Accor, one of Europe's largest hotel operators, is to consider plans to separate its pre-paid services division from its main hotel operations after reporting a 54 per cent fall in first-half pre-tax profits.

The company, which operates the Ibis and Novotel brands, said that the recession had severely affected demand for its upscale and mid-range hotels, while its economy hotel business in the US suffered a 12.7 per cent decrease in like-for-like sales. Accor also revealed that it opened more than 12,000 new rooms during the first half of the year as part of plans to open a total of 30,000 in 2009, with more than half of those set to be within its economy and budget operations.

In a statement, the company said: "Given the depth and speed of the changes ahead, the transformation and development of the two core businesses will be stepped up. "The board of directors has approved chair and CEO Gilles Pélisson's recommendation to conduct a review of the potential benefits of demerging the two businesses into two independent companies, each with their own strategy and resources for growth."