Marriott International is a leading lodging company with more than 2,800 lodging properties in 68 countries and territories. Marriott International operates and franchises hotels under the Marriott, JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Courtyard, TownePlace Suites, Fair field Inn, Spring Hill Suites and Bulgari brand names; develops and operates vacation ownership resorts under the Marriott Vacation Club International, Horizons, The Ritz-Carlton Club and Grand Residences by Marriott brands; operates Marriott Executive Apartments; provides furnished corporate housing through its Marriott Executive Stay division; and operates conference centers and golf courses. The company is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and had approximately 143,000 employees at 2005 year-end. It is ranked as the lodging industry's most admired company and one of the best places to work for by Fortune magazine. The company is also a 2006 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Energy Star partner. In fiscal year 2005, Marriott International reported sales from continuing operations of $11.6 billion.
About Pune
Located approximately 180 kilometers southeast of Mumbai, Pune is an important industrial, educational and research center, hosting such industries as information technology, auto manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and cosmetics. It is served by an international and domestic airport and is connected to other major cities in India through convenient air and rail links. The city is also just a 3-hour drive from Mumbai via expressway.
A verdantly green city, about 40 percent of Pune's land mass is covered by trees and greenery. Pune is home to the University of Pune and Fergusson College, the Center for Development of Advanced Computing, the National Chemical Laboratory and the Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics. The city boasts almost 500,000 domestic and international university level students, is widely regarded as the "best foreign language center" in India, and has the highest PC penetration of any city in the country.