Minor Hotels, which operates Anantara-branded luxury resorts and NH-branded hotels across Asia and Europe, will look to build a portfolio of 50 properties in India through the decade, hoping to capitalise on flourishing domestic travel led by a rise in economic affluence.
The company, which operates over 600 properties in over 50 countries across the world, hopes to tie up at least eight projects in India this year alone, including one each in Calcutta and Coorg, which were announced on Monday.
“India for us is very exciting, more so with what’s happening in the Middle East. You have such a powerful inbound travel, like China,” said William Ellwood Heinecke, founder and chairman, Minor International.
The Minor hotel boss was in Calcutta to formally announce a 170-key Anantara resort hotel in the city. The property, slated to open in 2031, is being built by Merlin Group and Aryan Mining jointly for about ₹170 crore, as part of a mixed-use development of World Trade Centre in Sector V, Salt Lake. The hotel will be operated by Anantara as part of a management contract.
For Heinecke, the immediate target will be to establish Minor and its brands in India by being present in the top-tier cities. The company believes it can also bring the Avani brand to India, hoping the Sanskrit names would resonate in the marketplace. Moreover, it also spies opportunity for NH Collection hotels, popular across Europe, which came to Minor’s fold by an acquisition in 2018, and for the Portuguese brand Tivoli in India.
Thailand-based Minor, which has so far grown asset-heavy with two-thirds of its properties owned by the company, is now looking to grow an asset-right model. In India, Heinecke hopes to partner with developers to build a portfolio, but did not rule out taking equity or supporting a particular development financially if required.
“It’s important that we enter India in the right manner and remain in the right manner. So, partnerships are very important,” Heinecke said, adding that his team is in discussion for multiple projects. The only operating property Minor has is an Anantara located in Jaipur, which opened last year.
War impact
The ongoing war in West Asia has impacted tourism across the world, Heinecke observed, with locations such as Dubai, where Minor has a significant position, particularly hit. “People are cancelling trips because of the war,” he observed.
The war is also spiking demand for properties in places like Thailand, with expats from Dubai looking to relocate after their experiences in Dubai. Minor also has a portfolio of branded residencies, along with hotels in that geography, and the company is keen to expand that part of the business in India, too.
“We have seen many incidents in the past – 9/11, Tsunami, Covid pandemic, but travel and tourism came back strongly and strong companies outperformed. The question is how soon we can come back to normality,” he wondered.
