Showcasing brands Starwood style

Dinkar Farwaha - Mumbai

ITC Grand Central, Mumbai was host to the Starwood exposition held on August 31, 2007. The exposition was attended by the key decision-makers from the corporate and travel trade industry. They met all the participating hotels, depending upon their interest in the respective destinations. The participating hotels also had one-on-one sessions with the buyers from other sectors such as conference organisers, online travel portals, airline and tourism bodies.

The one-day event showcased all the ten brands (The Luxury Collection, Le Meridien, St Regis, Westin, Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, W hotels, Aloft, Element and Bliss) operating under the Starwood portfolio of hotels and resorts. Dhananjay Saliankar, regional director (Global Sales), Starwood Hotels & Resorts, said, "The objective is to increase the market visibility for all brands under Starwood thereby providing a platform for buyers from all the sectors to explore their business opportunities by showcasing the unique strengths of each one of our brands."

Others representing the group included Christie Hicks, senior vice president global sales, Alison Taylor, vice president sales (Asia Pacific), Stephen Ford, regional vice president (India, Nepal & Bangladesh), Larry Malarkar, regional director (Sales & Marketing) for India, Nepal and Bangladesh, and Vijay Nair, director sales (South India).

Various representatives from Starwood properties in Asia Pacific and EAME region participated in the exposition. Hicks met senior leaders from the travel industry including Nasrulla Tejani, managing director, Equino Fun holidays, Sushil Wadhwa, managing director, Platinum Incentives, Lalit Sheth, chairman, Raj Travels World, Nalini Gupta, president and head (Travel), Thomas Cook and Ashwin Damera, CEO of TravelGuru. The evening cocktail party, followed by dinner, gave everyone an opportunity to mingle with the representatives.