Spotlight ON: Genna Panagopoulos, Head of Development, US & Canada at Minor Hotels

Coloring Outside the Boundaries: How Minor Hotels Is Rethinking Luxury Development in North America

ILHA Inspire Speaker Series

The definition of luxury hospitality is expanding, and Genna Panagopoulos is energized by what that means for the industry’s next chapter. As Head of Development for Minor Hotels in the US and Canada, the group behind Anantara, NH Collection, and Tivoli, Panagopoulos is growing a global portfolio of over 600 hotels into a market that’s ready for something different. Not a lesser brand. A different one, with the operational depth of an established player and the agility of a company that still picks up the phone.

Panagopoulos joins us at ILHA Inspire this December in Orlando. Here’s what she’s seeing from the development side of luxury hospitality.

Building Experience Into the Asset From Day One

The shift Panagopoulos is seeing in development conversations starts earlier than it used to. Owners and investors are no longer treating guest experience, particularly F&B and wellness programming, as something to layer on after the building is designed. They’re building it into the asset from the start.

“We’re thinking about that from the onset versus retroactively. And it’s working, because it means it’s getting woven into the entire guest journey.”

Wellness is a prime example. Spa and wellness experiences are expanding beyond interior spaces into outdoor environments, integrated into the master plan of the property rather than confined to a single floor. When the design of an outdoor space ties to the ethos and emotion a property wants to create, the result is cohesive, across design, construction, and operations. It’s a fundamentally different approach than retrofitting an experience into an existing footprint.

What Owners Want From a Brand Partner Now

The owner’s conversation has changed. Panagopoulos is seeing a growing community of investors who’ve worked with the established household-name brands for years, and are now looking for something different. Not less. Different.

They still want distribution, loyalty infrastructure, and operational experience. But they also want direct relationships with the C-suite of their brand partner. They want to be one of a smaller pool of owners, not one of thousands. And they want a partner that’s nimble enough to communicate with.

“A lot of big brands are actually being forced into re-evaluating and soul-searching to determine how they recapture that community of owners.”

It’s a dynamic that plays directly into Minor Hotels’ positioning: an established global operator entering North America with the credibility of 600-plus properties worldwide and the vision of a brand building its presence from the ground up.

The Upper Luxury Opportunity in North America

Geographically, Panagopoulos sees enormous opportunity. Coming into a new market without an existing footprint means no constraints, and the upper luxury segment continues to grow. Anantara, Minor’s flagship luxury brand, is the vehicle.

The bet is that guests are becoming less married to loyalty systems than they once were. They’re willing to try something new, with a caveat.

“There has to be a really distinctive product. There has to be a reason that’s drawing somebody there to try something new they’ve never heard of.”

That’s the bar. Distribution and recognition get you considered. A distinctive product is what earns the stay.

Luxury Is Coloring Outside Its Own Lines

The concept Panagopoulos is most excited about heading into the year ahead is the widening definition of luxury itself. The old metrics, five-fixture plumbing, 500-square-foot guest rooms, no longer capture the full spectrum. Entry luxury, approachable luxury, lifestyle luxury, upper luxury, experiential luxury: the segment is proliferating, and Panagopoulos sees that as a sign of vitality, not dilution.

“We’re widening that definition, and redefining what luxury means is going to be such an exciting journey.”

For developers, owners, and operators, the implication is clear: more flexibility is coming, and the brands and properties that thrive will be the ones willing to color outside the boundaries the industry drew for itself.

Hear More at ILHA Inspire

Genna Panagopoulos joins us live at ILHA Inspire this December in Orlando to share the developer’s perspective on where luxury is heading and what owners should be building for next. If you’re thinking about what the next generation of luxury development looks like in North America, this is a conversation you’ll want in the room for.