Minor Hotels has hit the sweet spot in India and will scale up its presence to 50 properties in the next 10 years, it’s Founder-Chairman William E Heinecke said on Tuesday.
Minor Hotels is headquartered in Thailand and has 640 plus properties in over sixty countries under 12 different brands.
In India, the group runs a luxury hotel under its famed Anantara brand in Jaipur and has now signed up for two more hotels under the same brand at Kolkata and Coorg.
“India is on its way to become the third largest economy in the world. There is tremendous amount of growth taking place in India. Domestic travel is growing. There is a lot of awareness about our brands; the Anantara, Avani or even NH Hotels. Demand is much greater than what it was five years ago. I think we have hit the sweet spot,” Heinecke told businessline ahead of Hotel Investment Conference South Asia event in Mumbai
Heinecke, who is a Thai citizen of US origin, is in hospitality business for over 25 years. Alongside he also has interests in business aviation and quick service restaurant chains. The group however has been slow to enter India.
Asked about that, Heinicke replied that chain was focused on expanding in other countries initially. Complexities of doing business in India was another issue. “It is critical to have good partners. It has helped us in Middle East and other markets where we have established partners. Hence we are here to meet existing and potential partners,” he said.
Big focus markets
He said India, China and Indonesia are big focus markets for Minor Hotels. Heinecke is also planning to scale up Thai restaurant brand Sanook Kitchen in India. Currently it has three outlets and the company is looking for more franchisees.
Tourism will see a quick recovery
The ongoing conflict in West Asia has disrupted travel plans, made airfares costlier and caused shortage of gas and fertilizer. Minor Hotels too is facing an impact especially in West Asia and Maldives.
Heinecke, however, believes that recovery in tourism sector will be quick on cessation of conflict. “Through all the crisis whether tsunami or Covid-19 pandemic what has surprised everyone is how quickly tourism industry recovers. I would expect it to be no different this time,” he said.