR400 million and EUR420 million.

Business could be mixed this year, with a recovery underway in the hotel market, but lingering macroeconomic risks, especially in Europe, Stabile added.

The company said full year sales rose 8.4% to EUR5.95 billion as the recovery in the hotels business expanded throughout Europe over the fourth quarter.

Stabile also said that 11% of rooms bought by Accor last year are operated under fixed rents or owned outright, and that 78% are managed under franchise or management contracts. The company is seeking to reduce the proportion of property it owns.

Accor sells 49 Europe hotels for €378.4m

Accor has sold 49 hotels in France, Belgium and Germany in a leaseback agreement valued at €378.4 million.
The buyer is a joint venture between a subsidiary of Crédit Agricole Assurances and Foncière des Murs. (20%).
Accor will continue to manage the hotels through a variable lease agreement, with the rent averaging 19% of the hotels’ annual revenue, without any guaranteed minimum. Under the terms of the lease, structural maintenance costs, insurance and property taxes will be paid by the new owner.
The agreement includes a €47.6 million renovation program, of which €33 million will be financed by the buyer. The deal will help Accor speed introduction of its new-generation Etap Hotel and Ibis guestroom concepts.
The transaction is in line with Accor’s 2010 goal of selling €600 million to €650 million worth of hotel property assets as part of a broader objective of divesting €2 billion worth of assets by 2013. Accor is moving toward the asset-light strategy now preferred by most of the world’s most prominent hotel companies.

Accor signs 10 hotels in UK under Mercure flag

Accor has signed a franchise agreement with Focus Hotels Ltd. to add 10 properties and 763 guestrooms to its UK network, with all 10 properties joining the Mercure brand.
The deal grows the Mercure network to 43 properties across the UK. The midscale brand has a global portfolio of more than 700 properties.

“We have ambitious plans for the UK and we are totally committed to extending our Accor network and bringing our expertise in all segments, from economy, midscale, upscale and luxury, to the UK market,” says Jean-Jacques Dessors, chief operating officer of Accor in the UK and Ireland.

The deal with Focus is part of Accor’s goal of increasing its UK network to 300 hotels by 2015. Focus has a portfolio of 13 independent midscale hotels across England.

“Our strategy in taking on these hotels—many of which were in administration—was to bring them up to a high standard and make them profitable, with a view to finding the right home for them ,” says Focus CEO Peter Cashman. “I am a passionate believer in matching the brand to the property, and we identified Mercure as the perfect partner for these 10 hotels. Mercure will allow them to maintain their individuality and character whilst offering the credibility of one of the most respected international hotel brands.”

Accor in talks with Fimalac to sell casino stake

Europe's largest hotel group Accor (ACCP.PA) said on Saturday it is in talks to sell its 49 percent stake in casino group Lucien Barriere to French financial holding company Fimalac (LBCP.PA).

"Accor confirms the existence of talks with Fimalac and Groupe Lucien Barrière about the possible disposal of its 49 percent stake in Groupe Lucien Barrière," it said in a statement.

Accor to Become N.Z.’s Largest Hotel Group, Adds Pullman Brand

Accor SA, Europe’s largest lodging company, will become New Zealand’s biggest hotel operator after adding two properties and announcing plans for two more.
Accor will take over Auckland’s Hyatt Regency hotel from Jan. 20 and brand it as a five-star Pullman hotel, the Paris- based company said in a statement today. The site will have 267 rooms, suites and apartments, it said. Accor has already taken over Hotel So in Christchurch, on New Zealand’s South Island, which will be managed under the All Seasons economy brand.
The two properties increase Accor’s New Zealand business to 29 hotels. It plans to open Novotel and Formule 1 hotels at Auckland Airport next year, making it the country’s largest hotel group, according to the statement.

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Accor SA: Sale-And-Franchise Back Of 18 Hotels In Sweden

PARIS -(Dow Jones)- French hotels group Accor SA (AC.FR) Thursday said it is selling its Swedish assets, comprising 18 hotels totaling 1,760 rooms, in a sale-and-franchise-back transaction.

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Accor Replaces CEO Pelisson With McDonald's Hennequin

Accor SA, Europe’s largest hotel owner, said Chief Executive Officer Gilles Pelisson will be replaced by Denis Hennequin owing to differences with the board.

Pelisson, 53, will step down as CEO on Dec. 1 after the two sides “recognized the strategic divergences between them” at a meeting yesterday, the Evry, France-based company said today.

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Accor hotels test including TripAdvisor reviews on hotel websites

Global hotel company Accor is adding TripAdvisor hotel reviews to some of individual hotel websites - a step that hotel companies have generally resisted out of fear that nasty comments could discourage potential customers.


Travel technology tracker Tnooz.com reports that while Accor's keeping the pilot program quiet for now, Accor execs are considering a wider launch and an official announcement at a later date.

Accor's brands span from the budget friendly Motel 6 chain to the luxury Sofitel chain. Others include Novotel, Grand Mercure and Ibis.

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Accor to Sell 48 Hotels in Europe for $465 Million

Aug. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Accor SA, Europe’s largest hotelier, said it is selling 48 hotels to units of Credit Agricole SA and Fonciere des Regions SA for 367 million euros ($465 million) as part of a plan to dispose of some real estate holdings.

Accor will continue to run the hotels, the Evry, France- based company said in a statement today. The sale consists of 31 properties in France, 10 in Belgium and seven in Germany, operated under the Novotel, Suite Novotel, Ibis and Etap brands.

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Accor, InterGlobe set up investment fund for Indian hotel assets

MUMBAI: Leading hotel operator Accor and InterGlobe, a travel corporation, on Wednesday announced the establishment of an investment fund for a
portfolio of India hotel assets.

Accor and InterGlobe would each hold 32 per cent equity in the fund.

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Accor Reports First-Half Sales Gain as Hotel Occupancy Recovers

July 20 (Bloomberg) -- Accor SA, Europe’s largest hotel company, said first-half sales rose as occupancy improved.

Revenue climbed 6 percent to 2.85 billion euros ($3.7 billion), the Evry, France-based company said in a statement today. Excluding the services unit, which was spun off this month, second-quarter sales increased to 1.72 billion euros from 1.57 billion euros a year earlier, beating the 1.64 billion-euro average estimate from four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

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Accor demerger paves way for new strategy

PARIS—Anyone who has heard Accor Hospitality chairman and CEO Gilles Pélisson speak during the past few months knows the company is geared up for an “asset right” strategy.

The details, however, of that plan have been unclear—until now. Accor’s shareholders yesterday approved the demerger of Accor Hospitality and its voucher services company, Edenred. Now there is an open road for the hotel group to address its goals.

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Accor to become largest franchiser in Europe

French hotel giant Accor, operator of the Ibis and Novotel brands, aims to become the largest franchiser in Europe.

Setting out its goals at an investor day for Accor Hospitality, as the hotel business of the demerged Accor Group will be known, the company revealed plans to adopt the ‘asset light’ model of many of its rivals.
 
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Accor Sees Long-Term Growth Helped by Expanding Hotels Demand

May 19 (Bloomberg) -- Accor SA, Europe’s largest hotelier, said its long-term growth will be helped by “expanding demand” in both developed and emerging markets.

Accor, which owns the Novotel and Motel 6 chains, aims to become one of the world’s three leading hotel groups by 2015 and to add as many as 40,000 rooms a year, it said in a statement today, confirming earlier targets. The company currently has about 500,000 rooms in 90 countries.

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Accor To Dispose Of 450 Hotels In 2010-2013

PARIS (Dow Jones)--French hotels group Accor SA (AC.FR) plans to reduce the property holdings it holds outright by selling 450 hotels between 2010 and 2013, and expects to continue to restructure its property portfolio beyond 2013, according to a document published on its website Tuesday.

The company is in the process of separating from its vouchers business, which is scheduled to be listed on the Paris stock market on July 2.

The split remains subject to shareholder approval at the annual meeting on June 29.

Accor said the 2010-2013 asset sale program is expected to increase its cash by EUR1.6 billion and reduce its adjusted net debt by EUR2.0 billion

Accor First-quarter 2010 revenue up 3.1% as reported and

Initial encouraging trends observed in late fourth-quarter 2009 remain in effect:


· Prepaid Services revenue down 0.4% like-for-like, reflecting a 3.8% increase in

operating revenue and a 29.5% decline in financial revenue.

· Revenue from Hotels and Other Businesses up 0.8% like-for-like, of which a 1.6% gain

for Hotels, with signs of improvement, especially in occupancy rates, which rose in

Upscale and Midscale hotels and stabilized in the Economy segment in Europe.
 
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Accor sells five hotels

This week Accor has sold five hotels to Invesco Real Estate for a total of €154 million; this transaction will enable the company to reduce its adjusted net debt by €93 million over 2010. The 307 Novotel Muenchen City in Munich, Germany; the 149-room Novotel Roma la Rustica in Rome, Italy; and the 97-room Mercure Corso Trieste, also in Rome, were sold under a sale and variable leaseback agreement for a combined €57 million. The 175-room Mercure Zabatova in Bratislava, Slovakia, which is still under construction, was also sold under a sale and variable leaseback agreement for €17 million. And the 384-room Pullman Paris La Défense in Paris, France, was sold for €80 million. All of the hotels will still be operated by Accor.

Accor Announces the Sale of 5 Hotels in 4 European Countries for EUR154 Million

PARIS, February 19, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- As part of the ongoing deployment of its "asset right" strategy, Accor has announced an international real estate transaction involving the sale of five hotels (representing more than 1,100 rooms) in four European countries for EUR154 million.

The transaction has been carried out with Invesco Real Estate, a major real estate manager in the United States, Europe and Asia, with assets under management of more than EUR18 billion, of which EUR650 million in European and US hotel properties.

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Accor 2009 Revenue Down 7.9% Like-for-Like

Hotels revenue declined by 10.1% over the year and 8.3% in the fourth quarter, which
showed a slight improvement compared with previous quarters, mainly due to the
first signs of stabilization in occupancy rates in December in Europe

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Accor To Split Into 2 Companies

Accor SA's board of directors has recommended separating the group's prepaid services and hotels businesses, pending shareholder approval.

Reviews carried out by senior management at the board's request showed that a demerger would enable each division to step up its pace of growth, the company says. The reviews concluded:

There are no real synergies between hotels and prepaid services, which leverage unique skills and expertise and operate in increasingly different business environments

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