THE WESTIN BANYAN TREE BANGKOK DOUBLES MEETING FACILITIES

 The Westin Banyan Tree, Bangkok is currently renovating the 11th and 12th floors of the hotel to expand its current meeting centre. Once completed, the meeting centre will double its capacity to cater to the demands of small and medium meeting planners. An estimated 15 million baht will be expended for this expansion.

Expected to be completed in early August, the newly expanded meeting centre will be directly accessible from guest suites. It features six meeting rooms with high ceilings, offering maximum capacity of 200 guests per room. Audio, visual, state-of-the-art technology is the standard for the meeting centre. Multiple phone lines, voice mail, video conference, wireless internet connection, multi-functional fax/printer/copier/scanner/fax modem and ROM service are all provided.

"In addition to providing better meeting facilities, we will also reward and recognize our meeting partners through the STARWOOD PREFERRED PLANNER program, the largest program of its kind in the hotel industry worldwide " remarks Mr. Andrew Jessop, General Manager of The Westin Banyan Tree, Bangkok.

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. 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 70 countries, covering the following brands: Westin Hotels & Resorts, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, St.Regis Hotels, Luxury Collection, Four Points and W Hotels. Starwood Preferred Planner replaces Westin's Golden Gavel program and Sheraton's Meeting for Miles program.

In addition to the meeting rooms, a full service Business Centre that operates 24 hours, offering a complete range of secretarial business services, personal computers and business library will be located in the

centre. The ROM Service, a team of cyber troubleshooters, is also available round the clock, providing assistance with regards to computer software, hardware and system setups.

The Westin Banyan Tree Bangkok is specifically targeted towards the upscale business traveler and meeting planner who demands the very best in service, comfort and business technology.

During the three and a half years of operation, the hotel has implemented many innovative services and products to meet the businessman's requirements. These services allow them to conduct their business and meetings more successfully (e.g., Westin One Call, Service Express, Westin Guest Office, ROM service, Executive Floor, new Meeting Center and Videoconferencing service).

Westin Hotels & Resorts, with more than 110 hotels and resorts in 23 countries, is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. 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 operating companies in the world with more than 712 hotels in 72 countries and 130,000 employees.