ITC Hotels is an Indian hospitality company that operates and manages

hotels A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a refr ...

. It has over 100 hotels and is India's third largest hotel chain. It has a franchise agreement to operate most of its hotels as part of

The Luxury Collection Marriott International, Inc. is an American multinational company that operates, franchises, and licenses lodging brands that include hotel, residential, and timeshare properties. Marriott International owns over 37 hotel and timeshare brands w ...

Marriott International Marriott International, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational company that operates, franchises, and licenses lodging brands that include hotel, residential, and timeshare properties. Marriott International owns over 37 ho ...

. ITC Hotels was a subsidiary of

ITC Limited ITC Limited is an Indian conglomerate, headquartered in Kolkata. It has a presence across six business segments, namely FMCG, agribusiness, information technology, paper products, and packaging. It generates a plurality of its revenue from t ...

until its demerger in 2025.

History

The India Tobacco Company entered the hotel business on 18 October 1975, with the opening of the Chola Hotel in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

. In 1979, as ITC's Welcomgroup hotel chain grew, it partnered with

Sheraton Hotels Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is an American international hotel chain owned by Marriott International. As of June 30, 2020, Sheraton operates 446 hotels with 155,617 rooms globally, including locations in North America, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Centr ...

to brand many of their properties as Sheratons. ITC Hotels has hosted many visiting royalty and world leaders, including

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

and

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

. The hotel chain works on a philosophy of "Responsible Luxury" and each hotel in the chain has a

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a Green building certification systems, green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating ...

(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum rating. Originally incorporated as Rama Hotels Pvt Ltd in 1972 and renamed Vishwarama Hotels in 1973, the Vazir Sultan Tobacco Co Ltd. (

VST Industries VST Industries Ltd is an Indian Public company, publicly-listed company which manufactures and distributes cigarettes. The company is headquartered in Hyderabad. VST Industries started off as the Vazir Sultan Tobacco Company, and became an ...

) bought Vishwarama Hotels in 1980–1981 and soon after, in 1982, the first luxury hotel for the new chain opened in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

. In 1984, ITC Ltd. bought the entire equity capital from VST. In 1985, the Indian government awarded the hotel that would later become the ITC Gardenia a five-star rating. The company name was changed to ITC Hotels in 1986. In an effort to unlock value and focus on core competencies,

decided to demerge its hotel business into a separate entity in 2023. The board of ITC Limited granted in-principle approval for the demerger. Sanjiv Puri, the CMD of ITC, elaborated that the move is part of a broader strategy for capital raising and debt expansion. On 1 January 2025, the ITC Hotels

demerger A demerger is a form of corporate restructuring in which the entity's business operations are segregated into one or more components. It is the converse of a Mergers and acquisitions, merger or acquisition. A demerger can take place through a cor ...

officially came into effect. Shareholders of ITC were allotted one share of ITC Hotels for every 10 shares of the parent company.

Brands

The group today operates under several distinct brands: *ITC Hotels, which has 17 hotels *Mementos, which has 2 hotels *Welcomhotel by ITC Hotels, which has 25 hotels *Storii By ITC Hotels, which has 6 hotels *Fortune Hotels, which has 53 hotels *WelcomHeritage, which has 3 hotels

References

External links

* {{Hotel chains Hotel chains in India Hotels established in 1975 Companies based in Kolkata 1975 establishments in West Bengal ITC Limited Companies listed on the National Stock Exchange of India Companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange