Minor Hotels announced it will be rebranding the Tivoli Jardim Losboa Hotel into the first AVANI in Europe, opening April 1. On the same day, Minor Hotels will be debuting its first Anantara in Europe, which was also converted from a Tivoli hotel.
Officially, the new AVANI hotel will be named the AVANI Avenida Liberdade Lisbon Hotel. The hotel received updated to its 119 guestrooms, façade, public spaces, and saw the addition of an AVANIfit gym.
The Tivoli Victoria will reopen as the Anantara Vilamoura Algarve Resort, which will “redefine luxury in the Algarve,” according to Rita Machado, director of marketing for Minor Hotels. It will have 280 guestrooms, including the new Family Suites, as well as an adults-only pool. Luxuries include golf, wine, and teen “Gurus,” who will be available to help guests with their swing, bring them to a tasting, or find something to do for teen travelers, who are often forgotten by hotel companies.
Rebranding the Tivoli hotels into the first Anantara and AVANI hotels in Europe was an easy decision to make, according to Michael Marshall, chief commercial officer of Minor Hotels. He saw the rebranding of two hotels already under the Minor umbrella as a quicker stepping-stone into Europe than new builds. Eventual plans include moving east and north throughout Europe with sights on Spain, France, and England.
Minor may, in the near future, do the same to one of its two existing Tivoli hotels in Brazil as a quick entrance into South and Central America (with a long-term goal set on North America). Currently, Minor operates Tivoli Ecoresort Priaia do Forte in Bahia and Tivoli Moforrej in Sao Paulo.
The decision to move into Portugal could make sense as a precursor to these decisions. Machado reported there has been an increasing number of US travelers to the Algarve, which could help American travelers become more familiar with the Asian-centric brand.
On the Tivoli side, the Tivoli Carvoeiro was renovated and upgrade from a four-star property to a five-star property. The company has plans to move into the Middle East, where they will be introducing its own spa.
Standing at just over 150 hotels spread across its brands, which also includes Per AQUUM, Oaks, Elewana, Four Seasons, St. Regis, Marriott, and Minor International, Minor has plans to reach 250-255 hotels in the next five years. In the immediate pipeline are 25 new hotels.
Minor Hotels acquired Tivoli Hotels & Resorts in February 2016.