Starwood Hotels & Resorts Launches Global Partnership With MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS

By: Starwood Hotels & Resorts | 4 Shares 98 Reads

SPG Members Can Live the Formula One Experience with Unparalleled Access to the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team

STAMFORD, Conn. - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG®), the award-winning loyalty program from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT), today announced a three-year partnership with the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team. SPG® officially launched the new global partnership at the start of Formula One’s European season at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona. The details of the new partnership were announced this morning with the team and Michael Schumacher at the W® Hotel in Barcelona.

Considered the most prestigious form of motor racing in the world, Formula One consists of a series of races known as ‘Grands Prix’ held on purpose-built and street circuits. Through this new partnership with MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS, SPG is giving its members unique access to experience exclusive Grand Prix events in incredible destinations such as Spain, Monaco, Singapore, Brazil, Abu Dhabi and more.

“We are extremely proud to be an official team partner of the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team,” said Mark Vondrasek, Senior Vice President, Distribution, Loyalty and Partnership Marketing for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. “SPG goes beyond gaining and redeeming points, it’s about building a deeper relationship with our guests. We want to offer our members exclusive experiences that they are most passionate about - be it sports, music or arts. Through our collaboration with MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS, members can connect with their passion for this entertaining world-class sport.”

Game On with SPG: Access Like No Other

As part of the multi-year strategic partnership, Starwood Hotels & Resorts becomes the preferred hotel partner of MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS globally. Members of the SPG program, which is free to join, can register for their chance to redeem over 120 Access Like No Other experiences, offering unparalleled access to the team. These experiences include exclusive meet-and-greets with the drivers and incredible one-of-a-kind views of the pit lane from the team’s hospitality suites at major Grand Prix events worldwide. SPG members will have access to guided factory tours and live race screening events taking them closer to the center of the action – all by using their Starpoints®. To take advantage of this access and more, members can visit SPG.com/moments.

Ross Brawn, Team Principal of MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS said: “We are very pleased to have agreed a new team partnership with SPG and to welcome Starwood to Formula One for the first time. As regular travelers will always tell you, a good hotel can make a real difference to your trip and I am delighted that our team will have the opportunity to experience Starwood hotels as we travel around the world. We are very much looking forward to working with the company while introducing their SPG loyalty program to a new audience.”

About Starwood Preferred Guest®

The SPG program’s breakthrough policy of No Blackout Dates at the world’s most sought after collection of hotels reinvented the hospitality loyalty program when it launched in 1999. By creating a program centered on its members, SPG has developed the most passionate and knowledgeable membership base in the hotel loyalty space. Through its use of new technologies and innovative channels such as SPG.com, SPG.com/stayconnected, SPG.com/flights and others, SPG continues to innovate and lead the industry. By offering No Blackouts on standard rooms at 1,090 hotels and resorts in nearly 100 countries, No Blackouts on hundreds of airlines, the introduction of Your24 and SPG Lifetime, and unparalleled experiences available through SPG Moments at spg.com/moments, the program has proven to be a big draw for the world’s most frequent travelers, and a significant competitive advantage for Starwood. For more information about Starwood Preferred Guest please 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 1,103 properties in nearly 100 countries and 154,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood 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, Aloft®, and ElementSM. The Company boasts one of the industry’s leading loyalty programs, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), allowing 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.

About MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team

The MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team competes in the FIA Formula One World Championship and is based at the team’s Operations Centre in Reynard Park, Brackley. Home to over 450 employees, the team is headed by multiple World-Championship winning Ross Brawn, and owned jointly by Daimler AG and aabar Investments PJS. The engines for the team’s Formula One cars are provided by Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire. For more information, visit: www.mercedes-amg-f1.com.

(Note: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities regulations. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and involve risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made. These risks and uncertainties are presented in detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be attained or that results and events will not materially differ. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.). The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

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