Preferred Hotel Group Announces Partnership With India’s Luxury Hotel Group, The Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts

Preferred Hotel Group is pleased to welcome The Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts to its collection of over 650 hotels and resorts worldwide. The Leela currently represents four of India’s leading luxury properties in the key locations of Mumbai, Bangalore, Goa and Kovalam, all of which are members of the Preferred Hotels® & Resorts brand. The group has aggressive expansion plans for six more properties in the next four years.

“Preferred Hotel Group is very committed in expanding its infrastructure and its partner hotel presence in India. As part of this growth, we are delighted to be working with The Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts who have aggressive development plans to rapidly increase their portfolio in key business and leisure locations throughout India,” said Ananya Narayan, Area Managing Director, India and Middle East.

According to Onno Poortier, President of The Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts, “The USA is the largest source market for The Leela, and this alliance will strengthen our brand positioning, awareness and market penetration.”

This strategic alliance will provide The Leela Palaces extensive access to four of the largest consortias – American Express®, Carlson Wagonlit, BCD and Hogg Robinson; global and regional joint marketing programmes; airline frequent flyer programmes and credit card partnerships as well as drive international sales through the 29 global sales offices of Preferred Hotel Group.

About Preferred Hotel Group
Celebrating 40 years of excellence, Preferred Hotel Group is a global leader in the hospitality industry, delivering high-performance sales, marketing, and technology solutions to more than 650 independent hotels and resorts in over 75 countries. Its family of brands represents a collection of the finest hotels in the world and include: Preferred Hotels® & Resorts (www.PreferredHotels.com), Preferred Boutique™ (www.PreferredBoutique.com), Summit Hotels & Resorts™ (www.SummitHotels.com), Sterling Hotels™ (www.SterlingHotels.com) and Historic Hotels of America™ (www.HistoricHotels.org). For more information please visit www.PreferredHotelGroup.com.

In September 2007, the company entered the luxury real estate market with the launch of Preferred Residences™ – a membership and exchange program for luxury shared ownership resorts that provides an exceptional level of service and amenities. Properties are held to exacting standards derived from the same Preferred Global Standards of Excellence™ on which the company has built its 40-year heritage in the hospitality industry. For more information please visit www.PreferredResidences.com.

About The Leela Palaces
Hotel Leelaventure Ltd. owns and operates The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts in Mumbai, Bangalore, Goa, and in Kovalam (Kerala); have new developments in Gurgaon (opens Nov. 2008) and Udaipur (opens Jan. 2009), Chennai (opens 2009), New Delhi (opens 2010), Hyderabad and Pune (opens 2011), and already have marketing alliance with Kempinski (Hoteliers since 1897) and are members of Global Hotel Alliance headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.