When hotel magnate William Heinecke, who helms Minor International and its subsidiary, Minor Hotel Group, one of Asia Pacific’s most prolific hotel companies, was just 29, he purchased the royal Garden Resort in Pattaya, Thailand with the intention of selling it for a profit. “I already had a buyer in the wings,” explains the U.S.-born military brat who moved to Bangkok at 14 after living in Hong Kong, Japan, and Malaysia. But when that contender pulled out, he “was left holding the baby,” he says. “I had no experience in the hotel sector, but I couldn’t find another buyer, so I thought, ‘why not make the best of it?’” Although the nascent hotelier may have seemed a little green, he already had good business acumen: Just out of high school, the ambitious teen started a string of businesses (advertising, office cleaning services), aptly naming his budding conglomerate Minor, a nod to his tender age.
Ten years after maturing the Royal Garden Resort brand and acquiring various flags under such companies as Marriott and Four Seasons, Heinecke set about developing his own hotel brand. “I felt there was a gap in the market between [Marriott and Four Seasons], and I created Anantara in 2001, which focuses on indigenous design, local cuisine, and incredible destination experiences. It offers guests the opportunity to actually get out and discover the culture, heritage, and local area surrounding the hotel,” Heinecke says of what continues to be the crowning brand under Minor’s now global portfolio of some 154 hotels, resorts, and serviced suites in 24 countries, with roughly 40 Anantaras (Sanskrit for without end) spanning his adopted home country of Thailand to the Middle East and recently, Guiyang, China.
Design plays an important role in Heinecke’s constant quest for an authentic travel experience. “I prefer to work with a local designer who has a greater understanding of the history and culture of a region, as this should be reflected in the design of our hotels,” he explains. But it’s guest experience that remains his highest priority. “My biggest pet peeve is when hotels are not designed with the guest in mind; they are designed to look pretty, but that’s only part of the equation,” he says. “It’s not about vanity, it’s about creating exceptional guest experiences at all levels, and that certainly includes design.”
Although Minor Hotels continues to build the luxury resort sector—recent properties include one of the highest 5-Star hotels in the world perched atop a plateau on Oman’s Jabal Akhdar mountain, and one in the picturesque Algarve of Portugal—it is the Millennial-minded brand AVANI (the Sanskrit word for earth) that has Heinecke’s attention most preoccupied these days, with its focus on fresh, locally inspired design, social hubs, communal workspaces, and convenience.
Eighteen properties are open globally in Bangkok, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, the Seychelles, Africa, the UAE, and most recently Lisbon, Portugal, with others planned for Australia, Thailand, South Korea, and the Middle East, including the 372-key AVANI Ibn Battuta Dubai Hotel, set for 2019. With an exercise concept tailored for each location in and outside the gym, a modern spa experience, and various dining outlets—from grab-and-go to all-day dining, the brand is sophisticated without taking itself too seriously. “Millennials—or Millennial-minded guests as we like to call them—have a completely different perspective on life. Work-life balance is a requirement as opposed to a ‘nice to have,’” he explains. “These guests want a sense of community, and experiences are more important than possessions.”
This quest for work-life balance rings true for the busy hotelier, who has a penchant for speed: “One of my greatest pleasures is driving one of my vintage cars through the wine country in France, or the mountainous area of Northern Italy, or on a road trip on the California coast. I love to work hard, it’s my passion, but everybody needs a day out of the office every now and then.”
