The Minor group opened its first three hotels in Paris this year, under the NH brand. Do you intend to go further in the French capital?
Soazig Drais - Paris naturally remains our priority city for growth in France. In this respect, we are continuing to evaluate development opportunities in strategic locations across the capital. After recently making our debut there with the opening of three four-star hotelsNH Paris Gare de l'Est, NH Paris Opéra Faubourg and NH Paris Champs-Élysées. The latter, following a renovation project, will become part of our upmarket NH Collection brand in 2025 and will then be called the NH Collection Paris Champs-Élysées.
As part of this development, is having a flagship store in Paris for your luxury brand Anantara one of your priorities?
S. D. - Strengthening our position in the luxury segment remains one of our global priorities. And we aim to achieve this through the Anantara brand. Although there are currently no no openings planned for her in Paris, we have already taken our first steps in France with theAnantara Plaza Niceopening in 2022. A magnificent hotel set in a historic Belle Époque building. And the brand is continuing to expand in Europe, with an establishment in Vienna this year, the Anantara Palais HansenIn 2026, the Anantara Royal Vila Viçosa, in the Alentejo region of Portugal, is due to open its doors.
Through the hotels of the former NH group, the Minor group is also present in Marseille, Toulouse and Lyon. Do you plan to develop this network in France?
S. D. - We currently operate nine four- and five-star hotels in France. This is a key market for us, not only in terms of the revenue generated by our hotels, which are performing very well, but also as a source market for our establishments in other countries. As part of our growth strategy, we aim to strengthen our presence by developing all our brands in major cities. We're concentrating on cities like Lyon, Marseille, Nice and Toulouse, where we already have a presence. But we are also targeting key leisure destinations such as the Côte d'Azur, the main ski resorts and wine-growing regions such as Burgundy, Bordeaux and Alsace. Our aim is to maintain a balanced portfolio of leisure and business hotelsThis is all the more true given that these segments are increasingly becoming part of the 'bleisure' sector.
In these more leisure-oriented destinations, will your establishments necessarily be suitable for hosting meetings and seminars?
S. D. - Although some of these establishments will offer MICE services, not all developments will have this dimension, as we are always seeking to adapt each project to the characteristics and needs of the destination. Development in these destinations is a priority for Minor Hotels, both in France and internationally, with the aim of attracting both leisure travellers and those wishing to combine leisure and business. To this end, we are diversifying our portfolio. Some of our most emblematic brands, such as NH and NH Collection, have for example recently made their entry into the resorts segmentThis is the case in Portugal, Thailand, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
You have an increasingly broad portfolio of brands in Europe, including those of the former NH group as well as those of the Minor group, which are better known in Asia, but which are beginning to make their mark on this side of the world. Does this diversity allow you to envisage all types of development, in major cities or even secondary towns?
S. D. - Indeed, the diversity of our brand portfolio means we can envisage a wide range of projects, from urban hotels to resorts, from top-of-the-range to luxury, in major cities as well as smaller ones. Our name is now Minor Hotels Europe & Americas, and that says it all: we operate six of the eight Minor Hotels brands in our territories. The Avani brand, designed for millennials, has made a name for itself. its European debut last year in Madrid, Milan, Venice, Frankfurt and Amsterdam, and will continue to expand across Europe and Latin America. At the same time, we are strengthening our presence in the luxury segment with Anantara. More specifically, in the case of France, we are developing our NH Hotels and NH Collection Hotels & Resorts brands, by focusing on the country's key citiesParis serves as the epicentre and benchmark. Another example of the diversity of our portfolio is the nhow brand, already present in Marseille in a dynamic complex facing the sea. Offering a modern, disruptive experience, this contemporary brand complements our offerings in cities with strong tourist and cultural demand.
