The Minor Hotels group already has a strong presence in the Benelux, but is still little present in France or Switzerland. What are the challenges associated with this dual aspect?
Alexis Boudrand I have a two-speed scope. As you point out, Minor Hotels inherited a large number of hotels in the Benelux region from its acquisition of the NH group in 2018. Conversely, we currently only have nine hotels in France. That's as many as in Brussels and fewer than in Amsterdam, where we have twelve, not to mention Madrid where we offer around twenty establishments. Brand awareness is therefore much lower in France and Switzerland. But, today, we have the brands to succeed there. It is precisely for this reason that I was recruited, with the ambition of tackling these markets more assertively.
Coming from Asia, the Minor group has become a major player in the hotel industry in Europe. How has its offering evolved since the takeover of NH Hotels?
A.B. – The group is currently undergoing a profound transformation. In 2016, Minor had already taken a first step towards a European platform by acquiring the Portuguese Tivoli group, then significantly strengthened its offering with the acquisition of NH in 2018, representing some three hundred hotels. There was then a period of optimisation: some hotels were removed from the portfolio and others were integrated. Others still were rebranded, moving from NH or NH Collection brands to Avani or Anantara brands, for example. This was all done to achieve a coherent whole, part of a genuine brand strategy.
Does this brand strategy also involve an evolution of your business model?
A.B. – From NH’s legacy, we have a large number of hotels that we own or lease, and therefore an ‘asset-heavy’ model. Our new strategy is known as ‘asset-right’. This involves retaining 25% of our portfolio as owned properties and, at the same time, expanding through ‘asset-light’ channels, via management or franchise agreements. We are juggling both approaches, and this involves a profound cultural shift. We are moving from being owner-operators to acting as a “management company”. This is also one of my key tasks, having experienced this transition within the Pierre & Vacances group.
You pointed out that Minor Hotels currently has nine hotels in France. That's almost a drop in the ocean compared to your 640 establishments worldwide. Is expanding there a priority?
A.B. – France is lagging behind when you consider our offering in Brussels, Amsterdam, or even Germany, where NH had a strong presence. We also have hotels in most European metropolises. However, we have only had a presence in Paris, with three hotels, since 2024. In addition to which, there are two hotels each in Nice – one Anantara and an NH – and in Marseille – a Nhow and an NH Collection -, in addition to NH hotels near the airports of Lyon and Toulouse. This is clearly insufficient on the group's scale. Accelerating our development where we have little presence in Europe is part of our priorities, whether in France, but also in the United Kingdom and Switzerland. In parallel to leisure hotels around the Mediterranean in less mature markets such as the deals recently signed in Slovenia, Croatia or Albania.
What do you propose in the face of large, well-established groups in France?
A.B. – France is certainly very well covered by two major groups, but we can offer something different and bring a bit of variety. Our key strength is clearly our flexibility and agility. Compared to other groups that are 100% asset-light and very strict about their standards, we have the ability to offer a ‘tailor-made’ service, to be creative in adapting to the needs of property owners. For example, we can leave the door open for them if results aren’t forthcoming, rather than finding ourselves with our hands tied. Whilst, of course, having sufficient confidence in the group’s ability to deliver the expected results.
With our twelve brands and 640 hotels worldwide, we are not a small group, but we are not sprawling. This can make owners want to latch onto our portfolio and our loyalty program, which has thirty-four million members and reaches markets around the world, whether it's Asian and American clientèles, but also Spanish, British or German ones.
At the mid-range, Colbert Collection for the high-end, luxury with Wolseley and Minor Reserve Collection: your group launched several new brands last year. How could all your brands integrate into the French hotel scene?
A.B. – With the launch of these four new brands, we now have a portfolio covering all segments, from mid-range to luxury, from urban to resort business and leisure. Paris, obviously, is a priority and we could deploy almost all of our brands there. There is clearly potential with our lifestyle brand Avani, and I can see a luxury Wolseley hotel there too, very urban, with strong British heritage. For major regional cities, the logic is the same; we could have several of our brands there. In secondary markets, our priority approach will be the IStay brand, for franchised hotels, or NH hotels if the product allows. However, our new Colbert Collection brand is well-suited to these markets. It's attractive for fine hotels that want to retain their identity but may lack investment capacity, and to which we can offer our support.
More specifically, which cities are you targeting first?
A.B. – For example, in metropolises like Bordeaux or Toulouse, where our Iberian footprint is a natural asset. France remains the world's top destination, with international tourism developing in secondary cities like Tours, Cognac, Avignon, or Reims, and we would be wrong to neglect them. And then there are also all these kilometres of coastline, and the mountains. These are markets we want to enter. We already have an Anantara hotel in Nice, and there is clearly room for another luxury hotel on the Côte d’Azur, similar to what we are doing in Croatia and Slovenia, where we have taken over two former Kempinski hotels which will become Anantara and Minor Reserve Collection. This model can be replicated on the Riviera, but also in the mountains, where these brands make a lot of sense. On the Atlantic coast – Biarritz, Bordeaux, La Rochelle – I can well imagine Avani hotels there. As for Nhow, with the vacancy in the La Défense towers, this Premium brand and design, focused on MICE and catering, could bring something truly different.
Let's talk about Switzerland, another market to conquer. How are you approaching it?
A.B. – NH currently only has two hotels in Switzerland, at Geneva Airport and in Bern. The idea is to develop the NH brand in urban locations, while also introducing other brands. Switzerland relies on a very high-end leisure clientele, a strong corporate market and premium destinations such as Zurich, Lausanne, Geneva or Basel. We definitely need an Anantara in Switzerland, whether in Geneva, Zurich or in a major mountain resort. A Tivoli hotel would also make perfect sense, within buildings steeped in history. A Colbert Collection, with everything related to gastronomy, would also lend itself well to this market.
Conversely, the Minor Group is already very well established in the Benelux region. What is your strategy for this market?
A.B. – Indeed, even if we could still open a few more hotels there, it is not an expansion market, but a rationalisation one. We can play between our different brands, consolidating the finest assets under the NH Collection banner and the standard four-star hotels under the NH brand, or the lower-quality products under the IStay brand. Amsterdam is an extraordinary showcase where, following rebrandings, almost all of our brands are represented. This is a powerful argument for showing owners what we can offer.
