After a busy 2018, NH Hotels maintained strong growth ambitions backed by a very positive first quarter. The arrival of Minor Hotel Group offers the Spanish group a vaster hunting ground, and vice versa.

As of January 1, 2019, Minor Hotel Group operated 45,988 rooms (source: Hospitality ON's annual European hotel ranking). During the last board meeting, its CEO Ramón Aragonés, announced the opening of 4,500 rooms in the coming years. One third of openings are scheduled for each of the brands: NH Hotels, nhow and NH Collection. The Spanish group found a partner in Covivio (Europe's leading hotel property company) that will allow it to accelerate growth in Europe.

Hugo Rovira told Hospitality ON in summer 2018 that the group wanted to significantly accelerate the growth of the presence of NH Hotels in France. Nonetheless, the destinations to be developed according to Ramón Aragonés are, in order of importance: Germany, Latin America, United Kingdom, Benelux and to a lesser extent Italy, Spain and Portugal where the group is still present.

A full pipeline 

7 nhow properties by 2022: London (opening in 2019 - 190 rooms), Amsterdam Rai (opening in 2020 - 650 rooms), Santiago de Chile la Dehesa (opening in 2020 - 146 keys) as well as Lima (265 rooms in 2020), Bruxelles (303 rooms in 2019), Rome (285 rooms in 2020) and Frankfurt (385 keys in 2021). However no address has been announced for Paris.

The arrival of Minor swells the supply and especially the brand portfolio 

The group's portfolio has 7 brands positioned in the upscale-luxury segment. 

From the resort to the charming hotel and lodge, Minor has a complete portfolio, with an extensive geographic range from Asia to Latin America via Europe and Africa. All opportunities for growth that will require an approach that is coherent with this portfolio. The arrival of Anantara in Europe allows the group to enter the luxury segment which had been absent from the portfolio of NH Hotels.