Accor plans to sell 450 hotels as part of the French group's strategy to remake itself as a major franchiser and operator of hotels, rather than a hotel owner, CEO Gilles Pélisson announced, The hotel sales will take place over the next four years.

The 450 hotels that Accor plans to sell account for over 25% of the company's 1,600 properties. Pélisson said that the sales are expected to generate EUR 1.6 bn. This will also reduce the company's ownership level to 20% from the current 40%. Accor's network consists of 384,000 rooms, which are either leased, owned or under management.

The CEO said that the group is planning to increase the number of rooms to 700,000, an increase of 40%, by 2015. This will be done mostly through management contracts and services, he added.

Accor is is also in the process of demerging its two core businesses - hotels and services. The new company - Accor Services and the hotel business will be listed on NYSE-Euronext Paris in July.