DUBAI, United Arab Emirates--Mar. 12, 2013-- From the company’s luxury General Managers Summit in Dubai, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) today announced its luxury footprint has nearly doubled worldwide in five years to meet growing global demand. Starwood is lengthening its lead in luxury hospitality with more than 160 hotels in 39 countries as part of The Luxury Collection, St. Regis and W brands, offering guests and residents personalized service and exceptional experiences around the world. Looking ahead, Starwood will add 50 luxury hotels in 12 new countries over the next five years. The General Managers Summit coincides with Starwood’s month-long relocation of its global headquarters to Dubai.

“We are on the cusp of a new golden age of luxury travel as technology and globalization drive new trade routes, capital flows and wealth creation,” said Frits van Paasschen, Starwood’s President and CEO. “Dubai is at the epicenter of this change and we are delighted to welcome our general managers from around the world to cultivate a deeper understanding of a new and growing luxury landscape.”

Starwood’s inaugural luxury General Managers Summit brings together 100 hoteliers from around the world to the United Arab Emirates. With Starwood’s laser focus on luxury, the summit will engage executives, general managers and partners to innovate, create and compete in more provocative and unexpected ways.

Starwood Targets Generation LuXurY

Today, 85 percent of Starwood’s luxury guests hail from generations X and Y, and the company is uniquely positioned to cater to this emerging and ever-more global generation of affluent travelers. Starwood continues to aggressively invest in the creation, renovation and restoration of its luxury pipeline in anticipation of a seismic growth of global luxury demand. Luxury makes up fifteen percent of Starwood’s total pipeline, and 90 percent of its future luxury hotels will open in emerging markets, including the first W Hotel in mainland China with W Guangzhou and the first St. Regis hotel in Africa with the debut of The St. Regis Mauritius Resort.

“Modern luxury has not replaced tradition; they sit at the same table, but in slightly different clothes,” said Paul James, Global Brand Leader, St. Regis, The Luxury Collection and W Hotels Worldwide. “Today’s luxury consumer is multi-national and cross-generational, defined more by their interests and mindset than their geography and demographic. This growing cadre, which we call Generation LuXurY, moves across our portfolio of luxury hotels for business and leisure, and demands personalized service at every turn.”

W Hotels Doubles Global Footprint in Five Years

Securing itself as the fastest growing luxury brand in the history of lodging, W Hotels has more than doubled its portfolio in the last five years, reaching 43 hotels worldwide. A global design powerhouse, W mixes the energy and vibrancy of its native New York City with insights from the local scene to create unique and innovative design personalities that appeal to global jetsetters. On track to reach 60 hotels by the end of 2015, W redefines the contemporary luxury hotel experience with each new opening, offering cutting-edge design, Whatever/Whenever service, buzzing bars and restaurants, and insider access to what’s new and next for guests and locals alike. W Verbier, debuting in December 2013, will take the W brand to the mountains with its very first Alpine escape, while W Guangzhou, set to open this month, will mark the W brand’s debut in mainland China.

St. Regis Doubles Global Portfolio and Reach in Five Years

St. Regis has more than doubled its global footprint and nearly doubled its global reach in five years, with brand debuts in new destinations, including Bal Harbour, Tianjin, Shenzhen, Doha and Abu Dhabi. St. Regis will continue its dynamic global growth opening long-awaited hotels and resorts in Changsha, Chengdu, Kuala Lumpur, Lijiang and Zhuhai in Asia Pacific, as well as debuts in Egypt and Jordan in the next two years. The St. Regis Mauritius Resort officially opens this month, marking the brand’s first hotel in Africa. In April 2013, St. Regis will celebrate the debut The St. Regis Abu Dhabi, its second hotel in Abu Dhabi following the recent opening of The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort in 2012. Reaching 30 hotels this year and with 13 hotels in the pipeline, St. Regis has firmly solidified its position as a leader in luxury hospitality.

The Luxury Collection on Track to Surpass 100 Hotels in the Next Five Years

In the past 12 months, The Luxury Collection has debuted six hotels and resorts in vibrant gateway cities and exotic resort destinations including Shanghai and Sanya in China, Chennai in India, as well as Koh Samui, Thailand and Jakarta, Indonesia. On track to surpass 100 hotels in the next five years, The Luxury Collection will continue its growth momentum globally with the opening of Palacio del Inka in Cusco, Peru and the debut of The Castle in Dalian, China this year. In addition, Starwood and its owners have invested more than $200 million to renovate and restore some of The Luxury Collection’s most celebrated hotels in Europe with the reopening of two iconic hotels in Spain last year: Hotel Alfonso XIII in Seville and Hotel Maria Cristina in San Sebastian, followed by the debut of the restored Gritti Palace in Venice most recently in January 2013 and Prince de Galles in Paris this upcoming June 2013.

About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1,134 properties in nearly 100 countries and 171,000 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 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 and involve risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made. Further results, performance and achievements may be affected by general economic conditions, including the duration and severity of any global or regional economic downturns, the availability of financing alternatives at acceptable terms, the impact of war and terrorist activity, business and financing conditions, foreign exchange fluctuations, cyclicality of the real estate (including residential) and the hotel and vacation ownership businesses, operating risks associated with the hotel, vacation ownership and residential businesses. 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 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.