MINOR Hotel Group will be rebranding its 413-room Bangkok Marriott Resort and Spa as Anantara Bangkok Riverside in November, growing the brand’s portfolio in the Thai capital to three properties.

Anantara Hotels, Resorts and Spas senior vice president Peter Carmichael said there would be an official announcement of the changes at ITB Berlin next week. “The moves are part of plans to establish the Anantara brand in key cities worldwide and compete with big-name players,” he said.

According to an industry source, the upgrading of Bangkok Marriott to Anantara is seen as Minor's attempt to drive rates more aggressively and avoid dilution, given the growing number of Marriott-branded properties in Bangkok.

Minor manages four properties and owns 12 in Thailand, including the soon-to-be-launched 224-key The St Regis Bangkok. Of the 16 properties, eight are branded Anantara.

Anantara also manages the 79-key Anantara Baan Rajprasong Serviced Suites Bangkok and 425-room Anantara Bangkok Sathorn. The latter, initially launched as a Radisson hotel in late-2009, joined Anantara’s network yesterday.