WHITE PLAINS, New York, December, 2010 - Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) announced today that the Company has received a refund of previously paid taxes and related interest from the Internal Revenue Service of approximately $245 million relating to the 1998 disposition of World Directories, Inc.

The federal tax treatment of the disposition was disputed by the IRS and the matter was most recently under the jurisdiction of the US Tax Court. In October 2010, the previously proposed settlement was formally agreed to by both the Company and the IRS. The US Tax Court then issued an order for the IRS to pay the refund of the taxes and interest to the Company closing out the matter for both parties.
About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1,025 properties in 100 countries and approximately 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood® Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, Sheraton®, Westin®, Four Points® by Sheraton, W®, Le Méridien®, and the recently announced 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.