Running a global hospitality business in a pandemic
Dillip Rajakarier, group CEO of Minor International, on why strong cash management, weekly planning, and a focus on local markets have been key to managing through crisis.
Minor International is a hospitality industry powerhouse. Based in Bangkok, Minor operates more than 530 hotels in 56 countries, with a large presence in Asia (where it operates chains across the region, including the Anantara luxury hotel brand), Europe (where it runs the NH chain of hotels), and Africa. The company also owns brands in the well-being and lifestyle sectors and runs 2,300 restaurants. Founded in 1967 by American William Heinecke, who was then 17 years old (hence the name Minor), the company began as an advertising and cleaning business. A decade later, Minor began its journey into hospitality, opening a resort on the coast southeast of Bangkok, in Pattaya, that today is part of Minor's Avani chain. In 2019, the company's group revenues reached US$3.8 billion, with profits topping $343 million.
Then came COVID-19, and the hospitality industry, which traditionally accounts for 10 percent of global GDP, was hit hard. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, international tourism was down 70 percent in the first eight months of 2020. Travel restrictions, lockdowns, and a climate of fear have caused occupancy rates in hotels to plummet and restaurants to morph into takeout and delivery operations. For the first six months of 2020, Minor reported an operating loss of $270 million. Dillip Rajakarier, who took over as group CEO in January 2020 after having run Minor's hotel business since 2011, has been in crisis mode ever since.
