Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in select properties
is introducing amenities tailored to guests from India, the company announced
on Tuesday. Similar to a program for Chinese travelers launched in 2011, the
hotels will provide such in-room amenities as tea kettles, masala tea and
Indian breakfast items.
The first participating properties include the Sheraton
Centre Toronto, the W Barcelona, the Sheraton Macau Hotel Cotai Central, the
St. Regis Florence and Le Meridien Ile Maurice in Mauritius. Starwood vice
president of global corporate sales Alice Caravello-Harrington told BTN that the program would "expand
quite aggressively" in the coming years.
"India travelers are on pace to do 30 times the amount
they're currently traveling in outbound travel by 2020,"
Caravello-Harrington said. "We want to make sure when they're on the road,
they're comfortable in our hotels and see things they want to see on the menu
to personalize the experience."
Starwood in the next few years also plans to expand its
program to target outbound travelers from other rapidly developing regions.