WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Feb 18, 2003 (BUSINESS WIRE)—Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) named Chuck Tomb, a 25-year hotel veteran, as senior vice president, franchise development.
In this newly created position, Tomb is responsible for all franchise development sales efforts for Starwood`s Sheraton, Westin and Four Points by Sheraton brands. Tomb is the newest addition to the Starwood Real Estate Group and will report directly to President, Ted Darnall. The Starwood Real Estate Group, formed in August 2002, is responsible for the oversight of asset management, design, architecture, construction and hotel and franchise development for the company.

“With this move, Starwood is making a further commitment to the improvement of the organizational structure that supports our franchise development efforts, growth of our brands and deliverables to its franchisees,” said Ted Darnall. “Chuck joins our organization at a time when we are able to offer developers not only the most attractive products in the market, such as our new Sheraton and Westin prototypes, but the full support of a corporate culture that embraces all Starwood hotels equally, owned, managed or franchised. Our focus is not just on new construction. We also have a significant interest in the conversions of strategic, quality hotel products already in the marketplace to our Starwood family of brands.”

The Starwood Real Estate Group is a primary growth and value driver for Starwood Hotels & Resorts and is committed expanding brand footprints through franchising, management services, acquisitions and ground up third party development. Starwood strives to be the franchisor of choice for third-party developers through maximizing all marketing distribution channels, quality product, strong brand identity and building strong relationships with franchisees by matching the appropriate size of the property with the appropriate location and joining the right owner with the right product.

“We have had great success with franchise owners putting their investment dollars forward with winning initiatives for our brands such as Westin`s Heavenly Bed(R) and Heavenly Bath(R), Sheraton`s Sweet Sleeper(SM) Bed and the Sheraton Service Promise,” continued Darnall. “Chuck`s appointment is key to Starwood`s aggressive growth strategy for franchise development and we are confident his leadership will bring great value to Starwood and the ownership community.”

Prior to joining Starwood, Tomb served as senior vice president, acquisitions and development for Interstate Hotels. During his tenure at Interstate, Tomb was responsible for the transition and reemergence of Interstate`s development department following a spin off from Patriot American in June 1999. Prior to that, Tomb was responsible for oversight of all business development and acquisitions for Interstate Hotels in the Western United States including Hawaii where he added over 40 properties to the company`s portfolio. In addition to his experience in development, Tomb spent 15 years in property operations with Hyatt Hotels, Americana Hotels & Resorts and Holiday Inns Worldwide.

Tomb received his Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel Administration and Business from the University of Denver. Active in industry affairs, Tomb is a key participant in industry related conference planning (ALIS) and has been a featured speaker and participant on numerous industry panels. Tomb is married with two children and is based in Starwood`s White Plains, N.Y. corporate headquarters.

Starwood is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 750 properties in more than 80 countries and 110,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. With internationally renowned brands, Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts including: St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton, W brands, as well as Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high-quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwood.com.

Please contact Starwood`s new, toll-free media hotline at 866/4-STAR-PR (866/478-2777) for photography or additional information.

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