STAMFORD, Conn.--Aug. 22, 2012-- Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) today announced that it has completed the sale of W Chicago - Lakeshore to Chesapeake Lodging Trust for $126 million. As part of the sale, Chesapeake has agreed to undertake a comprehensive property renovation to the hotel's 520 guestrooms; public spaces, including the Living Room, Wave restaurant, Whiskey Sky rooftop bar and the Welcome Desk; and prime meeting space, Altitude, with 360 degree views of the city. Starwood has entered into a 40-year management agreement with full extensions to continue operating the hotel under the W flag.

"As part of our asset light strategy, we continue to look for opportunities to sell our owned real estate at the right time to the right owners, which is in the best interest of our shareholders," said Simon Turner, President of Global Development for Starwood. "Chesapeake has been one of our valued partners, and we are pleased to expand our relationship with them to deliver an unparalleled W experience to our guests at W Lakeshore for many years to come."

W Lakeshore, located at 644 North Lake Shore Drive, is a full-service, luxury property with deluxe guest rooms, more than 12,000 square feet of meeting and event space, a SWEAT state-of-the-art fitness center, a 9,600 square foot Bliss® Spa and the acclaimed Wave restaurant. The hotel is the only hotel on Lake Michigan, and is the closest hotel to Navy Pier and within walking distance of East Michigan Avenue and Chicago's business districts.

About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1,112 properties in nearly 100 countries and 154,000 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 ElementSM. 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 http://www.starwoodhotels.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.)