Marriott International Opens Area Operations and Regional Global Sales Office in Mumbai

Rajeev Menon Named Area Vice President for India, Pakistan, Maldives & Malaysia; Anant Joshi Appointed Regional Global Sales Director for India

In response to the growing importance of India as a hotel market and as a generator of travel to its more than 2,900 hotels worldwide, Marriott International has opened a regional office in Mumbai that will house its area operations and regional sales offices.

At the same time, Rajeev Menon has been named to the newly-created position of area vice president for India, Pakistan, Maldives & Malaysia; and Anant Joshi has been appointed regional global sales director for India. Both gentlemen will be located in Marriott’s new Mumbai regional office.

Earlier, Marriott opened a Development office in Gurgaon which is responsible for the company’s growth in the country.

“We are excited by the heightened importance of India to our global business,” said Geoff Garside, executive vice president for Asia-Pacific. “Earlier this year, we announced the expansion of our existing hotel portfolio in India to 21 properties by the year 2010 from six hotels today. Since then, we have announced two more hotels, a Courtyard property in Amritsar and a second Renaissance hotel in Bangalore, which will bring our India portfolio to 23 hotels by 2010 with more on the way. Concurrently, our sales volume within India is growing by double digits and our RevPar (revenue per available room) was up 32 percent in the third quarter as a result of the country’s rapidly expanding, vibrant economy and emerging middle class.

“Opening an office here to house both our area operations and our regional global sales teams is a logical next step for us. Mumbai is a dynamic city and three of our existing hotels in India are located here. We see tremendous future potential in India and are energized by the prospects.”

Among the first initiatives to be jointly hosted by the teams headed by Mr. Menon and Mr. Joshi was an Indian Sales Mission in late October.

Rajeev Menon, Area Vice President-India, Pakistan, Maldives & Malaysia

As area vice president for India, Pakistan, Maldives and Malaysia, Rajeev Menon leads a team that is responsible for the operations of 14 existing hotels and 15 additional properties that are currently announced and in Marriott’s development pipeline. He replaces Craig Smith in India who has assumed similar responsibilities for Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Macau.

Most recently, Mr. Menon served as Marriott’s country manager for Australia and New Zealand as well as general manager of the Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel where he was responsible for the eight properties managed by Marriott International in Australia.

“Raj brings a wealth of experience into his new role,” said Mr. Garside. “He’s been a successful hotel operator in India and Australia. As we expand our operations into new markets in India and elsewhere in the region, his background will be especially valuable as he and his team help bring our new hotels into the portfolio and as they open new markets.”

Prior to his assignment in Australia, Mr. Menon was general manager of the Renaissance Mumbai Hotel & Convention Center and Lakeside Chalet Marriott Executive Apartments in Mumbai.

A graduate of Naval Public School in New Delhi, Mr. Menon holds a diploma in Hotel Management, Catering & Nutrition from PUSA in New Delhi. He began his hospitality industry career in 1991 with Welcomgroup Sheraton Hotels as an assistant manager of food & beverage and progressed in various food & beverage and operational capacities with Radisson Hotels & Resorts and Stamford Hotels & Resorts prior to joining Marriott in 2001.

During his career, he served as Deputy Chairman of the Australian Hotels Association, was named General Manager of the Year in 2004 by Marriott International and was recognized as Young General Manager of the Year in 2003 by the Indian Hotel & Restaurant Association.

Mr. Menon reports to Mr. Garside.


Anant Joshi, Regional Sales Director-India

As regional sales director for India, Anant Joshi is responsible for providing strategic leadership to all of Marriott’s global sales offices in India. Together with his team, he will focus on penetrating current and potential high-value accounts to increase sales across all of Marriott’s revenue streams in the country.

Mr. Joshi joined Marriott in 1986 as director of international sales for Marriott’s Orlando World Center Resort & Conference Center. Over the years, he has held a number of director of sales and marketing positions with a variety of Marriott hotels and resorts, most recently as director of marketing for the Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino. He also served as area director of sales & marketing for Marriott’s Caribbean & Latin American region.

“Anant’s broad knowledge of our hotels, customers and the regional nuances will contribute immeasurably to his new role,” said David Townshend, Marriott’s senior vice president-corporate segments & international sales. “By working closely with Mr. Menon and his team, Anant will help ensure that Marriott’s combined sales efforts and resources in the region are leveraged appropriately to take full advantage of the opportunity India presents.”

Mr. Joshi holds an AAS degree in Hotel management from Hinds College in Jackson, Mississippi, in the U.S. and an Associate Degree in Food Technology from the Food Craft Institution in Bangalore, India.

Mr. Joshi reports to Mr. Townshend.

Information about the location and telephone contact numbers of the new office will be available shortly.