aloft Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga will appeal to Los Angeles business travelers and Joshua Tree road-trippers alike. The hotel is designed to appeal to both audiences by providing convenience, playful public spaces and varied entertainment offerings for today�s road warrior. 
Just minutes from the Ontario Convention Center, aloft Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga is close to world-class shopping venues including Victoria Gardens and Ontario Mills. The hotel also offers easy access to the Ontario International Airport. 
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Hotel�s signature bar w xyz ^SM
aloft Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga
10480 Fourth Street, Rancho Cucamonga, California

�We are thrilled to bring our exciting new twist in travel to the ever-growing Rancho Cucamonga community,� said Brian McGuinness, Global Brand Leader of aloft and element hotels worldwide. �In addition to serving our local neighbors with a great new lodging venue, we believe the hotel�s signature bar w xyz SM, is destined to become Rancho Cucamonga�s newest hot spot.� 

�We are privileged to be the first U.S. operator of this exciting new brand that introduces a whole new level of style and sophistication to both the business and leisure traveler,� said Thomas F. Hewitt, Interstate Hotels� Chief Executive Officer. �We intend to set the bar high for others to follow. We will open our second aloft in suburban Nashville this fall under a strategy to develop four to six aloft hotels with our joint venture partner, The John Buck Company.� 

�This is the second cutting-edge hotel brand that I�ve had the privilege of developing and opening in my career,� said Paul Novak, Managing Director-hospitality division of The John Buck Company. �The aloft brand is clearly the next great upper-tier, select-service brand targeted to a new generation of business and pleasure travelers. The aloft Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga is the first of several we have under construction or under development, and the joint venture continues to seek more opportunities to build, own and operate.� 

The southern California hotel is the second of 18 aloft hotels scheduled to open this year. On schedule to open later this summer are aloft hotels in Rogers, Arkansas; Lexington, Massachusetts; Chicago O�Hare Airport; Philadelphia Airport; Charleston Airport and Convention Center, North Carolina; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Portland Airport, Oregon and Beijing, China. 

aloft offers atmospheric public spaces designed to draw guests from their rooms to socialize and make friends. Savvy travelers can read the paper, work on their laptops via complimentary hotel-wide wireless Internet access, play a game of pool or grab a drink with friends at re:mix SM, the communal lobby area featuring the sassy w xyz bar. The re:charge SM fitness center and splash, the outdoor pool, give travelers options to de-stress and re-energize, while re:fuel by aloft SM, a one-stop food and beverage area, offers sweet, savory and healthy food, snacks and beverages to grab & go, 24 hours a day. 

Guest rooms feature urban-influenced design, while the centerpiece of each aloft room is an ultra-comfortable plush platform bed. Loft-like nine-foot ceilings and oversized windows create a bright, airy environment. Large, stylish bathrooms complement the guest experience with oversized walk-in showers and amenities created by bliss spa®. Each aloft room is also a combination high-tech office and entertainment center, featuring wireless Internet access and plug & play, a one-stop connectivity solution for multiple electronic gadgetry such as PDAs, cell phones, mp3 players and laptops - all linked to a large, flat-panel HDTV-ready television for optimal sound and viewing. 

Guests of aloft can book their stay directly through www.alofthotels.com which features the best rate guarantee. Guests also may book through their local travel agents. In addition, during the year of aloft hotel�s launch�2008�members of the Starwood Preferred Guest program can earn an unprecedented 8 Starpoints for every U.S. dollar spent (quadruple the base earning) when they register and then book a stay at any aloft hotel worldwide until December 31. Members of the award-winning and industry-leading Starwood Preferred Guest program currently earn two points for every dollar spent at a participating Starwood hotel. After racking up their Starpoints, SPG members can redeem their points for free nights with no blackout dates at more than 860 hotels and resorts worldwide. The offer is designed to celebrate the opening of aloft, the eighth hotel and lifestyle brand to join the Starwood Preferred Guest loyalty program. 

About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. 
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 900 properties in more than 100 countries and 155,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels 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, and the recently launched AloftSM, and ElementSM. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com. 

About The John Buck Company 
Founded in 1981, The John Buck Company offers comprehensive real estate services in the areas of development, finance, investment brokerage, project leasing, tenant representation, marketing and management, as well as construction for commercial, mixed-use and residential properties. The employee-owned firm is headquartered in Chicago. aloft Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga is owned by a joint venture that includes The John Buck Company (TJBC), an international real estate firm, and Interstate Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: IHR), one of the nation�s largest independent hotel management companies. The joint venture recently announced plans to build four to six aloft hotels over the next several years, which will be managed by Interstate under long-term management agreements. For additional information on The John Buck Company, please visit the company�s website at www.TJBC.com. 

About Interstate Hotels & Resorts 
As of today, Interstate Hotels & Resorts has ownership interests in 55 hotels and resorts, including seven wholly owned assets. Together with these properties, the company and its affiliates manage a total of 217 hospitality properties with more than 45,000 rooms in 36 states, the District of Columbia, Russia, Mexico, Belgium, Canada, and Ireland. Interstate Hotels & Resorts also has contracts to manage 17 to be built hospitality properties with approximately 4,000 rooms. For more information about Interstate Hotels & Resorts, visit the company�s Web site: www.ihrco.com. 

(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.) 

Starwood/Aloft hotels
Angela Bliss, 914-640-8334
[email protected]