History

With Asian roots and global ambitions, Minor Hotels’ historic success story spans nearly five decades. The origins of the company stretch back to 1967 when William E. Heinecke, then only 17 years old, founded Minor Holdings – named as a nod to the budding entrepreneur’s youthful age. In the years that followed, he expanded Minor across a variety of industries by creating innovative brands and strategically acquiring companies to fortify the portfolio.

The year 1978 marked the first hotel venture: Royal Garden Resort in Pattaya. Since that first small but significant step, the Minor Hotels team has grown the hospitality enterprise into an international leader, currently boasting over 80,000 rooms across more than 500 hotels in the world's leading resort and urban destinations.

Explore the timeline below for more milestones in Minor Hotels’ journey.

Timeline

  • 1978

    • Founded Royal Gardens Resorts (RGR) with a small hotel in Pattaya. Still under Minor Hotels, the property has been re-branded as Avani Pattaya Resort.
  • 1988

    • Royal Garden Resorts (RGR) was listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. 
  • 1999

    • Entered into a joint venture to operate Mandara Spa (Thailand), which was later 100% acquired and renamed MSpa International.
  • 2000

    • Acquired the Regent Bangkok, currently branded as Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel.
  • 2001

    • The Royal Garden Village Hua Hin became Anantara Resort & Spa, the first hotel under RGR's new 5-star hotel brand, Anantara.
    • Opened JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa.
  • 2002

    • Together with Marriott International, opened the Marriott Phuket Vacation Village, a purpose-built timeshare resort.
  • 2005

    • Royal Garden Resorts Pcl. changed name to Minor International Pcl. (MINT).
  • 2006

    • Launched The Estates Samui, Minor’s first real estate development in Samui.
  • 2007

    • Invested in a 20% stake of Serendib Hotel Limited, part of the Hemas Group, in Sri Lanka. Serendib operates four hotels in Sri Lanka, including Club Dolphin Hotel and Sigiriya Hotel.
  • 2008

    • Opened Anantara Seminyak Bali Resort in Indonesia, the first hotel under an Anantara management contract. 
    • Acquired a 50% stake in Elewana Afrika, a collection of luxury lodges in Africa now branded as the Elewana Collection.
  • 2010

    • Launched Anantara Vacation Club, a points-based timeshare project under Minor Hotels’ Anantara luxury brand.
    • Acquired an 80% stake in Avani Kalutara Resort in Sri Lanka, the first-ever Avani resort.
  • 2011

    • Opened the St. Regis Bangkok, a prestigious hotel and residences at a premier central address.
    • Opened Anantara Kihavah Maldives Villas, the first wholly-owned Anantara hotel outside Thailand.
    • Acquired a majority stake in Oaks Hotels & Resorts Ltd., one of Australia's largest hotel and resort operators.
    • Acquired The Grand Hotel in Gladstone Australia through Oaks Hotels & Resorts Ltd.
    • Acquired 25% in Tidal Swell Pty. Ltd. through Oaks Hotels & Resorts Ltd. Today, Minor owns 100% of Tidal Swell.
  • 2012

    • Acquired 95% of the luxurious Anantara Layan Phuket Resort, together with an adjacent 32 rai of land, now developed into Layan Residences by Anantara.
    • Acquired 80% of Oasis Resort Caloundra, a 158-room and 9-apartment property in Queensland, Australia, through Oaks Hotels & Resorts Ltd.
  • 2013

    • Acquired a majority stake in Anantara Hoi An, a 93-key resort, and Avani Quy Nhon, a 63-key resort, both in Vietnam, and an 80% stake in Anantara Angkor, a 39-suite boutique resort in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
    • Formed a 25% joint venture with Rani Investment to invest in Anantara Bazaruto Island, a 44-villa resort in Mozambique.
    • Invested a 49.9% stake in Peace Haven Resorts Ltd. to develop Anantara Tangalle on the south coast of Sri Lanka.
    • Acquired 50% of the luxury hotel brand PER AQUUM Hotels & Resorts and 50% of PER AQUUM Niyama resort in the Maldives.
    • Invested in Oaks Cypress Lakes Resort in Hunter Valley and Oaks Broome in the heart of Roebuck Bay, and opened Oaks Grand Gladstone, all in Australia.
  • 2014

    • Invested a 25% stake in three hotels, which were rebranded Anantara Medjumbe, Anantara Matemo, and Avani Pemba, in Mozambique, and 49% in a hotel and mixed-use development project, comprising Radisson Blu Hotel, a residential tower and an office tower in Mozambique.
    • Entered into a strategic partnership with Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Sun International, to own and operate six hotels in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Zambia.
    • Entered into a 50% joint venture with Natural Park Pcl. to develop a luxury resort-style condominium project with 44 units, Anantara Chiang Mai Serviced Suites, in the city centre of Chiang Mai, Thailand.
    • Increased stake in Serendib Hotels PLC, a listed company in Sri Lanka, to 22.7%.
  • 2015

    • Acquired a hotel portfolio of over 1,900 keys, consisting of two hotel properties in Brazil, including a hotel operating platform and the intellectual property rights of Tivoli Hotels & Resorts in Brazil, and four hotel properties in Portugal, which marked a strategic move into South America and Europe.
    • Rebranded Four Seasons Bangkok into Anantara Siam Bangkok.
    • Through Elewana, acquired a majority stake in four properties in Kenya, as well as tour operating companies and intellectual property from Cheli & Peacock, an integrated safari tour operator and manager and property owner of safari camps and lodges in Kenya.
    • Launched The Residences by Anantara at Layan, Phuket, comprising 15 ultra-luxurious pool residences. Now named Layan Residences by Anantara. 
  • 2016

    • Successfully completed the final stage of acquisition of Tivoli Hotels & Resorts, which comprised 12 properties in Portugal and two in Brazil, as well as the Tivoli brand and its operating platform.
  • 2017

    • Minor's hotel business entered into the UK with a significant investment in the Corbin & King restaurant group, now The Wolseley Hospitality Group.
  • 2018

    • Successfully completed the tender offer for shares securing 94.1% shareholding stake in NH Hotel Group. The acquisition of NH Hotel Group comprises of 549 hotels across Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the US.
  • 2020

    • Minor further strengthened its high-end hospitality footprint in Europe with the expansion of the Anantara and NH brands through the operation of prestigious hotels in prime locations previously under the Boscolo portfolio. 
  • 2022

    • Minor Hotels acquired full ownership of The Wolseley Hospitality Group, formerly Corbin & King, a reflection of MINT's long-held strategy to invest in and grow the company's iconic brand portfolio in the UK and internationally.