Minor Hotels, a global hospitality group, operates over 540 hotels, resorts, and residences in 56 countries. As a hotel owner, operator, and investor, Minor Hotels meets the needs of today’s global travellers through its diverse portfolio of eight brands—Anantara, Avani, The Elewana Collection, NH, NH Collection, nhow, Oaks, and Tivoli. The group is accelerating its global growth, aiming to add more than 200 hotels by the end of 2026.
With a keen eye for untapped potential and expansion in the Indian market, Bangkok-based Minor Hotels has big plans to introduce diverse brands tailored to cater to the evolving needs of Indian travellers. Amir Golbarg, Senior Vice President, India, Middle East, and Africa, Minor Hotels, foresees that the hotel group is set to redefine luxury and upscale hospitality, curating immersive experiences that seamlessly blend global sophistication with local allure.
– Prashant Nayak
Q. Can you elaborate on your strategy to establish 50 properties in India over the next 10 years?
India has many untapped tourism hotspots and the ability to create new destinations that appeal to domestic and international tourists. Destination creation has been instrumental to Minor Hotels’ global strategy and will be critical to our presence in India.
While having a presence in major metros matters, we will focus on emerging destinations with demand for upper-upscale and luxury hospitality with our Anantara, Avani and NH Collection brands. In urban locations, there are many up-and-coming cities, especially in Southern India, thanks in part to airlines increasing domestic and international connectivity and infrastructure investments. There are also tier two and tier three cities that could be a fit for our upscale NH Hotels and Resorts brand.
We are not limiting ourselves to cities, either. Our Anantara brand is well-suited for luxury resorts and wilderness lodges in places like the southern hill towns and the northern Himalayas.
As part of our ‘asset right strategy’, our expansion in India will be driven by a mix of owned/leased properties, HMAs and franchise agreements.
Q. How does Minor Hotels plan to collaborate with local businesses and suppliers in India? Any partnerships or joint ventures in the pipeline?
Quality is as important as quantity for Minor Hotels in India and globally. We are humbled by the overwhelming interest in our brands from property owners in India but will be very selective in the hotels we add to our footprint. For us, partnerships, collaborating with owners who align with our values and vision and who want to create something special for guests, are more important than adding a property to our portfolio.
We have set our sights on 50 new openings in the next ten years and are in various stages of discussions with partners across the country. Anantara Jaipur Hotel, opening later this year, is our next opening in the country and will be our second property in India, joining the Oaks Bodhgaya Hotel.
Q. How does Minor Hotels adapt its global brands to meet the preferences and needs of Indian travellers?
There are several similarities between Indian and Thai hospitality, where the Anantara journey began, and the responsibility to deliver unforgettable experiences to our guests. The meaning of Anantara stems from the Sanskrit word meaning ‘without end’, a name that evokes the thrill of discovery, the allure of new horizons and the promise of generous hospitality. At Anantara, we embody the spirit of ‘nam jai’, Thai for ‘water from the heart’, which carries a similar meaning to the Indian tradition of ‘atithi devo bhava.’ We aim to deliver heartfelt hospitality, inspired by our Thai roots, whenever and wherever guests stay at an Anantara.
Q. Could you provide details on the upcoming Anantara Jaipur property and its unique offerings?
Anantara Jaipur Hotel will open later this year in one of the country’s top destination wedding locales. The hotel is designed to meet the demands of India’s rapidly growing wedding market, offering a mix of indoor and outdoor venues that can accommodate intimate and large-scale celebrations of up to 2,500 guests. The property will feature 150 guest rooms and suites, an assortment of dining options as well as a full-service Anantara Spa. We hope travellers who stay with Anantara Jaipur will also immerse themselves in the city’s rich history and heritage, a key node along India’s Golden Triangle tourist circuit.
Q. How is Minor Hotels responding to global travel trends such as wellness tourism and eco-friendly travel in the Indian market?
Travellers today place a greater emphasis on well-being, especially mindfulness, longevity and self-improvement. As a result, we have seen an increased interest in yoga practices and Ayurveda treatments across our properties. Ayurvedic treatments, inspired by traditional Indian medical practices, are something we have implemented in many of our Anantara Spas around the world. We see an opportunity to open Anantara resorts that offer Ayurvedic wellness retreats in the home of the Ayurveda.
Minor Hotels also has an incredible portfolio of safari experiences in Africa with the Elewana Collection and plans to open the first Anantara tented camp in Zambia next year. We see potential to apply our best practices from Africa in other parts of the world, including India, which has some stunning regions for wildlife viewing.
Q. How does Minor Hotels plan to position itself against other international and domestic hotel chains in India?
There is untapped demand for upper-upscale and luxury hospitality in India, and demand for these offerings will continue to rise. Through our brands, Minor Hotels will focus on bringing localised experiential hospitality that immerses guests in the locale.
Q. What competitive advantages do you believe Minor Hotels offers to travellers in the Indian market?
Minor Hotels has eight in-house brands, ranging from mid-scale to luxury, catering to different travellers’ needs and desires. Our initial focus is establishing Minor Hotels in the upper-upscale and luxury segments with our Anantara, Avani and NH Collection brands, but we see potential in smaller cities and airport locations for our upscale brand, NH, too. We also plan to add multiple new brands to our portfolio this year and next to fill unmet consumer demand and provide hotel owners with more options.
While the interest in lifestyle hospitality experiences rising in India and globally, we see very few options in the ‘fun and funky’ space. We think we can address this niche with our upscale lifestyle brand Avani. We launched Avani in 2011, and it has now grown to over 40 properties across five continents. Avani is designed for today’s traveller, offering stylish rooms, connected social spaces and relaxed dining with the right balance of upbeat service, fun and privacy.
