Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts joins Global Hotel Alliance

The six Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) partners Kempinski, Omni, Pan Pacific, Dusit, Landis and Marco Polo have welcomed Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts as their seventh member.

GHA’s CEO, Chris Hartley, said, “India is one of the largest and fastest emerging economies in the world today and will play a key role in the development of the global travel market in the years to come. Leela is poised to become the leading luxury hotel brand in India within the next few years, with coverage of all the major business and resort locations in the country, and thus Leela perfectly fits the role as GHA’s regional member for India.”

Leela’s founder, The Hon’ble Chairman, Capt. C. P. Krishnan Nair, who named the hotel brand after his wife, Leela, feels that membership of GHA will assist to strengthen Leela on the international stage. “With our landmark hotels in Bangalore and Mumbai and world class resorts in Goa and Kovalam Beach/ Kerala, Leela has already established its brand name in India. Now with our rapid growth across India’s cities and resorts coupled with our membership of GHA, I am confident that Leela will come to be acknowledged internationally as the brand, which truly reflects the essence of India” he said.

As well as the hotels in Mumbai, Bangalore, Goa and Kovalam Beach (Kerala), the Leela currently has Deluxe Hotels under development in New Delhi, Udaipur, Chennai (Madras), Pune and Hyderabad. The hotels will all open in the next two to three years.

Meanwhile GHA completed its merger with the Asian Hotels Alliance in January and Dusit, Marco Polo and Landis are now fully integrated into GHA’s sales, marketing and distribution systems.

GHA is expected to expand during 2007 to add members which cover markets and destinations as yet not represented by the alliance. It is expected that this will include, among others, new members from France, Spain, Italy, Scandinavia and Central & South America, as well as a replacement for Rydges in Australia.

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