MasterCard Worldwide and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Announce 'Third Night Free' Promotion

PURCHASE, N.Y., Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- MasterCard Worldwide(R) and Sheraton(R) Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. today announced a promotional partnership that offers guests the opportunity to extend their stay for free at affiliated participating Sheraton hotels.

MasterCard cardholders who pay using their MasterCard card and spend two consecutive nights at participating Sheraton hotels will get a third consecutive night free. All MasterCard cardholders who book online or with reservation agents and arrive Thursday, Friday or Saturday are eligible for the offer. All stays must be completed by March 31, 2008. The partnership is one component of a larger effort to revitalize the guest experience at Sheraton's 408 hotels across 75 countries.

"The promotional offer with MasterCard gives our guests the opportunity to extend their stay and enjoy the benefits Sheraton hotels offer," said Brian Povinelli, vice president of global marketing for Sheraton Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. "There is nothing better than watching our guests have more time to relax, have fun, and enjoy the Sheraton experience, and we're excited to be joining forces with MasterCard to make this a reality."

"We're pleased to begin our promotional partnership with Sheraton by offering MasterCard cardholders that stay with Sheraton and choose to pay with their MasterCard card this great reward," said David Clarke, group executive, U.S. Commerce Development, MasterCard Worldwide. "Sheraton is a great brand and uniquely qualified to give every guest -- whether staying with them for business or leisure -- a great hotel experience, and this promotion allows guests to enjoy that experience even longer."

The promotional offer is only valid for a three-night minimum/maximum length of stay, and consecutive reservations for this offer will not be honored. Offers are based on Starwood's best available unrestricted retail rates.

* Void where prohibited by law. This offer cannot be combined with other offers or promotions.

About MasterCard Worldwide

MasterCard Worldwide advances global commerce by providing a critical economic link among financial institutions, businesses, cardholders and merchants worldwide. As a franchisor, processor and advisor, MasterCard develops and markets payment solutions, processes over 18 billion transactions each year, and provides industry-leading analysis and consulting services to financial institution customers and merchants. Through its family of brands, including MasterCard(R), Maestro(R) and Cirrus(R), MasterCard serves consumers and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information, go to http://www.mastercard.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 approximately 890 properties in more than 100 countries and 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood(R) Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis(R), The Luxury Collection(R), W(R), Westin(R), Le Meridien(R), Sheraton(R), Four Points(R) by Sheraton, Aloft(SM) and Element(SM). Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit http://www.starwoodhotels.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.)

Contacts Brian Greehan, MasterCard Worldwide +914-249-5895, brian_greehan@mastercard.com Angela Bliss, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide +914-640-8334, angela.bliss@starwoodhotels.com