Considering that a common identity called for a common family name,
the managers of the time chose “MINOTEL”, a contraction of
Minos
and Hotel. In Greek mythology, Minos was the son of Zeus and
Europe.
Minotel International was meant to be a chain of independent hotel
chains. It took years and years trying to affiliate foreign hotel
groups which were dedicated to the same fundamental values such as
a warm welcome and a comfy sleep, local character and mastery of
the trade. Over the years, the many insolvable problems raised by
the integration of hotel groups became ever more apparent and the
chain more and more opened to the affiliation of independent
hoteliers. In 2004, the chain initiated steps to create a more
compact structure with improved performance. Since Minotel
International and Minotel Suisse merged in the beginning of 2005,
healthy synergies have developed particularly on the promotional
and reservations levels. The positive showing of Minotel is
reflected on the hotel level since the average number of
reservations per hotel in comparison to 2004 has tripled in
Switzerland and almost quadrupled abroad.
Within the hotel industry, Minotel was a pioneer in the
internet area. Minotel’s first web site went live at the end
of November 1995. It at first only existed in English and simply
listed the Minotel hotels. As time went by, requesting reservations
became possible. The current, user-friendly version went live in 5
languages at the end of January 2000 : English, French, German,
Italian and Spanish. Since then, the secure Minotel web site offers
plenty of hotel information, great savings and bookings with
instant confirmation. In the first quarter of 2006, Chinese was
added as a 6th language.
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