Thai hotel group Minor targets 100 openings in China in 5 years

Chairman William Heinecke unveils asset-light strategy to stabilize growth

William Heinecke, chairman of luxury Thai hotel chain Minor, explains his strategy during an exclusive interview with Nikkei Asia. (Source photos courtesy of Minor International)

MASAYUKI YUDA and YOHEI MURAMATSU, Nikkei staff writers

January 27, 2022 12:00 JST

BANGKOK -- Thai hotel giant Minor International intends to open and operate 100 hotels in China amid efforts to diversify growth by shifting from investing, owning, and operating hotels to taking on contracted operation.

"We have a very new joint venture in China with Funyard Hotels & Resorts, which will hopefully lead us to about 100 hotels over the next five years in China," Minor Chairman William Heinecke told Nikkei Asia in an exclusive interview.