STARWOOD LAUNCHES LOYALTY PROGRAM FOR MEETING PLANNERS

Starwood Preferred Planner Offers Rewards and Recognition

SINGAPORE - June 1, 2000 - Starwood Hotels & Resorts has announced the launch of a loyalty program for meeting planners in Asia-Pacific, Starwood Preferred Planner. Designed to reward and recognize meeting partners, Starwood Preferred Planner is the largest program of its kind in the hotel industry worldwide. It was launched in 1999 in North America and is now being rolled out to meeting planners around the world.

Starwood Preferred Planner is the latest innovative loyalty program from Starwood Hotels & Resorts. Starwood Preferred Planner enables meeting planners to be enrolled as members of Starwood Preferred Guest which was recently named 1999 Hotel Program of the Year by consumers via InsideFlyer magazine’s Freddie Awards. Starwood Preferred Guest also received Freddies for Best Customer Service, Best Web Site, Best Elite-Level Program and Best Award Redemption. Introduced in February 1999, Starwood Preferred Guest was also ranked the number one hotel loyalty program in the world as reported by USA Today.

Membership in Starwood Preferred Guest means the planners can earn free hotel nights, airline flights and more when they hold meetings or events at Starwood’s worldwide portfolio of over 700 hotels in 80 countries, covering the following brands: Westin, Sheraton, St. Regis, Luxury Collection, Four Points and W Hotels. Starwood Preferred Planner replaces Westin’s Golden Gavel program and Sheraton’s Meeting for Miles program.

Starwood Preferred Planner Offers Great Rewards
Starwood Preferred Planner rewards meeting planners with free flights, free hotel nights, education, and more. Here’s how it works:

· Meeting planners must sign up for Starwood Preferred Guest to enjoy the benefits of Starwood Preferred Planner.

· Planners earn StarpointsSM — good for free nights, free flights and more—on all business including room revenue, meeting room rental and catering.

· Members earn one StarpointSM for every $3US spent during their meeting, with a maximum bonus of 20,000 points per meeting.

· In addition to earning points for their meetings, planners can also earn StarpointsSM for their personal hotel folio.

· StarpointsSM can be awarded to meeting buyer, planner or designee or can be split among a maximum of three Starwood Preferred Guest members.

· Clients are welcome to donate StarpointsSM to charity, via the StarGift program. StarGift is designed to provide families, individuals and children with travel and accommodation in times of crisis or to help make a special dream come true. StarGift donates StarpointsSM to Make-A-Wish, UNICEF and Juvenile Diabetes Fund.

Recognition is an Important Component of Starwood Preferred Planner
Because hotel recognition is constantly cited by meeting planners as a crucial benefit, Starwood Preferred Planner features the following:

· Starwood Preferred Planner members will enjoy upgraded accommodations, services and other benefits while on property at participating hotels in the Starwood group.

· Members of Starwood Preferred Planner will be given a pin to wear at hotels during meetings and site inspections that identify them as VIPs, ensuring that hotel employees recognize their special needs and the needs of their groups.

Key Features of Starwood Preferred Guest
Launched in February 1999, Starwood Preferred Guest replaced Sheraton Club International and Westin Premier. Travelers and critics have praised Starwood Preferred Guest’s policy of no blackout dates and no capacity controls that enable members to redeem stays when and where they want – a feature that sets Starwood Preferred Guest apart from all of its competitors. In addition, Starwood Preferred Guest offers travelers instant awards, online redemption and the easiest way to a free flight with 1 to 1 conversion of points to miles on most of our 27 airline partners. More than 700 hotels in 70 countries participate in Starwood Preferred Guest – a portfolio that includes more hotels in Hawaii, more in Mexico, more in Europe and more luxury properties than any other hotel frequency program.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., through its St. Regis, Luxury Collection, Westin, Sheraton, Four Points and W brands, is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 700 hotels in 80 countries and 120,000 employees at its owned and managed properties.