MISSION DELICIOUS: WESTIN HOTELS & RESORTS LAUNCHES GLOBAL COMPETITION TO COOK UP NEW ‘EAT WELL MENU FOR KIDS’

KIDS GET A SEAT AT THE TABLE AS WESTIN ASSOCIATES PUSH LIMITS TO DELIVER NUTRITIOUS & DELICIOUS OPTIONS FOR EVEN THE PICKIEST YOUNG PALATES

May 18 2016,  12.09 PM IST || Pocket News Alert

STAMFORD, CONN. – May 19, 2016 – Part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: HOT), Westin Hotels & Resorts today announced a global competition to reinvent recipes for the brand’s Eat Well Menu for Kids.  Beginning next month, associates of more than 200 hotels and resorts will have six weeks in their kitchens to demonstrate their culinary creativity and recreate the kids menu for today’s smallest global guests. After a rigorous selection process, up to 40 of the world’s best recipes will be provided to each property, giving them the flexibility to create their own regionally-relevant Eat Well Menu for Kids.

“Today’s littlest travelers may or may not be adventurous eaters, but we thought it was important to offer families healthy menu options and introduce fresh alternatives for those who may prefer fries to faro,” said Brian Povinelli, Global Brand Leader, Westin Hotels & Resorts.  “As a brand committed to our guests’ well-being, we are delighted to refresh the Eat Well Menu for Kids with input from our associates and their families with the goal to make eating well a bit more playful and appealing.”

Over the next two months, hotel teams will dream up dishes that are nutritious, delicious and show local flair. Once finalized, teams will submit their entry, including an Instagram-worthy food photo to a panel of judges, including the experts at SuperChefs, a group of nutritionists dedicated to educating children on eating well.  Westin will share the winning recipes with all of its hotels and resorts around the world, allowing each property to choose which to be featured on their own Eat Well Menu for Kids.

Westin’s guests will be invited to participate along the way. Multiple hotels will host taste testing events, gathering feedback from associate families and younger guests as they ideate, create and perfect recipes.  Four of the finalists will also be invited to host SuperChefs Cookery Classes, hands-on cooking experiences that allow younger guests to come into the kitchen, create the new recipes and be sous-chef for a day.

Foodies and families can also follow #missiondelicious on Westin’s social media platforms for updates throughout the competition, a behind the scenes look at the development of the recipes and a sneak peak at the selection process.  Finalists of the competition will be announced in August and will appear on the kid’s menus beginning in September 2016.

The Westin Eat Well Menu for Kids builds on the brand’s global Well-Being Movement, an initiative dedicated to inspiring guests and associates to discover new approaches to wellness through innovative partnerships and programs across the brand’s six pillars of well-being: Feel Well, Work Well, Move Well, Eat Well, Sleep Well and Play Well. First introduced in 2014 as a delicious and nutrient-rich offering for families, the Eat Well Menu for Kids was created in partnership with SuperChefs to give parents more healthful options for their children when on the road.

This competition follows the recent launch of Westin Family, a global program promoting a sense of well-being for families through interactive programming and signature amenities offered at all hotels, as well as physical play spaces at many resorts. With a growing global demand of family travel and their evolving needs, both programs reinforce Westin’s commitment to helping maintain our families’ well-being while on the road.

For more information about the Westin Eat Well Menu for Kids, please visit: westin.com/wellbeing. For more information about Westin Family, please visit: www.westin.com/family.

About Westin Hotels & Resorts

Westin Hotels & Resorts, a leader in wellness and hospitality for more than a decade, lives its philosophy “For a Better You™” through the Westin Well-being Movement’s six pillars: Feel Well, Work Well, Move Well, Eat Well, Sleep Well and Play Well. At more than 200 hotels and resorts in nearly 40 countries and territories, guests can experience offerings that include the iconic Heavenly® Bed, RunWESTIN™ and Westin Gear Lending with New Balance®, delicious and nutritious SuperFoodsRx™, the innovative workspace Tangent, Westin Weekend signature experiences, and Heavenly Bath and Heavenly Spa. Westin is proud to offer Starwood Preferred Guest®, the industry’s leading loyalty program. To learn more, visit www.starwoodhotels.com/westin. Stay connected to Westin: @westin on Twitter and Instagram and facebook.com/Westin.

Read More »

ITC Limited renews its partnership of nearly 4-decades with Starwood Hotels & Resorts

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

April 8 2016,  14.04 PM IST || Pocket News Alert

New Delhi, April 7, 2016 – 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 over US$ 7 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.

Read More »