THAILAND 〉 PR NEWS

Minor international secures another win in its

thai legal claim against marriott international
PUBLISHED : 1 APR 2022 AT 13:58

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Further to its obligation to keep its stakeholders informed of material

events, Minor International (“MINT”) makes the following statement.

MINT, through a subsidiary, has filed a legal claim in Thai court against
Marriott International, Inc. (“Marriott”) in relation to the JW Marriott
Phuket Resort & Spa (the “JW Marriott Phuket”) which is owned by MINT
and operated by the Marriott group. MINT’s claim is for damages of THB
570,605,134 and alleges that Marriott has committed numerous serious
offenses under Thai law, including:

actively and openly competing with the JW Marriott Phuket through its
operation of competing Marriott portfolio hotels;
using the facilities of the JW Marriott Phuket to promote Marriott’s
other competing hotels; 
misappropriating MINT’s confidential and proprietary information to
promote Marriott’s competing hotels and unlawfully benefit Marriott’s
interests at MINT’s expense;
 forcing the JW Marriott Phuket to accept high volumes of low margin
business through Marriott’s loyalty program and operating its loyalty
program in bad faith and against the interests of MINT as hotel owner;
failing to manage the JW Marriott Phuket in a manner that properly
protects and benefits the owner’s interest, including implementing poor
purchasing practices, high staff turnover and making damaging
sales/marketing decisions; and
unduly enriching Marriott at the expense of the hotel and MINT,
through non-transparent license fee arrangements, supplier rebates and
use of monies in the Marriott loyalty program fund. 

The Thai court, in its latest decision, once again affirmed MINT’s right to
pursue legal action against Marriott in Thai court and under Thai law. This
most recent court decision is yet another strong assertion by the Thai
courts of their jurisdiction over matters of Thai law, despite Marriott’s
attempts to block Thai hotel owners from holding Marriott accountable for
its actions in Thailand. MINT understands that other Marriott hotel
owners, including in Thailand, are closely monitoring MINT’s legal case.
Indeed, the Thai court’s decision will be highly encouraging to other Thai
hotel owners seeking to ensure that Marriott will be required to answer for
its actions under Thai law and in the Thai courts. We are aware of at least
one other Thai hotel owner that has terminated Marriott’s hotel
management contracts and we expect that others will follow suit shortly.
MINT has also strengthened its legal team through the appointment of
BH2I, a law firm comprised of lawyers with extensive relevant experience,
to act as additional legal counsel on its legal cases against Marriott to
ensure a positive outcome for MINT and other Marriott hotel owners.

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Steve Chojnacki, Chief Commercial Officer and General Counsel

of MINT, said: “Marriott appears desperate to avoid facing these Thai law
claims in Thai court, notwithstanding that the hotel is located in Thailand
and has a Thai owner. Given Marriott’s business presence in Thailand, we
are surprised at its attempt to apply onerous contractual provisions to
avoid accountability for its business practices in Thai court. We have full
confidence in the Thai court system and have every expectation of a
positive outcome for Minor International in our Thai law proceedings
against Marriott.” 

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About Minor International: Minor International (MINT) is a global

company focused on three core businesses: hospitality, restaurants and
lifestyle brands distribution. MINT is a hotel owner, operator and investor
with a portfolio of over 520 hotels under the Anantara, Avani, Oaks, Tivoli,
NH Collection, NH, nhow, Elewana, Marriott, Four Seasons, St. Regis and
Radisson Blu brands in 56 countries across Asia Pacific, the Middle East,
Africa, the Indian Ocean, Europe, South and North America. MINT is also
one of Asia’s largest restaurant companies with over 2,300 outlets system-
wide in 24 countries under The Pizza Company, The Coffee Club,
Riverside, Benihana, Thai Express, Bonchon, Swensen’s, Sizzler, Dairy
Queen, Burger King and Coffee Journey brands. MINT is one of Thailand’s