Upfront

EIH terminates Hilton alliance for Trident brand

EIH has announced its plans to terminate its strategic alliance for marketing and co-branding with Hilton International for the Trident Hilton brand in India. It has given notice to Hilton of its decision, which will come into effect from March 31, 2008. Consequently, the existing Trident Hilton hotels in Gurgaon, Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai and Cochin will be rebranded Trident effective April 2008 as also the Hilton Towers in Mumbai which will be rebranded Trident Towers.

Apparently, EIH wishes to independently pursue the development of its Trident brand in India which it would be unable to do if it maintained the Hilton alliance. According to sources, EIH is confident that Trident Hotels will continue to expand successfully.