Starwood Hotels Extends Accord With Mercedes AMG Petronas By 2 Years

Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG®), the award-winning loyalty program from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

, today announced a two-year extension of its partnership with the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team. SPG® officially launched the new global partnership at the start of Formula One's 2012 European season and after three successful years together the two partners have now announced that their relationship will continue ahead of the United States Grand Prix. Considered the most prestigious form of motor racing in the world, Formula One consists of a series of races known as ‘Grands Prix' held on purpose-built and street circuits. Through this partnership with MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS, SPG has been able to offer its members unique access to experience exclusive Grand Prix events and in incredible destinations too, such as Spain, Monaco, Singapore, Brazil, Abu Dhabi and more. “From one-of-a kind views of the pit lane to meeting the drivers in incredible destinations, the unique and exclusive experiences we have offered as a result of this partnership have helped drive SPG Members' excitement for this popular sport,” said Mark Vondrasek, Senior Vice President, Distribution, Loyalty and Partnership Marketing for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. “Our extended collaboration with the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team enables us to continue creating memorable moments for our SPG guests, feeding their passion for this world-class sport.” Access Like No Other As part of the multi-year strategic partnership, Starwood Hotels & Resorts reaffirms its position as the preferred hotel partner of MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS globally. Members of the SPG program, which is free to join, can now continue to register for their chance to redeem over 120 Access Like No Other experiences, offering unparalleled access to the team. To date, these experiences have included exclusive meet-and-greets with the drivers and incredible one-of-a-kind views of the pit lane from the team's VIP hospitality suites at major Grand Prix events worldwide. SPG members will continue to have access to off-track experiences including the racing simulator and being part of the team's Race Support whereby they can watch races at the factory with the engineering team, taking them closer to the center of the action – all by using their Starpoints®. Such events with the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS team have proven highly popular with SPG members. Since the first year of the partnership, there has been a 250 per cent growth in members redeeming their points to participate and bids up to 300,000 Starpoints in order to secure exclusive access to the United States Grand Prix in Austin. To continue to take advantage of this access and more, members can visit SPG.com/moments. Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, Toto Wolff, commented: “We are delighted to have extended our partnership with Starwood Preferred Guest for a further two years. Not only have our team enjoyed the benefits of staying in some wonderful Starwood properties as we follow the Formula One calendar around the globe but we can see the tangible benefits reflected in the excitement and enthusiasm of the SPG members who join us over the race weekends for their exclusive experiences. Knowing that our association with SPG has helped to drive the success of their membership programme is very satisfying and we look forward to more successful seasons together.”