Marriott Hotels invitedthe region's most inventive thought leaders to engage in inspiringconversations at Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield in India's tech andinnovation hub.

Bengaluru,India - Media OutReach - 7 September2018 - Marriott International'sflagship brand Marriott Hotels continues to spark creative ideas and meaningfulconversations worldwide, hosting its second TED Fellows salon in Asia Pacificon September 6^th at the Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield in India. The event was attended by an engagedcrowd of over 200 movers and shakers including innovative entrepreneurs, MarriottRewards loyalty members, international media and influencers as well as top businessschool students. Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield was chosen as thedestination to host this year's Marriott TED Fellows Salon because of the city'sreputation as India's hub of technology and innovation.

Marriott Hotels 'Women in Innovation' TED Salon featuring speakers Trang Tran, Asha de Vos and Zubaida Bai and panel moderator Peggy Fang Roe, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer for Asia Pacific, Marriott International (left to right).

Atthe event, three TED fellows shared personal and professional stories aroundthe theme of "Women in Innovation'. The speakers included women's healthadvocate Zubaida Bai fromIndia, a passionate activist for improving global maternal health. She is thecreator of the simple but revolutionary 'clean birth kit' to provide saferchildbirths for impoverished women in the developing world. Meanwhile, founderof 'The Sri Lankan Blue Whale Project', marine biologist, whale conservationistand educator Asha de Vos shared apowerful message that whales must be protected because they play a crucial rolein the health of the world's oceans. The third speaker, Trang Tran,is an agriculture entrepreneur and co-founder of Fargreen, and shared about howshe's working with farmers to build sustainable, prosperous communities in hernative Vietnam. 

 "We are excited to bring the next event in theTED Fellows Salon series to Bengaluru as part of our partnership with MarriottHotels," said Shoham Arad, director of TED Fellows. "Our TED Fellows programwas established in 2009 to bring together innovators and thought leaders toaddress some of the world's most pressing issues through the sharing of ideasand strategies. The speakers at this Marriott salon in Asia Pacific representedsome of the best and brightest thinkers of their generation who are workingtowards making positive, meaningful and lasting change in their communities."

Tofurther strengthen Marriott Hotels' commitment to innovation -- ahead of theevening TED Salon, a roundtable luncheon hosted by former award-winningBloomberg anchor and the founder of Narramur communications agency, Angie Lau,brought together a dynamic community of nine Asian entrepreneurs to engage inthought-provoking conversations on 'Women in Innovation' and share ideas on howthey're innovating in their respective fields.

"Itwas a pleasure to spark a conversation between innovative influencers and beingable to share ideas on how to support Women in Innovation," said Peggy FangRoe, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, Asia-Pacific, Marriott International."Innovation and creativity are key to our success as a travel company. Thecompany's flagship brand Marriott Hotels is leading the pack with brilliantpartnerships exemplified by this year's TED Fellows Salon, which is a primeexample of how we offer money-can't-buy experiences to our guests and loyaltymembers."

Theongoing global partnership between Marriott Hotels and TED is now in its secondyear, following its launch in 2016 and has been expanded to include moreexciting and innovative programming at Marriott Hotels in key destinationsworldwide. Marriott Hotels is a brand that's geared towards a new generation oftravelers, who continuously seek fresh inspirations and creative ideas duringtheir own life-changing journeys around the world.

"Backedby 60 years of history, Marriott Hotels continues to innovate and inspire brilliancein our guests -- and this TED Salon has really brought to life what the brandstands for," said Mike Fulkerson, Vice President, Brand & Marketing AsiaPacific, Marriott International. "Marriott's salons engage with travelersaround the world through its inspiring, empowering messages and we look forwardto continuing this partnership in 2019 to bring these exciting experiences tomore guests across Asia Pacific."

Inaddition to last night's TED Salon in Bengaluru, there will be TED Fellows Salons held atMarriott Hotels in exciting destinations including Boston, Cairo and Athens inupcoming months.Marriott Hotels also recently launched its newest Instagram story series, #MarriottHotelsxTEDFellows,which offers viewers original, inspiring content and an inside look at theirfavorite idea engine. To watch the series, follow @marriotthotels on Instagramand stay tuned for content throughout the year.

For more information, please visit tedtalksmarriott.com.

About Marriott Hotels

With over 500 hotels and resorts in 65countries and territories around the world, Marriott Hotels is evolving travelthrough every aspect of the guest's stay, enabling the next generation toTravel Brilliantly. Boldly transforming itself for mobile and global travelerswho blend work and play, Marriott leads the industry with innovations,including the Greatroom lobby and Mobile Guest Services that elevates style& design and technology. Marriott Hotels is proud to participate in theindustry's award-winning loyalty program, MarriottRewards® which includes The Ritz-Carlton Rewards®. Members can now linkaccounts with Starwood Preferred Guest® at members.marriott.com for instant elite status matching and unlimited pointstransfer. To learn more, visit www.MarriottHotels.com. Stay connectedto Marriott Hotels on Facebook, @marriott on Twitterand @marriotthotels on Instagram.

AboutTED

TED is a nonprofit organizationdevoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, usually in the form of short, powerful talksdelivered by today's leading thinkers and doers. Many of these talks are givenat TED's annual gathering in Vancouver, Canada, its TEDWomen and TEDGlobalconferences, and at thousands of independently organized TEDx events around theworld, then made available, free, on TED.com andother channels.

TED's open and free initiatives forspreading ideas include TED.com, where new TED Talkvideos are posted daily; TEDx,which provides licenses to thousands of individuals and groups who host local,self-organized TED-style events around the world; the TED Fellows program,which selects innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of theirremarkable projects and activities; Subtitles and interactive transcripts aswell as translations from thousands of volunteers worldwide; and theeducational initiative TED-Ed.