Starwood Hotels and Resorts' Aloft brand has launched in India, with the first opening in Chennai.
Aloft Chennai has 130 "loft-like" rooms, and is located in Whitefield, the hub for IT development in Chennai.
A second Aloft hotel is due to open in Bangalore next month.
Aloft is Starwood's newest brand. Dubbed by Starwood as its "design-led, social-experience brand", its aimed at tech-savvy frequent travellers.
According to Vasant Prabhu, vice chairman and CFO for Starwood, India will become a key market for the Aloft brand's development.
"India is a key focus of Starwood's expansion efforts in large part because it is a market that today is relatively under-hoteled," he said.
"India is one of the most promising markets within Asia Pacific, with GDP estimates topping seven percent for the next two years and a consumer market expected to rank as the world's fifth biggest by 2025.
"The market is especially ripe for mid-market products like Aloft and we look forward to opening several more Aloft hotels in India over the next few years."
Since its launch in June 2008, more than 40 Aloft hotels have opened worldwide.
Future openings include London's Excel centre.
www.alofthotels.com www.starwoodhotels.com