TICKER: HOT, EXCHANGE: NYSE NEWS RELEASE - 11/13/2003

New Survey Says That Hotel Fitness Rooms Need to Shape Up; Exercise on the Road is Good for Business and Your Image but Hotel Workout Rooms Often Disappoint

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Nov 13, 2003 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Lose the laptop and bag your Blackberry - today's hottest travel accessories are a pair of sneakers and some sweats. An innovative study of business travelers conducted by Lieberman Research Worldwide for Westin Hotels & Resorts finds that working out on the road is an excellent way to relieve stress, a powerful antidote for jet lag and good for your image among business associates. However, many respondents stated that hotels do not offer adequate fitness facilities for travelers. The survey of 300 business travelers titled "Road Runners:Working out on the Road," illustrates just how important exercise is to hotel guests. For instance:

• 90% of travelers surveyed said exercise relieves stress on the road
• 60% of travelers surveyed said exercise helps alleviate jet lag
• 78% of travelers surveyed said workouts are a good way to get over a rough day
• 70% of travelers surveyed said that working out is a good way to bond with colleagues
• 53% of travelers surveyed said exercising is good for their image among business peers
• 62% of travelers surveyed said they check to see whether a hotel has a workout room during the reservation process
• 59% of travelers surveyed said that the quality of hotel fitness facilities is an important factor in their choice of hotel
• 69% said that a "state-of-the-art" fitness facility would favor that hotel in the selection process

While working out on the road is important to travelers, hotel fitness rooms could be in better shape according to travelers surveyed:

• 61% of travelers surveyed have encountered hotels without fitness facilities
• 53% of travelers surveyed said they didn't like the workout room
• 49% of travelers surveyed have encountered broken equipment in hotel fitness rooms
• 64% of travelers surveyed said hotel fitness centers feel like an afterthought
• 75% of travelers surveyed said the quality of hotel workout rooms are inconsistent from one hotel to the next
• 55% of travelers surveyed have decided not to use a hotel workout room because it was in such bad condition
• 41% of travelers surveyed said the facilities were too crowded
• 46% of travelers surveyed said the workout room was closed when they needed it

"Working out on the road is a priority for many travelers but hotels have typically cut corners in hotel workout rooms, cramming mediocre, aging equipment in a small space with absolutely no frills," said Barry S. Sternlicht, Chairman and CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) who works out four days a week and always packs his workout gear when traveling on business. Other findings from "Road Runners:Working Out on the Road" include:

• 40% of travelers surveyed said they eat more on the road
• 17% of travelers surveyed said they gain weight when traveling
• 37% of travelers surveyed said they feel more stress on the road than at home
• 50% of travelers surveyed workout in their hotel rooms on occasion and when in the privacy of their own rooms, most travelers work out in shorts and a t-shirt (95%) but 30% admit to working out in their underwear and 11% have even worked out naked in their hotel room!
• 30% of travelers surveyed have skipped business social gatherings to sneak in a workout.

*Survey participants, 150 men and 150 women, have stayed at least two consecutive nights at a hotel in the past year and exercised while on the business trip. In practice, most respondents stayed many more nights than the qualifying threshold, averaging over ten nights in the past year. The survey was conducted via the telephone from september 2- 15, 2003. with a sample this size (n=300) results have a margin of error attributable to a sample size of +/- 6 percentage points on totals. smaller subgroups therefore, have a higher margin of error. Source: starwood hotels & resorts worldwide, inc.marketing and promotion.