ALISO VIEJO, Calif., Nov. 1, 2012-- Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (the "Company") (NYSE: SHO) today announced results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2012.

Third Quarter 2012 Operational Results (as compared to Third Quarter 2011) ⁽¹⁾:

• Comparable Hotel RevPAR increased 5.1% to $138.01.
• Comparable Hotel EBITDA Margin increased by 130 basis points to 28.8%.
• Adjusted EBITDA increased by 14.6% to $60.1 million.
• Adjusted FFO per diluted share increased by 15.0% to $0.23.
• Income available to common stockholders was $30.9 million (vs. a loss attributable to common stockholders of $24.0 million in 2011).
• Income available to common stockholders per diluted share was $0.23 (vs. a loss attributable to common stockholders per diluted share of $0.20 in 2011).

Ken Cruse, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "During the third quarter our portfolio benefitted from solid demand trends and continued improvements in operational efficiency, which helped drive a 130-basis-point increase in our Comparable Hotel EBITDA Margin and a 15% increase in our Adjusted FFO per diluted share. Also during the third quarter we continued to improve our portfolio quality while deleveraging our balance sheet by acquiring an unlevered primary-market hotel and divesting of four highly levered, low-RevPAR secondary-market hotels."

Mr. Cruse continued, "We continue to make value-adding investments into our portfolio. We recently completed a $25 million full guestroom and bathroom renovation of our 807-room Renaissance Washington DC. While the renovation resulted in short-term displacement – negatively impacting our portfolio's Comparable Hotel RevPAR by 170 basis points and Hotel EBITDA Margins by 60 basis points in the third quarter – we believe the project will drive material outperformance at this hotel going forward. To this point, our 2013 group booking pace at the Renaissance Washington DC is now up more than 22% year-over-year, and the hotel now has more group rooms on the books for 2013 than in any year since 2007."

Mr. Cruse added, "In spite of solid industry fundamentals, with any cyclical recovery there will be periods of softer-than-anticipated growth in select markets. Accordingly, we have moderated our guidance for RevPAR and profitability growth for the remainder of 2012. With 2013 group booking pace up 8.1%, muted supply trends, and continued growth in transient demand, we remain positive in our outlook for 2013 and beyond."

Disclosure regarding the non-GAAP financial measures in this release is included on page 6. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP measure for each of the periods presented are included on pages 9 through 13 of this release.

The Company's actual results for the quarter ended September 30, 2012 compare to its prior guidance, adjusted for dispositions completed in the third quarter 2012, as follows:

Acquisitions / Dispositions Update

On July 19, 2012, the Company completed the previously announced acquisition of the 357-room Hilton Garden Inn Chicago Downtown/Magnificent Mile for a gross purchase price of $91.75 million. The acquisition was funded with a portion of the proceeds received from the Company's public offering of 12.1 million shares of its common stock (including the underwriter's exercise of its overallotment option).

On August 23, 2012, the Company completed the previously announced sale of the 284-room Marriott Del Mar for a gross sales price of $66.0 million. The Company received net proceeds of $17.7 million after proration adjustments and closing costs, including the assumption of the existing mortgage secured by the hotel which totaled $47.1 million on the date of sale, and recognized a gain on the sale of $25.5 million during the third quarter 2012.

On September 14, 2012, the Company completed the previously announced portfolio sale of the 229-room Doubletree Guest Suites Minneapolis, the 257-room Hilton Del Mar, the 350-room Marriott Troy and an office building next to the Marriott Troy (the "Portfolio Sale") for an adjusted gross sales price of $107.2 million, including the assumption of approximately $75.6 million in mortgage debt and approximately $2.2 million of deferred management fees. The Company received net proceeds from the Portfolio Sale of $28.6 million after proration adjustments, closing costs and the debt and deferred management fee assumptions, and recognized a $12.7 million gain on the sale during the third quarter 2012.

Balance Sheet/Liquidity Update

In September 2012, the Company amended and restated its $150.0 million senior unsecured revolving credit facility, which was scheduled to mature in November 2013. The pricing on the amended revolving credit facility was reduced and the 1% LIBOR floor was eliminated. The maturity of the credit facility was extended by two years to November 2015 with an option to extend to November 2016. The amended credit facility's interest rate is based on a pricing grid with a range of 175 to 350 basis points, which represents a reduction from the previous grid that ranged from 325 to 425 basis points over LIBOR depending on the Company's leverage ratio. The credit facility also includes an accordion option that allows the Company to request additional lender commitments up to a total of $350.0 million.

As of September 30, 2012, the Company had approximately $241.3 million of cash and cash equivalents, including restricted cash of $76.8 million.

As of September 30, 2012, the Company had total assets of approximately $3.1 billion, including $2.8 billion of net investments in hotel properties, total consolidated debt of $1.4 billion and stockholders' equity of $1.5 billion.

John Arabia, Chief Financial Officer, stated, "We continue to methodically execute on our balanced business plan and patiently de-lever our balance sheet in a shareholder friendly manner. Since the end of 2011, we have decreased total leverage by approximately $190 million, reducing our net debt plus preferred to Adjusted EBITDA, from approximately 8.2 times to approximately 6.8 times. We will continue to look for opportunities to grow the Company through highly-equitized acquisitions, but only when such acquisitions may be executed at attractive valuations relative to our cost of equity. Accordingly, given the recent softness in the value of our shares, we do not see equity-funded acquisitions as an attractive option at this time. The recent amendment to our undrawn credit facility provides us with incremental access to capital at a lower cost and with less restrictive covenants. That said, we do not currently expect to use our credit facility to fund acquisitions."

Capital Improvements

The Company invested $28.2 million in capital improvements into its portfolio during the third quarter of 2012, and $76.6 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2012.

The Company will begin renovating several of its hotels beginning in the fourth quarter 2012 and continuing into 2013. The Company expects approximately $2 million of revenue disruption during the fourth quarter 2012 and $6.0 - $8.0 million of revenue disruption during full-year 2013, the majority of which is expected to occur during the first quarter 2013. Significant near term renovations include:

• Hilton Times Square: The Company expects to invest approximately $15.0 million to fully renovate all guestrooms, guest bathrooms and corridors of the 460-room Hilton Times Square, creating a rich and appealing new rooms product. The renovation is expected to commence in January 2013 and is expected to be completed by April 2013.
• Hyatt Chicago Magnificent Mile: The Company expects to invest approximately $25.0 million on a complete renovation and repositioning of the 417-room Hyatt Chicago Magnificent Mile. The complete renovation will include all public spaces and guestrooms/bathrooms, elevating the hotel to a sophisticated destination catering to high-rated business transient and group travelers. The renovation is expected to commence during the fourth quarter 2012 and is expected to be completed during the third quarter 2013.
• Hyatt Regency Newport Beach: The Company expects to invest approximately $12.0 million to renovate all guestrooms and recreation facilities, as well as certain public spaces of the 403-room Hyatt Regency Newport Beach, establishing the hotel as a high quality resort destination catering to a broad range of business, leisure and group travelers. The renovation is expected to commence during the fourth quarter 2012 and is expected to be completed during the second quarter 2013.
• Renaissance Westchester: The Company expects to invest approximately $12.0 million to renovate all guestrooms and public spaces of the 347-room Renaissance Westchester, transforming the rooms and public spaces into stylish yet functional meeting, socializing and relaxing venues. The renovation is expected to commence during the fourth quarter 2012 and is expected to be completed during the second quarter 2013.

Hurricane Sandy Update

Following a preliminary physical inspection of its hotels, the Company is pleased to report that none of its hotels have reported any material damage related to Hurricane Sandy. The Company is assessing the short-term earnings impact of Hurricane Sandy and has included preliminary expectations for fourth quarter disruption in its 2012 Outlook.

2012 Outlook

Achievement of the Company's anticipated results is subject to risks and uncertainties, including those disclosed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company's guidance includes the Company's ownership period for all 2012 acquisitions and dispositions, as well as preliminary expected disruption resulting from Hurricane Sandy subject to further review, and does not take into account the impact of any future hotel acquisitions, dispositions, re-brandings, management changes, transition costs, prior-year property tax assessments and/or credits, debt repurchases or financings during 2012. Assuming no additional capital transactions are completed in 2012, the Company expects to apply net operating loss carryforwards to reduce taxable income in 2012. The application of the net operating loss carryforwards is viewed as a non-recurring event and therefore the Company will treat any state and federal taxes associated with the application of net operating loss carryforwards as a one-time expense and add them back to Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted FFO.

For the fourth quarter of 2012, the Company expects:

For the full year 2012, the Company expects:

Fourth-quarter and full-year 2012 guidance is also based on the following assumptions:

• Full-year capital investment of $85 to $100 million, including the $25 million renovation of the Renaissance Washington DC. Hotel revenue disruption of $3 to $5 million related to renovation projects, with approximately $2 million of hotel revenue renovation disruption in the fourth quarter.
• Fourth-quarter RevPAR guidance assumes that hotel revenue renovation disruption will negatively impact fourth-quarter RevPAR growth by 50 to 75 basis points
• Hotel revenue and EBITDA disruption of $3 to $4 million and $2 to $4 million, respectively, for the fourth-quarter and full-year related to Hurricane Sandy, resulting in a reduction to fourth-quarter and full-year RevPAR growth of 100 to 150 basis points and 30 to 60 basis points, respectively.
• Full-year comparable Hotel EBITDA Margins to increase by 50 to 100 basis points, which includes the impact of renovation displacement and Hurricane Sandy disruption.
• Full-year corporate overhead expense (excluding stock amortization and one-time expenses related to future acquisition closing costs) of $19 to $20 million.
• Full-year interest expense of approximately $80 to $82 million, including $4 million in amortization of deferred financing fees.
• Full-year preferred dividends (Series A, C and D) of approximately $30 million.

Dividend Update

On October 31, 2012, the Company's Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.50 per share payable to its Series A and Series D cumulative redeemable preferred stockholders and a cash dividend of $0.393 per share payable to its Series C cumulative convertible redeemable preferred stockholders. The dividends will be paid on or before January 15, 2013 to stockholders of record on December 31, 2012. No dividend was declared on the Company's common stock, as the Company intends to deploy excess cash flow from operations toward internal renovation investments and gradual deleveraging.

Subject to certain limitations, the Company intends to make dividends on its stock in amounts equivalent to 100% of its annual taxable income. The Company expects to apply net operating loss carryforwards to reduce its taxable income in 2012, which will affect the level of common stock dividends declared for 2012. The level of any future dividends will be determined by the Company's Board of Directors after considering taxable income projections, expected capital requirements, risks affecting the Company's business and in context of the Company's leverage-reduction initiatives. As a result, common stock dividends may be made in the form of cash or a combination of cash and stock consistent with Internal Revenue Service guidelines.

Supplemental Disclosures

Contemporaneous with this release, the Company has furnished a Form 8-K with unaudited financial information. This additional information is being provided as a supplement to information prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the information provided to conform to actual results or changes in the Company's portfolio, capital structure or future expectations.

Earnings Call

The Company will host a conference call to discuss third quarter results on November 2, 2012, at 12:00 p.m. EDT (9:00 a.m. PDT). A live web cast of the call will be available via the Investor Relations section of the Company's website. Alternatively, investors may dial 1-877-941-8609 (for domestic callers) or 1-480-629-9645 (for international callers). A replay of the web cast will also be archived on the website.

About Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc.

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. ("Sunstone") is a lodging real estate investment trust ("REIT") that has interests in 30 hotels comprised of 12,854 rooms. Sunstone's hotels are primarily in the upper upscale segment and are generally operated under nationally recognized brands, such as Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Fairmont and Sheraton. For further information, please visit Sunstone's website at www.sunstonehotels.com.

Sunstone's mission is to create meaningful value for our stockholders by becoming the premier hotel owner. Our values include transparency, trust, ethical conduct, communication and discipline. We seek to employ a balanced, cycle-appropriate corporate strategy that encompasses the following:

• Proactive portfolio management;
• Intensive asset management;
• Disciplined external growth; and
• Measured balance sheet improvement.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws and regulations. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "should," "will" and other similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions and forecasts of future results. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made. These risks include, but are not limited to: volatility in the debt or equity markets affecting our ability to acquire or sell hotel assets; international, national and local economic and business conditions, including the likelihood of a prolonged U.S. recession; the ability to maintain sufficient liquidity and our access to capital markets; potential terrorist attacks, which would affect occupancy rates at our hotels and the demand for hotel products and services; operating risks associated with the hotel business; risks associated with the level of our indebtedness and our ability to meet covenants in our debt and equity agreements; relationships with property managers and franchisors; our ability to maintain our properties in a first-class manner, including meeting capital expenditure requirements; our ability to compete effectively in areas such as access, location, quality of accommodations and room rate structures; changes in travel patterns, taxes and government regulations, which influence or determine wages, prices, construction procedures and costs; our ability to identify, successfully compete for and complete acquisitions; the performance of hotels after they are acquired; necessary capital expenditures and our ability to fund them and complete them with minimum disruption; our ability to continue to satisfy complex rules in order for us to qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes; and other risks and uncertainties associated with our business described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that the expectations will be attained or that any deviation will not be material. All forward-looking information in this release is as of November 1, 2012, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the Company's expectations.

This release should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. Copies of these reports are available on our website at www.sunstonehotels.com and through the SEC's Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval System ("EDGAR") at www.sec.gov.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We present the following non-GAAP financial measures that we believe are useful to investors as key measures of our operating performance: Earnings Before Interest Expense, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization, or EBITDA; Adjusted EBITDA (as defined below); Funds From Operations, or FFO; Adjusted FFO (as defined below); and comparable hotel EBITDA and comparable hotel EBITDA margin.

EBITDA represents net income (loss) excluding: non-controlling interests; interest expense; provision for income taxes, including income taxes applicable to sale of assets; and depreciation and amortization. In addition, we have presented Adjusted EBITDA, which includes EBITDA but excludes: amortization of deferred stock compensation; the impact of any gain or loss from asset sales; impairment charges; prior year property tax and other adjustments; and any other adjustments we have identified in this release. We believe EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are useful to investors in evaluating our operating performance because these measures help investors evaluate and compare the results of our operations from period to period by removing the impact of our capital structure (primarily interest expense) and our asset base (primarily depreciation and amortization) from our operating results. We also use EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA as measures in determining the value of hotel acquisitions and dispositions. A reconciliation of net income (loss) to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA is set forth on page 9. Reconciliations and the components of comparable hotel EBITDA and comparable hotel EBITDA margin are set forth on pages 12 and 13. We believe comparable hotel EBITDA and comparable hotel EBITDA margin are also useful to investors in evaluating our property-level operating performance.

We compute FFO in accordance with standards established by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, or NAREIT, an industry trade group. The Board of Governors of NAREIT in its March 1995 White Paper (as clarified in November 1999 and April 2002) defines FFO to mean net income (loss) (computed in accordance with GAAP), excluding non-controlling interests, gains and losses from sales of property, plus real estate-related depreciation and amortization (excluding amortization of deferred financing costs) and real estate-related impairment losses, and after adjustment for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures. We also present Adjusted FFO, which includes FFO but excludes penalties, written-off deferred financing costs, non-real estate-related impairment losses and any other adjustments we have identified in this release. We believe that the presentation of FFO and Adjusted FFO provide useful information to investors regarding our operating performance because they are measures of our operations without regard to specified non-cash items such as real estate depreciation and amortization, gain or loss on sale of assets and certain other items which we believe are not indicative of the performance of our underlying hotel properties. We believe that these items are more representative of our asset base and our acquisition and disposition activities than our ongoing operations. We also use FFO as one measure in determining our results after taking into account the impact of our capital structure. A reconciliation of net income (loss) to FFO and Adjusted FFO is set forth on page 9.

The revenue and expense items associated with our commercial laundry facility, BuyEfficient and other miscellaneous non-hotel items have been excluded in presenting comparable hotel EBITDA margins. Management believes the calculation of comparable hotel EBITDA results in a more accurate presentation of hotel EBITDA margins of the Company's 30 comparable hotels. See pages 12 and 13 for a reconciliation of comparable EBITDA to the most comparable GAAP measure. Our 30 comparable hotels include all hotels in which the Company has interests as of September 30, 2012, and also includes prior ownership results as applicable in 2011 and 2012 for the Doubletree Guest Suites Times Square acquired by the Company in January 2011, the JW Marriott New Orleans acquired by the Company in February 2011, the Hilton San Diego Bayfront acquired by the Company in April 2011, the Hyatt Chicago Magnificent Mile acquired by the Company in June 2012 and the Hilton Garden Inn Chicago Downtown/Magnificent Mile acquired by the Company in July 2012.

We caution investors that amounts presented in accordance with our definitions of EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, FFO, Adjusted FFO, comparable hotel EBITDA and comparable hotel EBITDA margin may not be comparable to similar measures disclosed by other companies, because not all companies calculate these non-GAAP measures in the same manner. EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, FFO, Adjusted FFO, comparable hotel EBITDA and comparable hotel EBITDA margin should not be considered as an alternative measure of our net income (loss), operating performance, cash flow or liquidity. EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, FFO, Adjusted FFO, comparable hotel EBITDA and comparable hotel EBITDA margin may include funds that may not be available for our discretionary use due to functional requirements to conserve funds for capital expenditures and property acquisitions and other commitments and uncertainties. Although we believe that EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, FFO, Adjusted FFO, comparable hotel EBITDA and comparable hotel EBITDA margin can enhance an investor's understanding of our results of operations, these non-GAAP financial measures, when viewed individually, are not necessarily better indicators of any trend as compared to GAAP measures such as net income (loss) or cash flow from operations. In addition, you should be aware that adverse economic and market conditions may harm our cash flow.

For Additional Information:

Bryan Giglia
Senior Vice President – Corporate Finance
Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc.
(949) 382-3036