Minor Hotels, MINT Enters a Strategic Partnership with Funyard Hotels & Resorts to Fuel China Expansion
Main Photo: The exterior lobby at Minor’s Anantara Guiyang Resort Hotel
Date: January 2021
Location: China
Name: Minor Hotels and Funyard Hotels & Resorts
No. of Keys: TBA
The Partners: Minor Hotels, the Bangkok-based international hotel owner, operator and
investor, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Funyard Hotels & Resorts, a Member of Country Garden Core Business Alliance, which will see the expansion of its brands in China.
The announcement comes at the time when the growth of China’s travel sector, already one of the world’s most-watched inbound and outbound markets, is expected to accelerate following post COVID-19 easing of movement restrictions for travellers. With demand for leisure and resort services shifting from overseas to domestic, optimism about China’s tourism and resort market is at all-time high.
Minor Hotels’ globe-spanning network of hotels and resorts with a wellness and cultural element at their core ensures that the group is well poised for development in the China market where the appetite for leisure travel has never been greater. As one of the world’s top 20 hotel groups with 530 hotels in 56 countries and regions, Minor Hotels boasts a diverse portfolio of brands.
Through it’s partnership with Funyard Hotels & Resorts, a core alliance enterprise of Country Garden Group, the Bangkok-based hospitality group will be bringing Anantara, Avani, Oaks, Elewana, Tivoli and NH brands to mainland China, many of them for the first time.
Bringing to the table extensive market knowledge and 20 years of experience in asset and operations management in China, Funyard Hotels & Resorts shares many core competences and values with Minor Hotels. The new joint venture is poised to become one of the country’s leading hospitality players enabling travellers in mainland China to experience the award-winning services and facilities offered by Minor Hotels’ brands – each with its own unique character and identity.
At the virtual MoU signing ceremony on 20 January 2021, Dillip Rajakarier, CEO of Minor Hotels, said: “China’s hospitality market is extremely competitive, but full of opportunities. We highly value this chance to partner with Funyard Hotels & Resorts to support each other’s global branding strategies.”
Commenting on the alignment of Minor’s and Funyard’s interests, he expressed confidence in the ability of both sides to “fully exploit our respective advantages and jointly explore new opportunities in industry development, capitalising on Funyard’s rich experience in China and Minor’s international expertise in the global hotel and resort segment.”
Ji Hongjun, President of Funyard Hotels & Resorts, remarked: “The pandemic is further accelerating the process of the Chinese economy shifting toward the domestic market. This means new opportunities in domestic tourism and hospitality. We and Minor Hotels are both convinced that China’s resort market is full of potential.
Funyard Hotels & Resorts is a core alliance enterprise of Country Garden, a Fortune Global 500 company. Currently managing more than 200 upscale hotels, it provides operations and asset management services and boasts about 50,000 guestrooms. It operates and manages a total of ten hotel and serviced apartment brands such as Funyard, Funyard Ligh Fashion, BlessFun, FunyardBilan, FunyardFengyi, Country Garden Phoenix, Holiday Islands, Fengqi, Home2 Suites by Hilton, and Oakwood Belux. The group provides whole-lifecycle asset management services covering investment, financing, building, management, and exit.
THPT Comment: Looks like a true meeting of equals, and a great way for Minor Hotel to truly make China a major market for themselves.
First Seen: Minor press release
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