ITC Hotels

ITC Hotels is an Indian hotel chain, which is a part of the ITC Limited. With over 100 hotels, it is India's third largest hotel chain. It has a franchise agreement to operate most of its hotels as part of The Luxury Collection of Marriott International.

History
ITC Limited entered the hotel business on 18 October 1975 with the opening of a hotel in Chennai, which was renamed as Welcomhotel By ITC Hotels, Cathedral Road, Chennai.

ITC Hotels has hosted many visiting royalty and world leaders, including George W. Bush, Vladimir Putin, and Barack Obama. and Donald Trump.

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

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 from ITC Ltd. to ITC Hotels in 1986.

In an effort to unlock value and focus on core competencies, ITC Ltd. decided to demerge its hotel business into a separate entity in 2023. The board of ITC Ltd. granted in-principle approval for the demerger under a scheme of arrangement. Sanjiv Puri, the CMD of ITC, elaborated that the move is part of a broader strategy for capital raising and debt expansion. The spinoff will happen at a 10:1 ratio, and an IPO is expected to take place in 15 months. The company will hold a stake of around 40% in the new entity, while the balance will be held by the company’s shareholders proportionate to their shareholding.

Brands
The group today operates under several distinct brands:


 * Fortune Hotels, which has 35+ hotels
 * ITC Hotels, which has 15 hotels
 * Welcomhotel by ITC Hotels, which has 20+ hotels
 * WelcomHeritage, which has 50+ hotels