A Future of Possibility: How Hotelbeds is Powering Minor Hotels' Global Expansion

When we first partnered with Minor Hotels over a decade ago, we recognised we weren’t just supporting another hospitality group, we were becoming part of a long-term vision. As Minor grew from a flagship property in Thailand to a global portfolio across six continents, they consistently redefined what modern hospitality looks like.
 

Recently, Minor Hotels set their sights on something even bigger: a bold expansion into markets like Australia and New Zealand. But even the leading brands face challenges along the way. They encountered familiar distribution challenges like fragmented systems, inconsistent reach, and the growing complexity across channels. That’s where Hotelbeds stepped in (again).
 

As Fernando Vives, Head of Commercial at Minor Hotels Europe & Americas, explains:

'Minor Hotels realised that the partnership that we had built in Europe and Americas with Hotelbeds was something that could be expanded as it was giving and bringing a lot of benefit to the way we were distributing and how we were able to generate incremental revenues in our hotels. So the first thing that we did was we announced this year the addition to our partnership of our hotels in Australia and New Zealand.' And a few weeks later, they extended the partnership with hotels in Asia.
 

This is the story of how Hotelbeds helped Minor Hotels continue scaling their operations, without compromising control, pricing, or guest experience.
 

About Minor Hotels

Minor Hotels is one of the most dynamic hospitality groups in the world, with a strong foundation in sustainability, innovation, and guest-centric service. Since opening their first hotel in 1979 and launching the luxury flagship brand Anantara in 2001, Minor has expanded to 560+ properties across 55 countries. And they're not slowing down.
 

With close to 300 new hotels planned by 2027, they’re set to cross the 850-property mark, which includes branded residences, wellness-focused offerings, and culturally immersive experiences.
 

As they entered the Australasia region and beyond, the need for a reliable distribution partner became more urgent. That’s where our longstanding relationship took on a new purpose.

The challenge: From diversification to precision

Minor’s original approach to distribution was rooted in diversification: working with a wide range of channels to ensure maximum reach. But as their revenue management strategies grew more sophisticated, so did the operational demands.
 

They were pushing more than two million rates a day, planning pricing by the hour up to 18 months in advance. Managing that volume across fragmented systems quickly became unsustainable. 'In the end, the complexities that we have in terms of pricing, the complexities that we have in terms of distribution, massively increased,' Vives explains. 'Most of the different channels or partners that we had, had the capability to distribute not only our prices and inventory, but at the same time the right content.'

Choosing Hotelbeds

What followed was a deliberate shift. They decided to move from a diversified model to a concentrated distribution strategy, where fewer but stronger partnerships would provide scalability without compromising control.
 

'With this partnership, one of the objectives that we wanted to achieve was first to reduce our maintenance in terms of distribution partners, and to secure our improvement on brand awareness and price consistency,' Vives states.
 

Beyond this, by leveraging Hotelbeds’ wide B2B channels, their focus was to acquire new clients and drive regional demand with high-value guests. 'Our goal of this agreement is obviously to expand into new markets that we haven’t specifically worked in before,' adds Dan Csortan, Head of Commercial at Minor Pacific. 'Being quite a resource-light organisation, we saw Hotelbeds as an extension to our sales team and it allowed us to focus on new clients and new markets inbound to the Australasian region.'
 

In 2022, Minor formalised what Vives called a 'concentration of distribution through Hotelbeds.' This allowed them to simplify operations while gaining autonomy and efficiency.
 

'What we have seen since we signed the strategic agreement with Hotelbeds has been an improvement on our distribution health score. We have more control over what we distribute, where we are present, and our pricing has gained consistency through the different markets and channels. And this is something that’s benefiting not only us, but the consumer too', shares Vives. 
 

The growth was measurable.
 

The outcomes: Measurable, market-driven growth

The impact was immediate and significant. Within just a few months of expanding the partnership:
 

• New market penetration: Minor began receiving bookings from previously untapped markets.
   
• Distribution consistency: Across all properties, especially those included in Hotelbeds' preferred partner agreements, pricing became more consistent, and visibility improved.
   
• Operational efficiency: With Hotelbeds acting as an extension of their internal team, Minor could redirect focus to strategy, innovation, and growth.
   
• Collaborative innovation: Regular meetings and emails between teams sparked new ideas and market-specific campaigns.
   

Stronger collaboration and innovation: What began as a tactical collaboration evolved into a strategic partnership, fostering idea-sharing and co-creation.
 

Csortan adds, 'Our strategies are certainly coming together, and I'm looking forward to seeing that growth even further.'
 

Two organisations. One team.

In a world increasingly driven by automation and AI, the value of real human connection has only grown. 'And for sure, the team at Hotelbeds is a team that we can say we have a human-to-human connection', states Vives.
 

It’s this collaborative spirit that turns strategy into success. Csortan adds, 'The sourcing team is great, and I see that as an extension to our sales team. We have regular catch-ups every week, and we bounce ideas off each other. But at the end of the day, our goal is the same. To provide further growth for both organisations. It's definitely not a one-way partnership.'

Why should you choose Hotelbeds?

Dan summed it up best: 'As a technology partner for us, they’re the obvious choice moving forward for our organisation.'
 

This level of trust and shared purpose is what makes our partnership with Minor Hotels thrive. It’s the kind of relationship we strive to build with every hotel we support.
 

At Hotelbeds, our mission is to simplify global hotel distribution while empowering hotels to reach their full potential. Over the past five years, we’ve invested heavily in rate intelligence technology, cutting rate leakages by 75% and achieving a rate discrepancy ratio of just 0.005%.
 

Additionally, what you gain when partnering with us:
 

• Access to over 60,000 travel distributors worldwide
   
• Visibility in 190+ source markets, including long-haul and regional travellers
   
• Zero conflict with your direct channels as we sell through trusted B2B partners
   
• A dedicated onboarding and support team from day one
   

Just like Minor, once you partner with us, you're never in it alone. If you are ready to grow your hotel with purpose, become our partner today!