French hotelier Accor, known mostly in the U.S. for its Red Roof Inn brand, is targeting development in India as part of its ambitious strategy to open 200,000 new rooms worldwide by 2010, the company announced today. The expansion plan will cover Accor's full range of brands in India, including its budget Formule 1 hotels, economy Ibis hotels, midscale Novotel hotels and upper-upscale Sofitel properties. Signaling Accor's aggressiveness, Gilles Pelisson, Accor's CEO, today signed an agreement with EMAAR properties worth a joint investment of $300 million to develop the Formule 1 brand in India. Sites for the hotels are currently being finalized and 10 hotels are scheduled to open in the next two years. Plans to develop Accor's other brands are also currently in the works.
