WHITE PLAINS, NY August 8, 2007 – Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and the Travel Channel today announced a two-year strategic marketing partnership that will make the channel available in all Westin, Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton and W Hotels in the US.  As part of this joint venture The Travel Channel will help develop content for two in-room networks that will provide guests with programming created specifically for Starwood Hotels & Resorts. 

The first channel to debut will be “Travel Channel on the Road” featuring themed content developed exclusively for Starwood guests, sneak peeks and access to special programming from the Travel Channel. Programs will be hosted by notable television personalities like Anthony Bourdain and Samantha Brown. Starwood’s existing in-room Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG-TV) channel will also reflect the new collaboration with exciting travel news including insider destination features assembled by the Travel Channel. 

“Together with the Travel Channel we will curate exclusive destination and lifestyle content that appeals to our guest’s interests and passions,”said John Peyton, Senior Vice President, Customer Marketing and Partnerships. “We will simultaneously inform our guests about new, exciting destinations around the world while offering them a unique and robust in-room entertainment experience,”

“Starwood Hotels & Resorts is an excellent industry partner for us as they offer a broad variety of travel destinations, serving every type of traveler,” said Pat Younge, President and General Manager of the Travel Channel.  “This allows us to expand the consumer touch points for the Travel Channel brand and provide Starwood’s guests with entertaining, inspiring, and useful content.”

Both channels will begin rolling out in the U.S at Westin, Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton and W Hotels in September.

About Starwood Hotels & Resorts

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 870 properties in more than 95 countries and 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 Aloft^SM and Element^SM Hotels.  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.

About Travel Channel Media

Travel Channel Media is an integrated travel media business, and is wholly owned by Cox Communications, Inc., a leading multi-service broadband communications and entertainment company.  Travel Channel Media includes: the Travel Channel television network, available in more than 89 million U.S. cable homes; travelchannel.com, the network’s broadband travel hub; Travel Channel’s video-on-demand (VOD) and mobile platforms; and World Hum (worldhum.com), a leading online travel blog.