NEW YORK, NY and ITHACA, NY, November 30, 2005 — The Pierre, a Taj Hotel, managed by Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, celebrated the official launch of The Pierre eKnowledgeSuite with eCornell on Tuesday, November 29th. The launch of The Pierre eKnowledgeSuite is the culmination of a strategic partnership between The Pierre and eCornell, a leading provider of executive and professional development, delivering online courses in Hospitality Management, Management Essentials, Food & Beverage Management, Executive Leadership, and Human Resources Management to The Pierre.

The Pierre eKnowledgeSuite provides state of the art education to the employees, no matter what their geographical location, via the Internet. This is in line with the hotel's vision to provide ongoing training and development to support continuous learning and management development.

"eCornell's outstanding course content, especially in the area of Hospitality Management, and the instructor-led online format were the primary reasons we selected them as our principal provider of online courses," said Rajan Lai, The Pierre's Training Manager.

"eCornell and The Pierre have collaborated to create The Pierre eKnowledgeSuite to fulfill the need to provide a highly effective and innovative training platform for our employees. They form the cornerstone of our Hotel and preserve The Pierre's competitive edge when they deliver the quality service and customized care, which epitomizes the art of hospitality, for which the Hotel is recognized," added Yvonne Mancini, The Pierre's Director of Human Resources.

"It became apparent in our discussions that the development of a cost effective and viable learning center will have to involve e-learning, given the hectic schedules of the hospitality professions and the challenges posed of addressing the needs of all the hotels around the globe." said Tom Abogabal, eCornell's Director of Corporate Accounts. "eCornell offers state of the art education that is accessible to managers across the globe and easily administered and managed via the web incurring no infrastructure or IT delivery costs."

"eCornell is delighted to have The Pierre, a Taj Hotel, as a business partner," said Chris Proulx, eCornell's CEO. "We are pleased that they have selected eCornell to be their main partner deliver to on-line Ivy League instruction to their employees."

The creation of the Pierre eKnowledgeSuite was the culmination of the conceptual goal of developing an online center for professional development, in which the emphasis was to be placed on developing all staff to assume progressively senior roles in the Company.

About The Pierre, New York, A Taj Hotel:
The Pierre, New York's landmark hotel on Central Park at Fifth Avenue is a testament to understated elegance. With its distinctive design, superb location and outstanding service, The Pierre is regarded as one of the world's finest luxury hotels. Located just across Fifth Avenue from Central Park and steps away from the famous Fifth and Madison Avenues, the hotel is a stroll from the most fabled attractions of New York. The Pierre offers outstanding personal service complemented with the charm and comfort of a European residence, accented by original 1930s detailing and the art of trompe l'oeil. Courteous and multilingual staff (over 35 foreign languages spoken) makes international guests at home.

About Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces:
For more than 100 years, we have acquainted guests with the living heritage of India - and a legendary experience in hospitality. It began on December 16, 1903, when Jamshetji Nusserwanji Tata opened Taj's first hotel, the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Mumbai. This grand hotel epitomized a philosophy that still holds true today: provide impeccable service and unparalleled facilities so every stay is a memorable one. A part of the Tata Group of companies, India's premier business house, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces comprises 56 hotels in 39 locations across India with an additional 17 international hotels in the Maldives, Mauritius, Malaysia, Seychelles, UK, USA, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Africa, and the Middle East. Over the years, Taj has won international acclaim for its quality hotels and its excellence in dining, business facilities, interiors, and world-class, personalized service. In India, Taj is recognized as the premier hospitality provider, spanning the length and breadth of the country, and gracing important industrial towns and cities, beautiful beaches, historical and pilgrim centres, and wildlife destinations. From world-renowned landmarks to modern business hotels, and idyllic beach resorts to authentic Rajput palaces, each Taj hotel offers an unrivalled combination of warm Indian hospitality, contemporary, efficient service, and modern luxury. To learn more about Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, please visit www.tajhotels.com.

About eCornell:
Established and wholly-owned by Cornell University, eCornell has the most comprehensive online, professional and executive development curriculum offered by any top-20 university in the United States. eCornell provides exceptional online learning experiences tailored for professional and executive development in the areas of strategy, leadership and management development, human resources, financial management, and hospitality management. Collaboration between Cornell faculty experts and learning and user-experience designers provide for engaging, rigorous, and interactive learning. For more information, please visit www.ecornell.com/capability.