Minor Aims to Add 50 Hotels in India
Skift Take
STR reported China hotel data for the week ended April 27th. China hotel RevPAR was down -11.9%, up against a tough +138.2% year-over-year comp in 2023. Occupancy for the week at China hotels was down -0.2% year over year while ADR was down -11.7%.
The Philippines wants to draw about 15% more inbound visitors from the United States, recognizing the market's significant potential contribution to the country's tourism sector recovery. The Philippine News Agency said the country welcomed 903,299 visitors from the US in 2023, generating US$605 million in tourism revenue, the highest among the country's top tourist markets. Despite fewer arrivals compared to other markets, tourists from the US tend to spend more and stay longer with the US being the top spending market last year, followed by Australia, South Korea, Canada, China, and Japan. The country's strategy to attract more US tourists, including forging partnerships, enhancing training for travel agents, participating in business-to-business travel events and organizing familiarization tours. They believe Millennials are showing interest in visiting the country and US tourists overall are interested in experiential travel, wellness tourism, workcation, premium travel, solo travel and adventure sports.
IHG Hotels & Resorts will open its first-ever managed luxury hotel in Brisbane following the signing of an agreement with Kokoda Property to bring the Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants brand to the trendy suburb of Teneriffe in 2028. The new Kimpton in Brisbane's Teneriffe neighborhood will form part of Kokoda Property's $1.5 billion mixed-use development comprising extensive ground-floor hospitality and retail amenity, commercial offices and multiple residential towers in a lifestyle precinct. Kimpton will offer 155 unique, design-led rooms and suites, including marquee suites that will cater to celebrity guests and VIPs. The hotel will feature a 200-plus-seat signature restaurant and bar on Level 14, a spa with multiple treatment rooms, fitness centers and 618 square meters of flexible indoor and outdoor event space. They will have an infinity pool overlooking the Brisbane River and open-air Garden Terrace bar. In the luxury and lifestyle segment, IHG has 14 open hotels and a further five in the pipeline in Australia for brands InterContinental, Six Senses, Hotel Indigo and now Kimpton.
The Darwin Convention Centre Hotel, a new hotel bound for the Darwin Waterfront, has selected CEL Australia as developer, owner and operator following a competitive Expression of Interest process. The EOI was facilitated by CBRE Hotels and was the first step in securing a private-sector proponent to deliver a new hotel adjacent to the convention center. The hotel is a key part of the Masterplan to redevelop the Waterfront in one of Australia's leading integrated lifestyle and tourism destinations. The Darwin Convention Centre Hotel will offer 236 rooms and provide new, upscale accommodations. The hotel will be operated under CEL's Momentus Hotels & Resorts brand, the first Momentus hotel in Australia from the Singapore-based brand. The hotel is expected to open towards the end of 2026.
Minor Hotels said they are targeting 50 new openings in India within the next decade. The group will focus its strategy on the upper-upscale and luxury hotel segments where it expects strong interest from owners in its well-established Anantara, Avani and NH Collection brands. Their Anantara Hotels & Resorts brand is targeting opportunities in Ayurvedic wellness retreats, wilderness lodges and historical palaces. Minor believes Avani Hotels & Resort is well positioned to fill a significant gap in the lifestyle hotel space across India while they believe NH Collection Hotels & Resorts will prove attractive for upper-upscale conversion opportunities. Minor also identified strong potential for the upscale NH Hotels & Resorts, particularly in rapidly developing tier-two cities and airport locations. They are eyeing hotel management contracts in India, saying they have been overwhelmed with owner interest but are proceeding with a partnerships over properties approach. The group recently appointed Vijay Krishnan as VP of Operations for India, taking charge at their new office in Bengaluru.
Indian Hotels Company Limited announced the signing of a 101-key Ginger hotel in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh on a fully fitted operating lease. The greenfield project will result in IHCL's fourth hotel in the city and 23 in all of Uttar Pradesh. They are partnering with Banaras Beads Export for the Ginger hotel.
S&T Interiors, Sri Lanka, a joint venture between Hayleys PLC and S&T Interiors, Oman, announced the completion of the first phase of the refurbishment of 192 guest rooms of the 253 guest room refurbishment project for the Hilton Colombo. The primary objective of the renovation is to deliver a redefined and elevated guest experience that aligns seamlessly with Hilton's renowned standards in the luxury segment. S&T believes the renovated guest rooms are a timely response to meet the growing demand amidst the recovery of the industry and will provide Hilton with a competitive edge.
Ascott's Oakwood has a new home in Makati, Philippines, sharing space with Worldhotel Inc's I'M Hotel in Makati's Poblacion. The two properties under one roof total 434 rooms. 150 suites belong to the Oakwood brand, occupying floors 22 through 34. The remaining 284 rooms belong to I'M Hotel, occupying floors 9 through 21. The suites have been given touch-ups. The rooms range in size from Studio Premier at 44 square meters to the two-bedroom executive suite at 100 square meters. I'M Hotel also announced the opening of two new food and beverage outlets – Osteria M and Barangay Bar. The I'M Onsen Spa will also venture into aesthetic treatments. Worldhotel said that in the next three to five years, they will be franchising I'M Hotel as a brand to the provinces and this will be the blueprint.
Troubled PH Resorts Group said they obtained a non-refundable payment of US$5.2 million from Universal Entertainment's Tiger Resort unit. The payment is for a stock subscription and upon completion, PH Resorts will transfer majority ownership of the operating interest for the paused Emerald Bay casino resort project in Cebu, Philippines to Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment, owner/operator of Okada Manila. The original agreement was announced last December and follows PH having numerous deals that fell through, resulting in a halting of the development.
Personnel Move
The Lux Collective announced the appointment of Olivier Chavy as its next Chief Executive Officer. Chavy will be responsible for the overall strategic direction and performance of The Lux Collective while pursuing expansion in high-potential markets. He replaces Paul Jones who will be leaving the company in June after 14 years as CEO. Chavy was most recently President of Travel + Leisure Group - Panorama, the business managing the company's exchange and membership travel brands. Prior to that, he was CEO of Movenpick Hotels & Resorts.