After Salalah, on the southern coast of Oman, and Jebel Akhdar, the luxury brand Anantara will be adding to its offering by moving closer to the country's capital, Muscat. Its owner, the Minor group, has just announced the future management of a hotel complex currently under development in Bandar Al Khairan, 45 minutes from Muscat. Nestled between a mountainous coastline and crystal-clear watersExpected to open in 2026, the resort will have 51 rooms, 46 chalets and 24 villas, as well as five restaurants and bars.
This new resort is one of more than 200 planned by Minor over the next three years worldwide. At 40% growth in three years time for the Thai hotelier, owner of the Spanish group NH since 2018. Nearly 30,000 new rooms will be added to the current 80,000, not only with beautiful hotels in paradisiacal locations, but also in major cities such as the Anantara Palais Hansen in Vienna or the Nhow Rome, both planned for 2024.
To support this sustained pace, Minor, which currently owns or leases 70% of its hotels, is moving towards a more flexible development strategy, more focused on management contractsThis is a move which, according to Ian Di Tullio, Commercial Director of Minor Hotels, should enable the group "to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the market". According to Ian Di Tullio, Commercial Director of Minor Hotels, this development should enable the group to " organically expand our presence in the world while retaining our essentially property-oriented mindset" . This model should still represent 50% of the real estate component.
At the same time, Minor Hotels, which has more than 540 hotels in 56 countries around the world, is moving towards a new geographical distribution with a more balanced global distribution. As a result of the acquisition of NH Hotels, Europe currently accounts for 60% of the Minor Hotels offering. This share is set to fall to 45% in the coming years.
This is not to say that the group intends to stop expanding on the Old Continent, as shown by the hotel openings this year. Avani in Frankfurt and Amsterdam, as well as the takeover of three hotels in Paris, converted into NH hotels. But the acceleration in openings will tip the balance towards other regions. Asia, where 50 new hotels are planned by the end of 2026, is set to increase its share of the room stock from 12 % to 23 %, while the Middle East/Africa region will rise from 9 % to 16 %.
NH brands, mainly European, will be making their debuts here. in Thailand, Qatar or China while Anantara will continue its expansion in Abu Dhabi, Bali and Jaipur, as well as in Africa with a lodge in Zambia. A continent where Minor will be launching a new brand this year, Explorer by Elewana, a more accessible counterpart to the luxury camps and lodges of the Elewana Collection.
" In the future, we intend to extend our global footprint into new regions where we are not yet present.s", said Dillip Rajakarier, CEO of Minor Hotels. A chic lifestyle hotel in the Nhow brand, for example à Lima, Peruthis year. However, the Thai group is counting above all on its Anantara and NH Hotels brands to sustain its growth, as well as on Tivoli Hotels, which is accelerating its expansion in Europe and the Middle East. Another spearhead is the lifestyle brand Avaniwhich is set to double in size over the next three years to reach the 100 hotel mark. And there's no doubt more to come, since Minor has made no secret of its intention to unveil " several new brands "in 2024 and 2025.
