Accor Hotels has unveiled plans for a massive expansion spree across India to include setting up as many as 48 hotels over the next three years, with the addition of some 10,000 rooms.Hotels would include the French chain’s core brands - Sofitel (luxury), Novotel (business class), Ibis (economy), Mercure (mid-scale) and Formule 1 (budget), as well as its new upscale brand Pullman.

Accor has drawn up a plan to tackle the tough global hospitality market as it posted a 3.5 percent drop in 2008 operating profit, which was in line with forecasts.The measures amounted to a “battle plan to face a difficult environment” after “the effects of the global economic downturn quickly spread to the hotels business, especially in the fourth quarter,” Accor said in a statement.

Accor is to add seven more properties under the Novotel, Mercure, all seasons and ibis hotel brands in Thailand, adding to its existing Thai network of 39 hotels. wo of the hotels are located in city centre locations in the metropolis of Bangkok, and the other five in some of Thailand’s most popular beach destinations.

Accor is aiming to expand its new 5-star Pullman brand, to a total of up to 100 hotels in the Asia Pacific region by 2015, primarily in China, India, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia,  Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand.

Accor is holding a two-day event forinstitutional investors and financial analysts to present the new businessmodel for its Hotels division and measure its impact.

France Telecom and Orange France have announceda strategic alliance with Accor to deploy their network of Wi-Fi hotspots in 900Sofitel, Mercure, Libertel, Suitehotel, Ibis, Etap Hotel and Formule 1 economy,midscale and upscale hotels in metropolitan France. At least 300 hotels will beequipped by the end of the year, enabling Accor hotel customers to benefit fromall the advantages of broadband roaming wireless Internet access.