Starwood Expands Global Sponsorship with Live Nation Entertainment

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. February 07, 2011

February 4, 2011 - In 2009, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and its award-winning Starwood Preferred Guest(R) (SPG) program forged a unique strategic sponsorship alliance with Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. to offer SPG members access to unique, once in a lifetime music experiences. Now, as the two renowned global brands renew and expand their exclusive multi-year, multimillion dollar strategic sponsorship, SPG members are primed to benefit from even more unique entertainment experiences, resulting in strengthened loyalty among SPG members and the ability to attract new customers to Starwood properties.

The sponsorship enables Starwood to leverage the world's most extensive roster of live entertainment events to offer its SPG members unique benefits around one of their key passions - music. Direct benefits to SPG include: music inspired promotions and redemption opportunities, access to intimate acoustic performances and artist after parties taking place around the globe at Starwood properties as well as access to premium tickets and VIP experiences. Since the alliance began, SPG members have witnessed Sting perform pre-show sound checks, taken drum lessons with Daniel Adair from Nickelback, and had the opportunity to meet other globally distinguished artists including Dave Matthews, John Mayer, Jonas Brothers, Depeche Mode, Katy Perry, and so much more.

“Starwood's SPG program has been a category differentiator since its inception and our innovative alliance with Live Nation Entertainment solidifies our leadership position by providing members with benefits that are not only exclusive, but that align with their passions and pursuits,” said Phil McAveety, Chief Brand Officer for Starwood. “Our relationship with Live Nation Entertainment has been extremely successful and we're pleased to renew and expand it so that our members and their families have the opportunity to get up close and personal with their favorite music artists.”

In addition to providing direct consumer benefits, the relationship - which expands further into Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Asian markets with the renewal - is mutually beneficial to both companies. Starwood is now the exclusive preferred hotel partner of Live Nation and Ticketmaster worldwide. The Live Nation Entertainment global ecommerce platform allows Starwood to connect with the 200 million fans attending 100,000 events around the world annually through the 'Where To Stay' booking function on both livenation.com and ticketmaster.com. In addition, Starwood will work directly with the entertainment company's touring division to arrange customized hotel bookings for artists on tour and for all corporate travel, providing a measurable cost savings for the company's global travel and lodging needs. Starwood will also promote Live Nation concert tours in communication to SPG members and to Starwood hotel guests.

“The partnership capitalizes on the power of our integrated marketing platform, including the third largest ecommerce site in the world,” said Russell Wallach, President of Live Nation Network. “We're tapping into our thousands of concerts to offer Starwood's guests exceptional experiences that build on the power of live entertainment, while helping Starwood to reward and expand their customer base through highly efficient and measurable marketing programs to drive their business.”