Starwood Hotels & Resorts Strikes a Chord with Amped up Music Experiences

Musically-inclined SPG members are singing a sweeter tune thanks to new, members-only music offerings and once-in-a-lifetime interactive artist experiences. Starwood Preferred Guest® (SPG®), the award-winning loyalty program from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) is partnering with Trevanna Entertainment, a live music consulting agency, to produce another remarkable year of the signature in-hotel music series, Hear the Music, See the World. Additionally, through SPG’s expanded relationship with AEG, the largest sports and entertainment presenters in the world, getting into the world’s most exciting music festivals and the best luxury suites is now a reality.

“Music moves our members, so we’re making this year’s program even more memorable, which will deepen our relationship with our most valuable guests,” said Mark Vondrasek, Senior Vice President, Distribution, Loyalty and Partnership Marketing for Starwood Hotels & Resorts. “Through SPG’s music program, we’re redefining what loyalty programs can do. We’re continuing to cultivate loyalty beyond reason with all of our members by providing them once-in-a-lifetime access to music’s top talent and the chance to see amazing performances from the comfort of SPG’s luxury suites in some of the world’s best venues.”

Up Close and Personal
SPG’s Hear the Music, See the World concert series has become one of the most popular SPG Moments. Tickets for this year’s intimate, acoustic series become available April 7, 2015. SPG members can redeem Starpoints at spg.com/moments to attend any of the five in-hotel performances, which gives fans the rare opportunity to connect with their favorite artists in intimate settings.

Confirmed 2015 Hear the Music, See the World performances include:

Aloft & Element		Aloft/Element Miami Doral Miami, Florida		June 26		Nate Ruess
W		W Beijing Beijing, China		July 4		Zhang Zhen Yue
St. Regis		The St. Regis Mexico City Mexico City, Mexico		October 8, 2015		Jamie Cullum
Westin		Westin Palace Madrid Madrid, Spain		October 30, 2015		Bastille
Sheraton		Sheraton LA Downtown Los Angeles, California		November 5, 2015		John Legend

“There is nothing better than getting up close and personal at small venues with fans who love music as much as I do,” said John Legend. “I get to perform for these devoted fans in the most beautiful settings at the most incredible hotels in the world. SPG delivers what matters most to us – bringing music to the people.”

“Suite Access” to the #spglife

Through its expanded relationship with AEG, SPG is giving its members the opportunity to enjoy the #spglife outside of Starwood’s more than 1,200 hotels. Members can enjoy powerful performances from the comfort of SPG’s Luxury Suites in AEG affiliated venues such as STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, Shanghai’s Mercedes-Benz Arena and London’s The O2, which are all part of the AEG Facilities venue portfolio. Members can share their experience at the SPG “selfie spot” while enjoying the SPG bar and other suite perks. Redemption begins April 7, 2015 at spg.com/moments.

Sold Out Festivals? Not for SPG Members
Now SPG Members will have priority access to festivals including the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Barclaycard Presents British Summertime Hyde Park, which typically sell out in days if not hours. Through SPG, members can get sold out VIP or General Admission passes, behind the scenes tours, the best views of the stages, access to hospitality and AMEX lounges, catered dinners and more.

Enjoy the Music on Us
SPG members can register to win epic music prizes through a one-of-kind sweepstakes including all-expense paid trip for two to one of the five in-hotel Hear the Music, See the World performances around the world, a SPG Luxury Suite takeover or 50,000 Starpoints towards their next unforgettable SPG Moments experience. Beginning today through May 22, 2015, any SPG member who registers for the sweepstakes and books an elgible two-night stay at any Starwood property through the SPG app will be entered to win.

Members can earn additional entries by sharing a photo on Twitter or Instagram from their favorite SPG Moments experience or hotel stay and tagging #spglife in their post. Members can register for the sweepstakes at spg.com/hearthemusic.

For more information about SPG’s 2015 music program, please visit: spg.com/hearthemusic.

About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 1,200 properties in some 100 countries and over 180,000 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 recently announced plans to spin off its Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc. business, a premier provider of world-class vacation experiences through villa-style resorts and privileged access to Starwood brands, into a standalone public company by the end of 2015. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.

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 more than 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 Trevanna Entertainment
Trevanna Entertainment, Inc. is a live entertainment consulting company providing once-in-a-lifetime music experiences for international lifestyle brands. For additional information, visit www.TrevannaEntertainment.com.

About AEG
AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anschutz Company, owns or is affiliated with a collection of companies including over 100 of the world’s preeminent facilities such as STAPLES Center (Los Angeles, CA), StubHub Center (Carson, CA), Best Buy Theater (Times Square, New York), Mercedes-Benz Arena (Shanghai, China), Allphones Arena (Sydney, Australia) and The O2 arena and entertainment district (London, England). Developed by AEG, L.A. LIVE is a 4 million square foot / $3 billion downtown Los Angeles sports, & entertainment district featuring Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE, Club Nokia, and a 54-story, 1001-room convention "headquarters" destination. In addition to overseeing privately held management shares of the Los Angeles Lakers, assets of AEG Sports include franchises such as the LA Kings, LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo and the Amgen Tour of California cycling stage race. Along with AEG Facilities, other global divisions include AEG Live, the world’s second largest concert promotion and touring companies comprised of touring, festival, exhibition, broadcast, merchandise and special event divisions and AEG Global Partnerships, responsible for worldwide sales and servicing of sponsorships, naming rights and other strategic partnerships. In 2010, AEG launched its AEG 1EARTH environmental program featuring the industry's first sustainability report while in 2011, AEG introduced AXS a comprehensive entertainment platform serving as the company’s primary consumer brand including AXS Ticketing which provides fans the opportunity to purchase tickets directly from their favorite venues via a user-friendly ticketing interface, Examiner.com and the AXS TV network.

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Contact information

STARWOOD HOTELS & RESORTS
Media Contacts:
Maire Griffin, 347.931.4186
maire.griffin@starwoodhotels.com