Starwood Hotels Launches Websites in Portuguese

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) announced the launch of its websites in Portuguese, including all Starwood branded websites, the Starwood Preferred Guest® website SPG.com and the corporate homepage Starwoodhotels.com. With the addition of Portuguese, Starwood now offers websites in eight languages including English, Spanish, German, Italian, French, Mandarin and Japanese. While a few rivals offer website translations, Starwood is the first global hotel company to provide comprehensive online booking in Portuguese.

“The launch of our websites in Portuguese comes at a time when Starwood is eyeing Brazil as one of the most promising markets for future hotel development”

Over 180 million of the world’s nearly 240 million Portuguese speakers live in Brazil, which is the largest tourist destination in South America, with 5.78 billion dollars in international tourism revenues in 2009. Starwood currently has six hotels in Brazil under its Sheraton and Four Points by Sheraton brands in many of the country’s most popular destinations such as Rio, Sao Paulo and Porto Alegre. In recent years, Portuguese speakers around the world have significantly increased their Internet use, online purchasing and international travel.

"With nearly 80% of all future Starwood hotels opening outside the United States, it is more important than ever that we reach out to our global guests in their language,” said Phil McAveety, Chief Brand Officer for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. “Portuguese is one of the world's most spoken languages and Brazil is one of the world's most dynamic emerging markets. It’s now going to be a seamless experience for Portuguese speakers to book travel and redeem Starpoints® at SPG.com, where they will enjoy direct access to the world’s largest portfolio of luxury and upper-upscale hotels.”

“The launch of our websites in Portuguese comes at a time when Starwood is eyeing Brazil as one of the most promising markets for future hotel development,” said Osvaldo Librizzi, President, Latin America for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. “Brazil is poised for a surge in both international and domestic tourism as it prepares to host both the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games. New direct flights from major markets such as London and New York will make it easier to attract additional business and leisure travelers. With the addition of Portuguese, we will be better positioned to not only communicate with our guests and frequent travelers about travel within Brazil, but also provide them with information regarding destinations around the world.”

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