Starwood Hotels & Resorts among the first to feature Instagram on all property websites

SHOWCASING THE 40,000 IMAGES
GUESTS CAPTURE AND SHARE EVERY MONTH

New Guest Galleries from Instagram Allow Guests to Share

Their Travel Experiences from Their Own Personal Viewpoint

Stamford, CT – December 11, 2013 – Guests of Starwood’s more than 1,150 hotels capture and share an average of 40,000 images per month on Instagram, and today, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT), announced an industry-leading integration with Instagram on all of its websites worldwide.

New Guest Galleries from Instagram showcase the explosion of social sharing through Instagram photos and videos geo-tagged by Starwood’s digitally-savvy guests.

From unique hotel amenities to eye-catching local sites, the enhanced Guest Galleries from Instagram offer a fun, new way for travellers to explore their next Starwood destination – all from the perspective of fellow guests. 

For each hotel and resort across Starwood’s nine design-led brands, visitors can view photos and videos geo-tagged by guests who have experienced that Starwood hotel. Guest Galleries from Instagram give travellers the opportunity to view an authentic representation of each distinctive brand by exploring brand-specific categories including: Family Traditions for St. Regis, Fashion for W Hotels, UnLock Art for Le Méridien, Move Well for Westin, and a special category for Instagrams tagged with #SPGLife. 

The volume of Starwood guests’ Instagrams speaks to the passion they have for sharing their unique travel experiences – including pictures of a gorgeous beachscape, poolside view, an SPG member’s room upgrade or special amenity, one of Starwood’s award-winning restaurants, and more. These images serve as a visual seal of approval direct from Starwood’s discerning, digitally-savvy guests for other travellers looking for inspiration.

“A ‘picture is worth a thousand words’ and a picture shared is worth even more to our guests,” said Chris Holdren, Senior Vice President, Starwood Preferred Guest & Digital. “Starwood’s mobile bookings are growing five times faster than the annual growth rate of the web channel 10 years ago. With an increasingly mobile, digital traveller we expect social sharing in places like our Instagram Guest Gallery pages will continue to change how our guests book travel and explore and interact with our hotels.”

Through their suite of digital properties, Starwood provides today’s connected traveller a visually rich, personalized experience on every step of their journey from imaginative destination exploration to the details of their trip before, during, and after a visit. As an early adopter of social networks like Instagram, Facebook, and Foursquare, Starwood continuously leverages mobile and social in new ways transforming the travel experience by connecting with guests and delivering more personalized service.

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About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1,169 properties in nearly 100 countries and 171,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. We are 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, Aloft®, and Element®. One of the industry’s leading loyalty programs, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) allows members to earn and redeem points for room stays, room upgrades and flights, with no blackout dates. Starwood also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., a premier provider of world-class vacation experiences through villa-style resorts and privileged access to Starwood brands.  For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.