Interview with Fernando Vives, Chief Commercial Officer at Minor Hotels
This month, Hospitality’s Leading Voices brings you Philippe Roy’s engaging discussion with Fernando Vives, Chief Commercial Officer at Minor Hotels, a hospitality leader who knows the business from the ground up. With experience spanning international brands like Melia Hotels International, Hesperia, The Ritz, and Le Meridien, Fernando has also co-founded the firm Xotels and launched the first Revenue Management Master’s degree at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid.
Introduction to Minor Hotels
First of all, Fernando, can you tell us a little about Minor? People in Europe know NH well but may be less familiar with Minor.
Let me start with a story, Philippe. Forty-five years ago, the founder of Minor was just 15 years old and wanted to start a company. People often ask, Why is it called Minor?
The story is incredible. He was so young that banks wouldn’t lend him money for his project. They said, We can’t give you the money because you’re a minor.
When he finally secured the funding, he decided to name his company “Minor” as a reminder of that struggle. That’s why he’s deeply attached to the name.
Today, Minor operates close to 3,000 restaurants across Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Americas, as well as nearly 300 retail stores, mostly located in Asia. Minor Hotels manages close to 600 properties in more than 55 countries, and we’re on track to reach almost 800 hotels in the next two to three years based on our pipeline. In 2018, Minor International acquired a large stake in NH Hotel Group, and today Minor owns nearly 95% of NH. Recently, we rebranded from NH Hotels to Minor Hotels Europe and Americas.
Role and Responsibilities
What is your role today, and what does a typical week look like for you?
I oversee the entire topline of the company, managing a team of over 2,000 people who generate the topline results. This includes traditional and digital sales, revenue management, distribution, e-commerce, business intelligence, contact centres, and groups and events—both for B2C and B2B. We have a balanced business split: about 50% is B2B and 50% B2C.
I travel almost every week—around 100 flights per year. Typically, I try to be in the office on Mondays. In the morning, we hold our commercial steering committee, where we review performance, monitor results, and plan for the future. As a member of the management board, I also attend our Monday management board meeting, which we always know when it starts but never when it ends! The rest of the week is about traveling, leading the team, and ensuring that our strategy is executed.
My job also involves defining, implementing, and improving centralization across Europe and the Americas. Since we are an asset-heavy company—80% of our hotels are either leased or owned—we focus on centralizing operations and processes to create synergies, which has led to our current level of efficiency.
Passion for Revenue Management
You’re passionate about revenue management. Can you tell us more about its role in hospitality?
I’ve been involved in revenue management for 25 years! One of my first managers, who was trained at Cornell, introduced me to an Excel spreadsheet on revenue management. I knew right away this Excel spreadsheet would become a friend and that revenue management would become a passion. Since then, I’ve witnessed the entire evolution of the field. Early on, I realized that applying revenue management principles gave hotels a competitive edge. Those that didn’t adopt these methods were at a disadvantage.
Technology has been a game-changer. Some hotels still use Excel for revenue management, which is unbelievable, but modern technology helps us process huge amounts of data and automate much of the process. To give you an example, we’re making over two million price changes daily across our 350 hotels in Europe and the Americas. What used to be a luxury is now a necessity. It’s been an incredible journey.
The Concept of Attribute-Based Selling
You often talk about “attribute-based selling.” Can you explain what that means?
In the early 2000s, room segmentation was basic—you had standard and superior rooms, and you sold individual, double, and sometimes suite rooms. That was it. Then, we started optimizing what we called the product mix, recognizing that consumers would pay more for additional value.
We began adding more qualifiers and attributes for rooms—views, junior suites, city views, etc., sometimes reaching up to 15 different attributes. Attribute-based selling aims to give consumers the power to create their entire stay experience. For example, some may only need a bed and breakfast for a quick business trip, while others may want a room with a view of Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium or a king-sized bed. Attribute-based selling allows customers to personalize their stay, which helps hotels not only segment but micro-segment their guests.
Is the limitation in technology’s ability to handle all these components?
One of the biggest challenges is creating the right pricing for these products. We’ve become experts in pricing combinations of different attributes, but there’s a learning curve in how to combine all the data points. We’ll need to adjust not only for ourselves but also for our distribution partners. There’s going to be a transition period before everything is fully in place.
That’s on the product side, but what about customer segmentation? Has it become more complex over the years?
Yes, segmentation has become more complex, but that also brings more opportunities. When lifestyle brands emerged, we shifted from purely demographic segmentation to a psychographic approach. You can have customers with the same demographics behaving in entirely different ways. Technology helps us segment based on behaviour, such as how people book, how long they stay, and how they pay. This allows us to be more precise with our pricing. Data science, AI, and other technologies are enabling us to do this more efficiently.
Market Insights: The Indian Market
In your LinkedIn newsletter (Hospitality Labs) you’re talking about India. Can you share what your view is on the Indian market?
That’s a great question, Philippe. I’m obsessed with India—not just because I love the country, its people, and its food, but also because of its potential. In 2020, I read a report stating that 50 million people in India move from poverty to the middle class every year. That’s more than the population of Spain!
While we know what it takes to succeed in China, India is still a new frontier. Even though the numbers aren’t there yet compared to China, now is the time to invest in this growing opportunity. First, these newly middle-class people will travel within India and the region, and eventually, they’ll start traveling abroad to destinations like London, Amsterdam, Paris, Madrid, and Barcelona, etc.
Do you see India as a source market or destination market opportunity?
I think it’s both, but from my perspective, it’s more of a feeder market opportunity—and a great one.
Personal Journey and Career in Hospitality
Let’s talk about you, Fernando. How did you end up in hospitality?
I’m a hotelier at heart! I didn’t land in this industry by accident. My mother was born in a hotel, and my grandfather owned two hotels. Sadly, I never met him, as he passed away when my mother was just 16, but she took over the hotels for a time. I grew up immersed in hotel culture, and I became passionate about it. As a child, when traveling with my family, the first things I wanted to visit were hotels and restaurants, even before museums!
I had two passions growing up: technology and hotels. I built my first computer at the age of 10 in 1988, and I loved programming (I was programming in Pascal and C++). I even applied to two universities simultaneously because I couldn’t decide which direction to take. But that summer, I realized that I couldn’t spend every day in front of a computer. So, I chose hospitality, which I believe offers so much.
Any regrets?
Not for a single day! Hospitality is such a dynamic industry. You know what I mean, Philippe, because you’ve worked with hotel chains. The people and the culture are amazing. You have the chance to create unique experiences that people will remember for a lifetime. Especially after COVID, people are choosing experiences over buying things. It’s a challenging industry, but it’s a beautiful one.
What do you mean by “challenging”?
As a sales and revenue management leader, I face the reality that unsold inventory is lost forever. That pressure can be intense, but I love it! It pushes you to constantly improve and do better. It gives you a real adrenaline rush!
Technology and Leadership in Hospitality
Technology is integral to hospitality now. How do you feel about that?
You’re absolutely right! It’s fantastic because it allows me to blend my passion for technology with my love for hospitality. It’s important to follow your passion, but it’s just as crucial to focus on what you’re good at.
You’ve been in leadership roles for many years, what does it mean to be a great leader in hospitality?
We’re a people-intensive industry, despite our growing reliance on technology. It’s crucial to develop a vision and share that passion with others. But vision without execution is just poetry. One of the key skills for me is the ability to influence others so that your vision gets implemented effectively. Hard skills are essential, but for a leader, the ability to communicate, build relationships, and influence is vital.
Can you share a key moment from your career?
In 2012, when I was VP of Revenue Management at Meliá Hotels, my boss offered me to take over sales as well. I declined—politely but firmly. I was focused on becoming the best revenue manager. But he persisted, and after much insistence, I accepted. Not because I was convinced it was the right thing to do, but because I trusted him. That decision was transformative for my career.
It taught me that when you have a mentor or a leader you trust, sometimes you need to follow their advice, even if you’re not convinced. Because they’re able to see things that you don’t see yet. That role helped me grow exponentially and shaped my leadership approach. Trust is everything in leadership.
If you were to convince a young person to join the hospitality industry, what would you say?
Life is about experiences, and hospitality offers unparalleled dynamism and opportunities. It’s an industry where you can create meaningful and memorable experiences for customers, work with people from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and countries, and travel the world. You’ll grow not just as a professional, but also as a person. And of course, it’s an industry where you never stop learning!
About Philippe Roy: He’s a contributor of HSMAI Europe and the founder of Red Yucca, an Advisory Services firm helping companies and merchants reduce their cost of accepting payment cards. It has a deep expertise on Influence Strategies, Complex Negotiation, Value Propositions and Relationship Management. It operates both locally and globally. Philippe is also a new member of the upcoming HSMAI Europe France Advisory Board.
About Fernando Vives: He’s the Chief Commercial Officer and member of the Management Committee at Minor Hotels Europe & Americas since July 2016. Fernando is expert and passionate on Revenue Management, Commercial practices and distribution with a complete background and experience in both urban and resorts area gained through international hospitality companies as Melia Hotels International, Hesperia, the Ritz or Le Meridien. He co-founded the Revenue Management & Distribution firm Xotels (2006) and is the founder of the Master’s Degree “Expert on Revenue Management” at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid (2009).
About HSMAI Europe
HSMAI – Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International – is a global organisation founded in the US in 1927. HSMAI Region Europe is the European arm of the organisation. HSMAI Europe aims to be a key influencer, pioneer and the go-to industry resource for professional development, commercial strategies and sustainability in the hospitality, travel and tourism industry. With a strong focus on education, HSMAI has become the industry champion in identifying and communicating trends in the hospitality industry while operating as a leading voice for both hospitality and sales, marketing, and revenue management disciplines. Read More
