Minor Hotel Group (MHG) told Hotelier Middle East it will enter Oman with two Anantara properties in Salalah and Muscat during an interview at Arabian Travel Market 2015 in Dubai.
The Thai operator will makes its Oman debut with an Anantara property in Jabal Akhdar by the end of 2015 and a second will follow in Salalah in quarter two of 2016.
Michael Marshall, MHG chief commercial officer said of the Jabal Akhdar property: “It’s a beautiful hotel with stunning views. It’s even higher up than Alila Jabal Akhdar.
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Marshall added that both properties will feature “the experiences that we are famous for”, adding that the group is still to decide on these.
Referring to the Salalah hotel, Marshall commented: “I think Salalah has huge potential as a destination because it’s so different, especially in the summer with summer rain – and I think Salalah is going to open up.
“Oman has a very good reputation internationally so I think we’ll see a mixture of business - international and Middle Eastern,” Marshall added.
Alila Hotels & Resorts opened the first internationally branded hotel in Oman’s Jabal Akhdar in quarter one of 2014 and occupancy for the hotel’s first year of operations has been just under 50% according to regional vice president Middle East & India Julian Ayers.
In March, the company also announced the 125-key Alila Salalah Resort, to open in 2017.
Commenting on the new Anantara properties in Jabal Akhdar and Salalah, Ayers said: “It’s good from our point of view.
“It’s good to get another quality hotel into the area because it gives us more exposure. There’s clearly more business to be had and it will be great to have another property there – we’ll get more media coverage.”
Last month, MHG announced a partnership with Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company has partnered to build two hotels in Africa – one in Tangier and one in Tunisia.
The company also made its Qatar debut earlier this year with Banana Island Resort Doha by Anantara.
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