Minor opens its first Indian hotel in holy city of Bodh Gaya

Thomas Meier, senior vice president for operations at Minor Hotels, said Australia’s Oaks Hotels and Resorts and India’s GP Group and Top Travel and Tours had opened a 78-room joint-venture hotel – the Oaks Bodhgaya Hotel – at a cost of between Bt235.7 million in the holy city in January.
“The Oaks Bodhgaya Hotel represents the first hotel in India for Minor Hotels Group,” he said.
Oaks Group was acquired by Minor in 2011, making it the sixth brand in the Thai company’s portfolio.
Meier said the hotel would serve foreign tourists travelling to the Indian city’s famous Buddhist sites, with a large proportion of the business expected to come from Thai visitors.
“The Thailand market should contribute 30-40 per cent of the hotel’s guests, while other strong source markets will be Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries,” he said.
Thai Smile Airways operates five flights per week from Bangkok to Bodh Gaya in the northeastern Indian state of Bihar. 
The hotel expects to run an occupancy rate of 60-72 per cent in the first year of operation, Meier said. 
In 2015, more than 100,300 Thais travelled to India, with many tourists from the Kingdom and elsewhere in Southeast Asia flocking to Bodh Gaya to visit the holy Buddhist sites. 
Minor Hotels has also signed a cooperation agreement to operate another hotel in India, and is currently in talks with other local hospitality players with a view to further agreements, Meier said.
Meanwhile, Minor International, which is Minor Hotels’ parent company, has announced a 2016 core net profit of Bt4.5 billion, some 2.7 per cent down on the 2015 level. 
The results are, however, seen as encouraging in the context of Thailand’s economic slowdown during the final quarter as the nation mourned the passing of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. 
The effect of the slowdown was in part offset by the group’s strong performance in the first nine months of the year, as well as strong results from its international business operations. 
The Thai economy has shown signs of a significant recovery and Minor International believes that the outlook for its key markets this year is promising.
William E Heinecke, chairman and group chief executive officer, said: “I am confident that 2017 will be a strong year for Minor International. Nearly two months into the year, we already see many positive signs, including Thailand’s strong economic rebound. 
“To date, our own hotels are reporting 2017 RevPar [revenue per available room] growth compared [with] the same period in 2016, while Minor Food saw positive same-store-sales growth across most of the brands in January.”