Starwood Expands Personalized Travel Program to Cater to Indian Guests

Travelers will not find masala tea, dosa, and poori at many hotels outside of India, but the items will soon be available at six Starwood properties in the group's latest attempt to cater to new guests from India.

Starwood is making a play to capitalize on the booming traveler numbers coming out of the world's emerging economies. In 2011, it launched the Starwood Personalized Travel program to cater to Chinese guests in destinations around the world.

The hotel group is now expanding the program to include Indian travelers. The special touches include in-room amenities like slippers and tea kettles, cultural foods like masala tea and dosa, and customized wedding services.

Starwood has a strong presence in India, which is its fourth largest market with 37 hotels and 32 properties in the pipeline. Future growth prospects in India are only bested by China where 100 properties are under development.

Hilton Hotels offers a similar welcome package for Chinese guests called Hilton Huanying and IHG created a luxury hotel brand Hualuxe specifically for Chinese customers.