Starwood Hotels & Resorts Extends Global Partnership with MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS

Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG®), the award-winning loyalty program from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT), today announced a two-year extension of its partnership with the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team. SPG® officially launched the new global partnership at the start of Formula One’s 2012 European season and after three successful years together the two partners have now announced that their relationship will continue ahead of the United States Grand Prix.

Considered the most prestigious form of motor racing in the world, Formula One consists of a series of races known as ‘Grands Prix’ held on purpose-built and street circuits. Through this partnership with MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS, SPG has been able to offer its members unique access to experience exclusive Grand Prix events and in incredible destinations too, such as Spain, Monaco, Singapore, Brazil, Abu Dhabi and more.

“From one-of-a kind views of the pit lane to meeting the drivers in incredible destinations, the unique and exclusive experiences we have offered as a result of this partnership have helped drive SPG Members’ excitement for this popular sport,” said Mark Vondrasek, Senior Vice President, Distribution, Loyalty and Partnership Marketing for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. “Our extended collaboration with the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team enables us to continue creating memorable moments for our SPG guests, feeding their passion for this world-class sport.”

Access Like No Other
As part of the multi-year strategic partnership, Starwood Hotels & Resorts reaffirms its position as the preferred hotel partner of MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS globally. Members of the SPG program, which is free to join, can now continue to register for their chance to redeem over 120 Access Like No Other experiences, offering unparalleled access to the team. To date, these experiences have included exclusive meet-and-greets with the drivers and incredible one-of-a-kind views of the pit lane from the team’s VIP hospitality suites at major Grand Prix events worldwide. SPG members will continue to have access to off-track experiences including the racing simulator and being part of the team’s Race Support whereby they can watch races at the factory with the engineering team, taking them closer to the center of the action – all by using their Starpoints®.

Such events with the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS team have proven highly popular with SPG members. Since the first year of the partnership, there has been a 250 per cent growth in members redeeming their points to participate and bids up to 300,000 Starpoints in order to secure exclusive access to the United States Grand Prix in Austin. To continue to take advantage of this access and more, members can visit SPG.com/moments.

Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, Toto Wolff, commented: “We are delighted to have extended our partnership with Starwood Preferred Guest for a further two years. Not only have our team enjoyed the benefits of staying in some wonderful Starwood properties as we follow the Formula One calendar around the globe but we can see the tangible benefits reflected in the excitement and enthusiasm of the SPG members who join us over the race weekends for their exclusive experiences. Knowing that our association with SPG has helped to drive the success of their membership programme is very satisfying and we look forward to more successful seasons together.”

About Starwood Preferred Guest
Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG®) is an innovative, award-winning frequent traveler program that unites each of Starwood’s 9 distinctive hotel brands and includes more luxury hotels in more destinations around the world. SPG reinvented the hospitality loyalty landscape when it launched in 1999 with its breakthrough policy of no blackout dates, and over the years has continued its tradition of innovation with enhancements such as Cash + Points, SPG Moments^SM, and most recently Your24™ and SPG Lifetime™. In addition to Free Night Awards at nearly 1,200 hotels and resorts and Award Flights on over 350 major airlines without blackout dates, the Starpoints® that members earn through SPG can be redeemed for access like no other to experiences in music, sports and the arts through SPG Moments. SPG offers the opportunity for meeting and travel professionals to earn rich rewards including Starpoints and elite status through SPG Pro. SPG also has an ongoing commitment to digital innovation to meet the needs of today’s connected global traveler – from the SPG app for iPhone that utilizes state-aware technology to create a more personalized hotel stay to Starwood’s Best Rate Guarantee on SPG.com, to SPG’s integration within various social media platforms. Offerings such as these have helped SPG build a passionate member base among the world’s most frequent travelers. Learn more at spg.com , spg.com/pro and spg.com/moments and connect with us on facebook.com/spg, twitter.com/spg, foursquare.com/spg, pinterest.com/spglife, and youtube.com/spg.

About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1,200 properties in 100 countries and 184,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, Aloft®, and Element®. The Company boasts one of the industry’s leading loyalty programs, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG®), allowing members to earn and redeem points for room stays, room upgrades and flights, with no blackout dates. Starwood also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., a premier provider of world-class vacation experiences through villa-style resorts and privileged access to Starwood brands. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.

About MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team
The MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team competes in the FIA Formula One World Championship and is based at the team’s Operations Centre in Reynard Park, Brackley. Home to over 600 employees, the team is owned jointly by Daimler AG along with Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda. The engines for the team’s Formula One cars are provided by Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire. For more information, visit: www.mercedesamgf1.com.

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(Note: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities regulations. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and involve risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made. These risks and uncertainties are presented in detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be attained or that results and events will not materially differ. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.). The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

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Contact information

Press Contacts:
Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Julien Guitard, +32 2 204 5160
Associate Director Communications, Europe, Africa & Middle East
julien.guitard@starwoodhotels.com
or
MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team
Nicola Armstrong, Mobile: +44 7793 844549
Head of Partner & Event Communications
narmstrong@mercedesamgf1.com