HOTELS & RESORTS

The First X2 Resort – Design Hotel Officially Opens
December, 2007, Prachuap Khiri Khan , Thailand - After 2 years of development, the first X2 resort (www.X2resorts.com) officially opened its doors on schedule, in December 2007. X2 Kui-Buri is the first and only designer resort, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province at the moment, and is spearheading the growth in the beachside town of Kui Buri .
“To open any resort or hotel on time is an outstanding accomplishment,” said Anthony McDonald, Chief Executive Officer of X2 Resorts. “Everyone, from the operations team to the construction crews, from the county building officials to the incredible X2 Kui Buri staff should be very proud of this achievements.”
For X2 Resorts (www.X2resorts.com), the opening of X2 Kui-Buri is a welcoming sign. The designer resort brand has another ongoing project on Koh Samui, scheduled to open June 2008.
Managed by Astudo Hotel & Resort Management, X2 Kui-Buri offers a refreshing blend of metropolitan sophistication, superior facilities and sensory-rich products and services. The resort is ideally situated besides a peaceful seaside village near Kui-Buri, just south of Hua-Hin and only a 3 hour drive from Bangkok . This resort of high-end villas is set amidst 4 acres of virgin beachfront land and provides a sanctuary of peace.
X2 Kui-Buri is expected to be one of the leading premier resorts in the region and has already received local and international coverage leading up to its much anticipated opening. Major feature stories about this award winning design resort have featured in Wallpaper magazine, Elle Décor (UK), Futurarc (Hong Kong), Living Deco ( Spain ) and Artravel (France and International). Additionally X2 was accepted as a member of the exclusive European “Design Hotels” member group, who will represent the resort throughout Europe and America .
Starwood Hotels & Resorts launch fully integrated Chinese language websites
Chinese consumers can now choose to book online in their native language for any of the hotel brands under Starwood
In keeping with its aggressive development momentum in China, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) announced the launch of its fully integrated Chinese language websites for each of its hotel brands including St. Regis The Luxury Collection W Westin Le Meridien Sheraton Four Points by Sheraton, AloftSM, and ElementSM.
Chinese consumers who are more comfortable and confident to communicate in their native language for online transactions can now log on to any of the Starwood hotel brand Chinese websites, be it Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien or Four Points by Sheraton, search for hotel options and book directly online.
The launch is part of the efforts to cater to the needs of consumers in Starwood’s fastest growing region – China – for both inbound and outbound travel businesses, in addition to an increased demand for online booking convenience.
“Within this tremendous growth in both inbound and outbound travel businesses, China is yet another growth phenomenon in terms of internet bookings. In 2006, the market size for hotel bookings in China reached US$121Million and around 40% of this revenue was contributed by five-star hotels. By 2010, the market size for hotel online booking will hit US$347 Million. We need to seize the momentum of the market growth and support this channel with good content and effective product offerings,” commented Oliver Bonke, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing for Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Asia Pacific