Road Warriors Rejoice!

Marking the opening of the nation's first aloft hotel, "the new
tWist in travel" premiers in Rancho Cucamonga, California
NEW YORK & RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
aloha! Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.(R) (NYSE:HOT) and
its much-anticipated new lifestyle brand, aloft( SM) hotels, today
announced the opening of the nation's first aloft hotel, the 136-room
aloft Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga. Anchoring the $60 million HavenPark
development and located off a legendary stretch of American highway,
Interstate 10, aloft Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga offers a fresh, fun and
affordable way to enjoy Southern California.

aloft Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga will appeal to Los Angeles business
travelers and Joshua Tree road-trippers alike. The hotel is designed
to appeal to both audiences by providing convenience, playful public
spaces and varied entertainment offerings for today's road warrior.

Just minutes from the Ontario Convention Center, aloft
Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga is close to world-class shopping venues
including Victoria Gardens and Ontario Mills. The hotel also offers
easy access to the Ontario International Airport.

In the same way that W Hotels broke through the clutter of
conformity in the upscale hotel arena in 1998, aloft is shaking up the
lodging industry with high design at an affordable price point,
accessible technology, style and a social atmosphere.

"We are thrilled to bring our exciting new twist in travel to the
ever-growing Rancho Cucamonga community," said Brian McGuinness,
Global Brand Leader of aloft and element hotels worldwide. "In
addition to serving our local neighbors with a great new lodging
venue, we believe the hotel's signature bar w xyz( SM), is destined to
become Rancho Cucamonga's newest hot spot."

"We are privileged to be the first U.S. operator of this exciting
new brand that introduces a whole new level of style and
sophistication to both the business and leisure traveler," said Thomas
F. Hewitt, Interstate Hotels' Chief Executive Officer. "We intend to
set the bar high for others to follow. We will open our second aloft
in suburban Nashville this fall under a strategy to develop four to
six aloft hotels with our joint venture partner, The John Buck
Company."

"This is the second cutting-edge hotel brand that I've had the
privilege of developing and opening in my career," said Paul Novak,
Managing Director-hospitality division of The John Buck Company. "The
aloft brand is clearly the next great upper-tier, select-service brand
targeted to a new generation of business and pleasure travelers. The
aloft Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga is the first of several we have under
construction or under development, and the joint venture continues to
seek more opportunities to build, own and operate."

The southern California hotel is the second of 18 aloft hotels
scheduled to open this year. On schedule to open later this summer are
aloft hotels in Rogers, Arkansas; Lexington, Massachusetts; Chicago
O'Hare Airport; Philadelphia Airport; Charleston Airport and
Convention Center, North Carolina; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Portland
Airport, Oregon and Beijing, China.

aloft offers atmospheric public spaces designed to draw guests
from their rooms to socialize and make friends. Savvy travelers can
read the paper, work on their laptops via complimentary hotel-wide
wireless Internet access, play a game of pool or grab a drink with
friends at re:mix( SM), the communal lobby area featuring the sassy w
xyz bar. The re:charge( SM) fitness center and splash, the outdoor
pool, give travelers options to de-stress and re-energize, while
re:fuel by aloft( SM), a one-stop food and beverage area, offers
sweet, savory and healthy food, snacks and beverages to grab & go, 24
hours a day.

Guest rooms feature urban-influenced design, while the centerpiece
of each aloft room is an ultra-comfortable plush platform bed.
Loft-like nine-foot ceilings and oversized windows create a bright,
airy environment. Large, stylish bathrooms complement the guest
experience with oversized walk-in showers and amenities created by
bliss spa(R). Each aloft room is also a combination high-tech office
and entertainment center, featuring wireless Internet access and plug
& play, a one-stop connectivity solution for multiple electronic
gadgetry such as PDAs, cell phones, mp3 players and laptops - all
linked to a large, flat-panel HDTV-ready television for optimal sound
and viewing.

Guests of aloft can book their stay directly through
www.alofthotels.com which features the best rate guarantee. Guests
also may book through their local travel agents. In addition, during
the year of aloft hotel's launch--2008--members of the Starwood
Preferred Guest program can earn an unprecedented 8 Starpoints for
every U.S. dollar spent (quadruple the base earning) when they
register and then book a stay at any aloft hotel worldwide until
December 31. Members of the award-winning and industry-leading
Starwood Preferred Guest program currently earn two points for every
dollar spent at a participating Starwood hotel. After racking up their
Starpoints, SPG members can redeem their points for free nights with
no blackout dates at more than 860 hotels and resorts worldwide. The
offer is designed to celebrate the opening of aloft, the eighth hotel
and lifestyle brand to join the Starwood Preferred Guest loyalty
program.

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 900
properties in more than 100 countries and 155,000 employees at its
owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated
owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences 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, and the recently launched 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 www.starwoodhotels.com.

About The John Buck Company

Founded in 1981, The John Buck Company offers comprehensive real
estate services in the areas of development, finance, investment
brokerage, project leasing, tenant representation, marketing and
management, as well as construction for commercial, mixed-use and
residential properties. The employee-owned firm is headquartered in
Chicago. aloft Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga is owned by a joint venture
that includes The John Buck Company (TJBC), an international real
estate firm, and Interstate Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: IHR), one of the
nation's largest independent hotel management companies. The joint
venture recently announced plans to build four to six aloft hotels
over the next several years, which will be managed by Interstate under
long-term management agreements. For additional information on The
John Buck Company, please visit the company's website at www.TJBC.com.

About Interstate Hotels & Resorts

As of today, Interstate Hotels & Resorts has ownership interests
in 55 hotels and resorts, including seven wholly owned assets.
Together with these properties, the company and its affiliates manage
a total of 217 hospitality properties with more than 45,000 rooms in
36 states, the District of Columbia, Russia, Mexico, Belgium, Canada,
and Ireland. Interstate Hotels & Resorts also has contracts to manage
17 to be built hospitality properties with approximately 4,000 rooms.
For more information about Interstate Hotels & Resorts, visit the
company's Web site: www.ihrco.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.)

Media:
Meg Connolly Communications
Meg Connolly, 212-505-8200
meg@megconnolly.com
or
Starwood/Aloft hotels
Angela Bliss, 914-640-8334
angela.bliss@starwoodhotels.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008