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Starwood Selects MapQuest as Provider of Location-Based Services for Starwood Hotels and Resorts Around the World and on the World Wide Web
Agreement Provides Starwood Guests With Added Level of Convenience and Service, Helping Them Get to and from Starwood Properties, and to Local Attractions, Worldwide
DULLES, VA, December 4, 2003
Finding directions to Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. properties, and to nearby attractions worldwide, just got easier through a new agreement with MapQuest, the world's leading mapping, routing and global location-based services company. By selecting MapQuest Business Solutions' flexible, scalable and easy-to-deploy Enterprise Server v2.0, Starwood has made it even more convenient for travelers to find maps and directions to the Starwood hotel of the their choice via a number of Starwood hotel web sites. In addition, Starwood guests will benefit from MapQuest's location-based services deployed across a number of customer service locations within Starwood, including reservation and concierge desks. Starwood properties include such internationally renowned brands as St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton, and the W hotels.
Under the terms of the agreement, Starwood has licensed MapQuest Enterprise Server v2.0 as the provider of location-based services on Starwood's branded hotel web sites. In addition, the agreement provides for future deployment of MapQuest services in a number of customer service applications, as well as internal enterprise applications, including Starwood's corporate intranet site.
Access to MapQuest's Point of Interest (POI) database is also included in the agreement, and will enable Starwood guests to search not only by certain attributes (for example: non-smoking rooms, ocean views, etc.), but also by proximity to nearby points of interest. This POI information can then be displayed on a map, used for driving directions, or in proximity searching. Guests could, for example, search for Starwood hotels closest to the Washington Monument, or find monuments and museums within a mile of a selected Starwood property.
"We are extremely pleased to announce our relationship with Starwood Hotels & Resorts," said Walt Doyle, Vice President and General Manager of MapQuest Business solutions. "By deploying MapQuest location-based services across their entire enterprise, Starwood has shown once again that they are committed to providing their guests with the highest levels of service and convenience available"
With more than 740 hotels in more than 80 countries, Starwood is truly a global operation. In selecting MapQuest Business Solutions, Starwood chose a company that could offer a self-contained, behind-the-firewall software solution that provides a range of location-based services around the globe.
The integration of MapQuest software within Starwood's network operations center allows for tremendous security, scalability and flexibility in a number of customer service scenarios involving location-based services. The potential uses: customers can be directed over the phone to the nearest Starwood property via MapQuest mapping and routing technology; Starwood hosts can provide their guests maps and directions to local attractions or their next destination.
"By incorporating MapQuest's location-based services across our hotel websites and in our daily operations, we have made it even easier for our customers to find their way to the comfort of Starwood properties around the globe," said Israel Del Rio, Vice President of Architecture and Emerging Systems for Starwood. "We were looking for a scalable, self-hosted solution that would not only serve to enhance our web presence but also enhance our guest's experience by providing them with some of the best maps and directions available to local attractions, wherever in the world they choose to stay. MapQuest has provided us with that solution"
About Starwood
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT), is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 740 properties in more than 80 countries and 105,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. With internationally renowned brands, Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts including: St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton, W brands, as well as Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwood.com.
About MapQuest
MapQuest helps people find places. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado and Mountville, Pennsylvania, MapQuest offers Web, Wireless, Business Solutions, and Published products worldwide. MapQuest.com, both the top mapping and directories site on the Web according to comScore Media Metrix, served 38 million users in February 2005. MapQuest also empowers more than 1,400 businesses with software solutions to location-enable Web and wireless applications, and is a leading provider of custom mapping content for publishers and corporations, producing more than 1.5 billion pages of printed maps every year. MapQuest.com Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of America Online, Inc.