STARWOOD HOTELS & RESORTS AND THE UNION ENTERPRISE GROUP SIGN STRATEGIC ALLIANCE AGREEMENT TO DEVELOP

FOUR POINTS HOTELS BY SHERATON IN TAIWAN

First Four Points Hotel in Taiwan Will Open in April 2001

SINGAPORE, April 12, 2000 - Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. has signed a Strategic Alliance Agreement with the Union Enterprise Group of Taiwan to develop Four Points Hotels by Sheraton in Taiwan.

The Strategic Alliance Agreement kicked off with the signing on April 12, 2000 of the franchise agreement for the first Four Points hotel in Taiwan - Four Points Hotel, Chung-Ho - set to open 12 months later, in April 2001.

Four Points Hotels was launched in 1995 by Sheraton as a premium, mid-priced lodging brand offering a full-service hotel experience. All Four Points Hotels by Sheraton offer room service, an on-premise restaurant serving three meals daily, meeting rooms with full-service catering capabilities, fitness facility, and most have swimming pools.

Designed for business and leisure travelers seeking complete and consistent service, Four Points Hotels by Sheraton has since grown to include more than 120 properties in ten countries. Four Points Hotels was voted #1 in the Best Midscale Hotel Chain category in the "1999 Top U.S. Hotel Chain Survey" by readers of Business Travel News. Business Travel News is a leading trade publication for corporate travel planners. Four Points Hotels was ranked ahead of several competitors in its category, including Courtyard by Marriott and Hilton Garden Inn.

Four Points Hotels offer well-designed functional guestrooms with fast and efficient check-in and checkout. Key features of guest rooms will include a comfortable work space with a large desk, telephone with dataport, coffee makers, irons and ironing boards and complimentary national newspaper delivered daily. Four Points Hotels are rated highly for its efficient and reliable service, and for providing the regular services that guests need, extraordinarily well.

"Taiwan is attracting a growing number of business travelers who visit not only the capital city of Taipei, but also regional cities such as Chung-Ho, where manufacturing centers and industrial parks are being established and growing. They need value-priced hotels which offer international business services and consistent, quality accommodation to provide them

with the support to conduct their business efficiently," said Kevin Lin, Managing Director, The Union Enterprise Group. "Four Points by Sheraton provides the perfect level of accommodation services for such travelers," he added. The Union Enterprise Group is one of Taiwan's leading corporations, with interests in property, banking, publishing and textiles.

"Four Points by Sheraton is the world's fastest growing brand catering to the mid-scale market and we see tremendous growth opportunities in Asia-Pacific. This year, we are introducing the Four Points brand for the first time in three countries in Asia-Pacific - Taiwan, Australia and China - and we expect to have at least 10 Four Points hotels signed and under development by 2001," said Ted Teng, President, Asia-Pacific, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. "We are very proud to be working with the Union Enterprise Group and honored that they have selected the Four Points brand for their hotel venture in Taiwan."

Four Points Hotel, Chung-Ho is located in the city center of Chung-Ho, one of the four regional centers of Taipei. Chung-Ho is approximately 20 minutes from downtown Taipei and is one of the designated technology parks in Taipei catering to the manufacturing, electronics and information technology industries. Four Points Hotel will be the only international brand hotel in Chung-Ho, Taipei, when it opens in April 2001. The 12-storey hotel features a classic architecture with stone and tile finishing and rich interior detailing.

Hotel facilities will include:

§ 126 guest rooms, with latest internet access facilities

§ Two food and beverage outlets, including an all-day restaurant and a lobby-cum-deli lounge

§ Ballroom catering for up to 300 persons for a banquet

§ Meeting rooms for corporate events

§ Health club with spa, sauna, steam and plunge pool

§ Business center

Four Points Hotels has launched an aggressive growth plan in Asia-Pacific. Within the first four months of this year, Starwood has announced five Four Points Hotels in the region. The first Four Points Hotel to start operations will be the Four Points Hotel in Sydney (formerly Hotel Nikko Darling Harbor), the largest hotel in Australia. The hotel will be rebranded as Four Points Hotel, Sydney in May 2000. This will be followed by two other Four Points hotels in Australia - Four Points Hotel in Geelong (opening in August 2000) and Four Points Hotel in Port Macquarie (opening at the end of 2001). The first Four Points Hotel in China was recently signed and the Four Points Hotel in Pudong, Shanghai will open in early 2001.

Four Points Hotel, Chung-Ho, will welcome members of the Starwood Preferred Guest program - winner of five of the nine 1999 Freddies Award (by InsideFlyer Magazine), including Top Hotel Frequent Guest Program of the Year, as voted by frequent travelers and also rated the #1 Hotel Loyalty Program by USA Today. Starwood Preferred Guest is one of the easiest, most flexible and rewarding hotel loyalty programs. It features innovative and breakthrough features such as no blackout dates, no point expiration dates for active members, plus instant awards and on-line redemption through the program's website at www.preferredguest.com.