Through this agreement, Enron will:

• Supply or procure electricity and natural gas;
• manage energy infrastructure through the implementation of energy-related projects; and
• provide energy price stability at Starwood�s hotels.

According to Cotter, Starwood anticipates that with Enron�s guidance, the company will reduce energy costs by approximately $200 million over ten years.  �While conventional wisdom in the hotel industry has always been that you don�t invest dollars where the public won�t see it, in this case our capital investment is transparent to our guests, but clearly has a compelling financial return and significant environmental benefits.�

�As the first hospitality company to outsource energy management, Starwood�s foresight gives them a significant cost and efficiency advantage in the extremely competitive hotel industry,� said Lou Pai, chairman and CEO of Enron Energy Services.  �To ensure predictable and lower energy prices, we are providing Starwood the full range of our energy management services including commodity management, energy asset management and project management.�

Starwood and Enron officials recognize that there are many new technologies that make this the right time to significantly invest in energy consumption in the hotel industry.

�A decade ago, if we had tried to aggressively conserve energy in our hotels, it would have been very apparent to our guests, and not in a good way,� said Glenn Tuckman, Starwood�s senior vice president of operations.  �Light bulbs would have taken a few seconds to turn on and would have appeared dim at first; the TV remote control would not have worked properly and the temperature in guest rooms would have been erratic.  But today, with Enron, we�re able to embark on a path of massive energy reduction that is totally transparent to our guests, saves our hotels money, and favorably impacts the environment.�

In addition to its energy management program with Enron, and as part of its ongoing energy consumption campaign, Starwood will begin a major incentive program designed to encourage hotel associates to continually find innovative ways to conserve energy.

�We want every hotel associate to treat our hotels as they would their own home�after all, we all know to turn off lights when we leave a room in our house, but somehow, when it is a hotel, or office building or any other large public space, we just assume it�s someone else�s job to watch energy,� said Tuckman.  �With more than 55,000 employees, 135 million square feet of real estate throughout North America and approximately 2 million occupied guest rooms each month, a little personal energy conservation will go a very long way.�

Enron is one of the world�s leading electricity, natural gas and communications companies.  The company, with revenues of $40 billion in 1999 and $30 billion for the first six months of 2000, produces electricity and natural gas, develops, constructs and operates energy facilities worldwide, delivers physical commodities and financial and risk management services to customers around the world, and is developing an intelligent network platform to facilitate online business.  Fortune magazine has named Enron �America�s Most Innovative Company� for five consecutive years, the top company for �Quality of Management� and the second best company for �Employee Talent.�  

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 725 properties in 80 countries and 120,000 employees at its owned and managed properties.