Starwood Adopts Towers Watson's OneExchange to Offer Health Benefits to 26,500 Associates and Their Families in 2015

ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Global professional services company Towers Watson TW announced today that Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. HOT has adopted Towers Watson's OneExchange to deliver health care benefits to 26,500 full-time active employees and their families beginning April 1, 2015. The move will enable Starwood to offer associates high-quality, cost-effective health care coverage with a focus on wellness and health improvement.

"We have been closely monitoring developments in the health care landscape and exploring different options to provide quality, affordable health care coverage," said Jeff Cava, executive vice president and chief human resource officer of Starwood. "Starting in 2009, we moved to account-based health plans supported by health savings accounts, and invested in programs to improve our associates' health and reward those who take healthy actions. Moving to a private exchange model for delivering health benefits is a natural next step in our health care strategy."

Added Cava, "OneExchange allows us to offer more choice in health care plans and carriers, continue providing health and productivity programs to keep health care benefits affordable, and sustain our benefit programs for the long term. We feel that partnering with Towers Watson allows us to take advantage of their core competence in designing and delivering benefits, and the economies of scale they provide."

OneExchange is a private health insurance exchange owned and operated by Towers Watson and supports all workforce populations, including full- and part-time active employees, and pre-Medicare and Medicare-eligible retirees.

"As health care costs continue to rise, forward-looking employers are taking advantage of new market-driven solutions for managing costs and staying competitive in their industries while delivering quality health benefits that can improve the health and wellness of their workforce," said Jim Foreman, managing director of Exchange Solutions for Towers Watson. "Widely recognized as one of the world's most innovative companies, Starwood is a standout in the hospitality industry in many areas, including health care strategy. Their decision to move to a private exchange for health benefits is just one example of their leadership."

About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world, with 1,200 properties in 100 countries and 181,400 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis^®, The Luxury Collection^®, W^®, Westin^®, Le Méridien^®, Sheraton^®, Four Points^® by Sheraton, Aloft^® and Element^®. The Company boasts one of the industry's leading loyalty programs, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG^®), allowing members to earn and redeem points for room stays, room upgrades and flights, with no blackout dates. Starwood also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., a premier provider of world-class vacation experiences through villa-style resorts and privileged access to Starwood brands. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.

About Towers Watson

Towers Watson TW is a leading global professional services company that helps organizations improve performance through effective people, risk and financial management. With 15,000 associates around the world, the company offers consulting, technology and solutions in the areas of benefits, talent management, rewards, and risk and capital management. Learn more at towerswatson.com.