Minor International founder warns of more job cuts, closures
Minor International Plc, which runs more than 500 hotels across 55 countries, may cut more jobs and shut recently re-opened properties as the coronavirus pandemic and travel restrictions continue to keep guests away.
"We have hotels that can't even pay for staff or electricity because they're totally empty," Bill Heinecke, chairman and founder of Bangkok-based Minor, said in an interview. "We've taken a lot of job cuts and we'll probably have to take more."
Minor posted its biggest quarterly loss in the three months ended June and has cut thousands of jobs to stay afloat after the pandemic ground to a halt global travel and tourism. Travel for leisure and business remains mostly suspended even in countries with relative success in containing the outbreak.
Thailand's reluctance to open its borders makes it one of the most difficult markets for Minor, Mr Heinecke said.
