Press Release
March 1, 2001
WHITE PLAINS, NY -- It's business as usual at The Westin Seattle, Sheraton Seattle and W Seattle after an earthquake
rocked the city yesterday morning.
Executives at Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) reported that the hotels sustained no significant
damage, although some minor cracks and loose ceiling tiles were reported at all three hotels.
Television crews were filming Microsoft's Bill Gates, who was speaking at a conference in the ballroom at The Westin
Seattle when the earthquake hit. Hotel manager Elizabeth James reports Gates was back on stage in 20 minutes, continuing
his speech where he left off, once engineering staff inspected the ballroom and stage.
At the Sheraton Seattle, inspectors found no major internal or external damage, and general manager Carla Murray
says the hotel is ``in good shape and guests have commented how well the staff responded.''
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in
the world with more than 725 properties in 80 countries and 120,000 employees at its owned and managed properties.
With internationally renowned brands, Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchiser of hotels and
resorts including: St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Four Points and W hotels, as well as Starwood
Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership
resorts. Additional information on Starwood is available from the company's website: www.starwoodhotels.com.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact:
Starwood Hotels & Resorts, White Plains
Deborah Bernstein/KC Kavanagh, 914-640-8361/8339