Minor Hotels ready to challenge top brands, with Queen’s Wharf Residences launch in Brisbane

Minor Hotels in a minnow no more, with its Australasia COO Craig Hooley wanting to be mentioned in the same breath as his former employers, Intercontinental and Shangri-La, among others.

The 500-plus strong hotel group, with eight core brands under its umbrella, is making a statement with the launch of Queen’s Wharf Residences in Brisbane this week, a mix of residences and long- and short-stay hotel rooms, while at the same week launching the rebrand of Oaks Hotels, Resorts & Suites into a full-service hotel brand.

Other recognisable Minor brands under management include Anantara, Avani, nhow, Tivoli and Elewana with Aussies soon to hear much more about NH and NH Collection with the upcoming launch of NH Sydney of NH Sydney Airport, two of 80 properties it operates in Australia. Minor expects NH to be in the ballpark with names such as Hilton Double Tree and Holiday Inn.

“We’ve more than doubled in Australia and in size and we’ve got a very significant pipeline, not just in terms of just numbers of hotels, but also diversity of (eight) brands,” says Hooley during an interview in a contemporary-designed, spacious and comfortable 2-bedroom apartment in Queen’s Wharf Residences yesterday. While some residents have already moved in, visiting media are among the first to expereince the Queen’s Wharf Residences rooms. While tweaks are still being made, the experience, overall, is a feeling of comfort and space.

“One of the briefs for me coming to this role, and one of the attractions for me coming this role, is that they wanted to create a truly global hospitality brand and their vision was there,” he says. “When I joined the company seven years ago… we only had 120 hotels in less than 20 countries? And now we’ve got 565 hotels in 60 countries.

“There was there was a warchest, and there was a plan. We needed capability. We needed the capacity to grow. It’s very it’s easy to buy something, but it’s not easy to incorporate in your business and run it and grow it,” he says.

After a restructure, review of multiple operations, bringing in new talent and changing the focus of what it had, is became ready for that capacity of growth. Even pre and post Covid, the brand was busily building its portfolio into a wide range of offerings.

That brings us to the plush suites and rooms in Queen’s Wharf Residences, with their stone floors, balconies, ensuites and powder rooms overlooking the Brisbane River, in one of four towers in a complex which is also includes The Star.

When Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium, also the landlord of The Star, came calling to operate the residences, it was a chance to step up.
“We’re like the new kids on the block,” enthuses Hooley. “We’re young, we’re fresh, we’re agile, we’re very commercial, and also we love all facets of hotel operations.”

While they weren’t involved from the Multiplex build from the ground up, they were ready when handed the 200 keys to the 1- 2-, 3- bedroom apartments in the Queen’s Wharf Residences that are spread out over 66 floors.

Once it came to a point of the finished building, Minor developed a plan for Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment (FF&E), the operations, and support that would be required for a dual occupancy, multi-purpose landmark on the banks of the Brisbane River. That included 40 containers of furniture and other gear that now occupies the rooms and suites, plus the shared spaces, corporate spaces and a private dining room of the Queen’s Wharf Residences. The complex also contains a spa, pool, gym and wellness centre.

“It is iconic location, and I do believe it’s a personal achievement,” Hooley says of the first new space of the many this COO expects to launch over the next few years.

“Before you know we were brought on, my job was to make this the leading hospitality company in this country, bringing in all our brands. And we haven’t done that yet, but we will.”