agreements signed  for 12 existing hotels and 3 new ITC Luxury Collection hotels
 

ITC Limited and  Starwood Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:HOT) today announced that agreements have  been signed to extend their existing partnership  for 11 ITC Luxury Collection hotels and 1 hotel under the Sheraton brand.  Further strengthening their partnership, the two also announced 3 upcoming ITC  hotels under The Luxury Collection brand in India. The addition of the ITC  Kohinoor in Hyderabad, ITC Narmada in Ahmedabad and ITC  Royal Bengal in Kolkata will take the inventory up to 15 hotels,  over the next 4 years.
 

Speaking on the  extension of the partnership, Nakul Anand, Executive Director, ITC Limited,  said, "ITC’s hotels exemplify our commitment to create world-class Indian  brands that demonstrate global competitiveness. The association with Starwood  Hotels & Resorts for close to 4 decades, bears testimony to this commitment  and we are pleased to further strengthen our alliance with 3 upcoming ITC  luxury hotels in Kolkata, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad, which will be an archetype  of the culture and region they are located in."
 

Commenting on this  occasion, Mr. Thomas Mangas, Chief Executive Officer, Starwood Hotels &  Resorts Worldwide Inc., said, "Starwood is experiencing strong growth momentum  in India with signings of new hotels in the past 12 months representing nearly  30% of our current operating footprint in the country.  India remains one  of our fastest growing markets and much of our success can be attributed to our  long, collaborative partnership with ITC. Together with ITC and our highly  experienced local team, we look forward to offering our guests and customers  more choices in more places, and our continued mutual success in the country."
 

Through this  extension, we have further strengthened our partnership with ITC Hotels to  offer international and Indian guests unique experiences in these new  destinations," said Dilip Puri, Managing Director India and Regional Vice  President, South Asia, Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
 

This long standing  partnership between the two companies came into being in 1979 with the Sheraton  brand. In 2007, both companies signed an agreement through which Starwood  introduced The Luxury Collection brand in India, which at present stands at 11  hotels. The Luxury Collection brand philosophy of offering unique experiences  indigenous to their destination complements ITC Hotels’ own ethos of being  rooted in the Indian tradition of warm, personalized service with Responsible Luxury  at its core.
 

About ITC Hotels:
 

ITC Hotels is one of  India’s largest luxury hotel chains. It operates under four distinct brands  with more than 100 hotels in over 70 destinations in the country. Integrating  India’s fine tradition of hospitality with globally benchmarked services, the  luxury hotels reflect the culture and ethos of each destination. With  ‘Responsible Luxury’ as its guiding premise, ITC’s Luxury Collection hotels  combine grandeur with intimacy to operate according to the highest principles  of environmental stewardship. With 11 LEED® Platinum certified hotels, ITC  Hotels is the Greenest Luxury Hotel Chain in the World. The brand features  opulent accommodations, state-of-the-art business facilities, renowned  signature cuisine and award-winning wellness experiences. The 11 ITC Luxury  Collection properties are: ITC Maurya in New Delhi, ITC Mughal in Agra, ITC  Windsor and ITC Gardenia in Bengaluru, ITC Grand Central and ITC Maratha in  Mumbai, ITC Grand Chola in Chennai, ITC Rajputana in Jaipur, ITC Kakatiya in  Hyderabad, ITC Sonar in Kolkata and ITC Grand Bharat in the New Delhi Capital  Region. Other brands in ITC’s hotel group repertoire are: ‘WelcomHotel’ in the  5 star segment, Fortune in the mid-market to upscale segment and ‘WelcomHeritage  in the heritage leisure segment. For more information, visit www.itchotels.in.
 

About ITC Limited
 

ITC is one of India's  foremost private sector companies and a diversified conglomerate with interests  in Fast Moving Consumer Goods, Hotels, Paperboards and Packaging, Agri Business  and Information Technology.  With a market capitalisation of around US$ 40  billion and a turnover of nearly US$ 8 billion, ITC has been ranked amongst the  top 10 'sustainable value creators' in the consumer goods segment globally by  the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). It is the only company in the world to be  carbon positive, water positive and solid waste recycling positive, with its  businesses supporting around 6 million sustainable livelihoods. ITC Chairman Mr  Y C Deveshwar was ranked the 7th Best Performing CEO in the world by the  Harvard Business Review. In 2014, ITC was ranked as India’s most admired  company by Fortune India magazine in association with Hay Group.
 

About The Luxury  Collection® Hotels & Resorts
 

The Luxury  Collection® brand is comprised of world-renowned hotels and resorts offering  unique, authentic experiences that evoke lasting, treasured memories. For the  global explorer, The Luxury Collection offers a gateway to the world's most  exciting and desirable destinations. Each hotel and resort is a unique and  cherished expression of its location; a portal to the destination's indigenous  charms and treasures. Originated in 1906 under the CIGA® brand as a collection  of Europe's most celebrated and iconic properties, today The Luxury Collection  brand is a glittering ensemble, set to exceed 100 of the world's finest hotels  and resorts in more than 30 countries by the early 2016. All of these hotels,  many of them centuries old, are internationally recognized as being among the  world's finest. For more information and new openings, visit  theluxurycollection.com or follow Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
 

About Starwood Hotels  & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
 

Starwood Hotels &  Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in  the world with nearly 1,300 properties in some 100 countries and over 188,000  employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood is a fully integrated  owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences under the  renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury  Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®,Tribute  Portfolio™, Four Points® by Sheraton, Aloft®, Element®, along with an expanded partnership with  Design Hotels™. The company also boasts one of the industry’s leading loyalty  programs, Starwood  Preferred Guest (SPG®). Visit www.starwoodhotels.com for more information and stay connected  @starwoodbuzz on Twitter and Instagram and facebook.com/Starwood.