WILD Group Acquires Hotel Goldener Hirsch, A Luxury Collection Hotel in Salzburg, Austria for €20M ($22M)

The Historic Hotel Will Continue to be Operated by Starwood Hotels Under a Long-Term Management Contract

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. August 23, 2016

STAMFORD, CT. August 23, 2016 - Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) today announced that it has closed on the sale of Hotel Goldener Hirsch, A Luxury Collection Hotel in Salzburg, Austria to companies of the WILD Group for €20M (approximately $22 million USD). Starwood will continue to operate the hotel under the Luxury Collection brand flag under a new long-term management agreement.

Thomas Mangas, Chief Executive Officer of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. said, “Our team continues to vigorously execute on all corners of our strategy to create value for Starwood's shareholders, including meaningful progress on our asset disposition target. With this transaction, we have disposed of over $520 million of assets already in 2016, including five hotels transferred to Interval Leisure Group in connection with ILG's acquisition of Vistana.”

Simon Turner, President of Global Development for Starwood said, “The sale of Hotel Goldener Hirsch underscores our ongoing commitment to dispose of our owned assets to the right long-term partners to create both immediate and long-term shareholder value. We continue to experience strong interest from global investors looking to add unique and quality properties to their portfolios.”

WILD Group owns Hotel Schloss Mönchstein, located just 2 km from Hotel Goldener Hirsch.

Dr. Hans-Peter WILD, owner and chairman of the WILD Group said, “We are delighted to add Hotel Goldener Hirsch to our portfolio and look forward to partnering with Starwood on the continued success of this celebrated hotel, a perennial favorite among visitors to Salzburg.”

Michael Wale, President of Starwood for Europe, Africa and the Middle East concluded: “Hotel Goldener Hirsch is one of the last and most historic European properties that was fully owned by Starwood. In WILD Group we believe we have found the right partner to continue the legacy of this landmark hotel.”

Dating back to 1407, the historical Hotel Goldener Hirsch building first opened as a hotel in 1564. It then became the Salzburg Festival's premier residence when it was acquired by Countess Harriet Walderdorff in 1939. Named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, the elegant hotel features 70 guestrooms, including five suites, the Restaurant Goldener Hirsch, Restaurant Herzl and Bar Goldener Hirsch. The hotel is located on the prestigious Getreidegasse road in Salzburg's Old Town, in close proximity to boutiques, Mozart's birthplace, Festival Hall and The Hohensalzburg Fortress.

About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 1,300 properties in some 100 countries and approximately 188,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences under the renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Meridien®, Sheraton®, Tribute Portfolio™, Four Points® by Sheraton, Aloft®, and Element®, along with an expanded partnership with Design Hotels™. The company also boasts one of the industry's leading loyalty programs, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG®). Visit www.starwoodhotels.com for more information.

About WILD Group

The WILD Group subsumes all the direct and indirect shareholdings of Dr. Hans-Peter Wild. Dr. Hans-Peter Wild, domiciled in Zug, Switzerland, is a global entrepreneur having built one of the world's leading producers and suppliers of natural ingredients and flavor systems for the food and beverage industry (WILD Flavors GmbH), a global consumer goods business under the Capri-Sun® brand, as well as a manufacturer of machines for the beverage and food industries (INDAG) that develops and manages modern processing units. Dr. Wild already owns Hotel Schloss Mönchstein, a luxury boutique hotel in Salzburg. Since its acquisition in 2005, Dr. Wild has substantially invested in this asset, considerably upgrading the product offering and enhancing the hotel's performance potential.

Contact:
Carrie Bloom
[email protected]
203-964-5755

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 impact of war and terrorist activity, natural disasters, business and financing conditions (including the condition of credit markets in the U.S. and internationally), 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, relationships with associates and labor unions, customers and property owners, the impact of the internet reservation channels, our reliance on technology, domestic and international political and geopolitical conditions, competition, governmental and regulatory actions (including the impact of changes in U.S. and foreign tax laws and their interpretation), travelers' fears of exposure to contagious diseases, risk associated with the level of our indebtedness, risk associated with potential acquisitions and dispositions and the introduction of new brand concepts and other risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties are presented in detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.