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Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. - Hotel Group Appoints Global Marketing Leader

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., a leading hotel and gaming operating and management company (the “Corporation” or “Starwood Worldwide”) which operates the Sheraton, Westin, Ciga, Four Points, The St. Regis (Luxury Collection) and Caesars World brands, has announced the appointment of David Van Kalsbeek as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide - Hotel Group, effective immediately. He will report to Juergen Bartels, Chief Executive Officer of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. - Hotel Group.

A 16-year veteran of ITT Sheraton and formerly Senior Vice President and Director of Marketing and Strategic Planning, Mr. Van Kalsbeek, 40, will relocate to the company’s new headquarters in the Westchester County, New York/Fairfield County, Connecticut area in his new role with the hotel operating group. He will directly oversee the company’s global sales, marketing and distribution for its five hotel brands, covering Starwood’s 664 hotels in 73 countries.


Mr. Van Kalsbeek has successfully directed excellent results from Sheraton’s marketing programs, including its frequent guest program, and from its industry-leading, $90 million global centralized reservations system, Reservatron IV, into which all Starwood properties are being
integrated. He also played a key role in integrating Ciga Hotels in Europe and launching two global brands: The Luxury Collection and Four Points Hotels.

During his tenure at ITT Sheraton, Mr. Van Kalsbeek served in various capacities, including Manager, Sheraton Worldwide Reservation Operations and Systems Support, Director of Rooms, Reservations and Market Systems in the company’s former Hawaii-Japan Division, Director of Product Management for ITT Sheraton Corp., and he assumed responsibility for Sheraton Reservations Corporations in May 1992.


Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., through its Sheraton, Westin and Caesars subsidiaries, is one of the leading hotel and gaming operating companies in the world. Starwood Hotels & Resorts is the largest real estate investment trust in the United States. Shares of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. are paired and trade together with shares of Starwood Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: HOT).

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(Note: Statements in this press release which are not historical may be deemed forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although Starwood Hotels & Resorts each believe the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Starwood Worldwide and Starwood Hotels & Resorts expectations include completion of pending acquisitions, continued availability of acquisitions, continued availability of debt and equity on favorable terms, legislative proposals to limit activities of paired-share real estate investment trusts, foreign exchange fluctuations, performance of hotel operations, financial performance, real estate conditions, market valuations of its stock, execution of hotel renovation programs, changes in local or national economic conditions and other risks detailed from time to time in the Starwood Worldwide and Starwood Hotels & Resorts SEC reports, including quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, reports on Form 8-K and annual reports on Form 10-K.)


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