Thai-based hospitality group Minor hotels has completed a further purchase of NH Hotels stock, to take its holding to 94 per cent.
The group – which already has the Anantara, Avani, Tivoli, Oaks and Elewana brands, will now also gain NH Hotels, NH Collection, Nhow and Hesperia, a total of some 380 hotels.
Minor had been in competition with Hyatt Hotels for the acquisition, and previously NH hotels had rejected an offer by Spanish Hotel Group Barcelo.
For Minor, the hotel makes sense since it allows it to expand its presence in Europe, while for NH Hotels it can then look towards Asia.
Speaking with Business Traveller, Michael Marshall, Chief Commercial Officer at Minor Hotels said,
“It’s a huge opportunity for NH because they don’t have that much in Asia and we do. We can help them a lot in Asia bringing the NH brands to Asia”.
The race for scale is also behind the investment in the Global Hotel Alliance.
“We want the Alliance to grow. That way we can get discounts and deals we wouldn’t be able to get negotiating on our own such as TMC agreements, preferential rates and pricings for IT platforms.
“Right now there’s a 13 million strong database in the GHA. We want to get more brands in and so we have invested and we also get a seat at the table.”
The Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) now has 33 brands with over 550 hotels in 77 countries.
