White Plains, NY, September 18, 2008 – The Starwood Preferred Guest® (SPG®) program announces a groundbreaking fall travel promotion that empowers SPG members to register for and choose their own rewards based on their travel styles and preferences.  Offered to all SPG members, the SPG® You Choose is the biggest promotion ever offered by Starwood Preferred Guest and is designed to meet the needs of the wide variety of travelers — frequent and occasional, business and leisure. The offer is valid for stays at any of Starwood’s more than 890 participating hotels and resorts worldwide between October 1 and December 31, 2008.

Developed in direct response to member feedback, SPG® You Choose puts travelers in control, allowing them to determine their earning power and choose from a dozen different reward options.  Rewards are available in four categories: Free Nights, Elite Status, Bonus Starpoints® and Gift Cards. Within each category, members can choose a specific earning option and reward based on how often they travel and their individual travel needs. 

For example, SPG members seeking a weekend getaway could choose the “Weekend Nights” option to earn a Free Weekend Night after four eligible stays or eight eligible nights. Frequent travelers could opt for the “Double Stays” option to earn elite SPG status and accrue benefits twice as fast, while occasional travelers may be interested in a $25 retail gift card, available after just two eligible stays or four eligible nights.

The promotion also gives travelers several ways to earn even more Starpoints. They can earn 2,000 Starpoints after two eligible stays or 25,000 Starpoints after 10 eligible stays, with the possibility of earning a total of 100,000 Starpoints.  Starpoints can be redeemed for a variety of awards including Free Night Awards or SPG Flights – the recently announced redemption option that allows SPG members to redeem Starpoints for  flights on hundreds of airlines worldwide without blackout dates.

Travelers who are not SPG members can enjoy the benefits of SPG^® You Choose by enrolling in the Starwood Preferred Guest program and registering for SPG^® You Choose at spg.com/choose. For more information about Starwood Preferred Guest, including complete program terms and conditions, visit SPG.com.

About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 900 properties in more than 100 countries and 155,000 employees at its owned and managed properties.  Starwood Hotels 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, and the recently launched Aloft^SM, and Element^SM.  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.