Accor CEO sees crisis lasting to end of 2010 -paper
PARIS, May 14 (Reuters) - Hotel group Accor's (ACCP.PA) Chief Executive Gilles Pelisson said he expected the financial crisis to last until the end of 2010, in an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro published on Thursday.
Pelisson said the groups prepaid services division -- including restaurant vouchers -- performed well in the first quarter, but hotel activities had been hit by the slowdown, in particular the mid-range and high-end segments.
Accor's hotels range from the budget Ibis chain to the luxury Sofitel brand.
"I am convinced that the crisis will last until the end of 2010," Pelisson told the paper, adding that Internet offers as well as more traditional measures including a hiring freeze and a cut in hotel renovation investments were helping the group weather the storm.
Pelisson said a sale of the group's service division was not on the cards, though the possibility "is not a taboo" and had previously been considered.
French financial holding company Eurazeo (EURA.PA) and property investment company Colony Capital together own over 30 percent of Accor. (Reporting by Helen Massy-Beresford, editing by Will Waterman)
