Starwood Hotels & Resorts Selected as Diplomat Resort Operator - Scheduled to Open January, 2002, Starwood to Manage Resort Under Westin and Luxury Collection Flags

LaSalle Investment Management was appointed investment manager for The Diplomat by Independent Fiduciary Services, Inc., the independent named fiduciary for The Diplomat. Independent Fiduciary Services was selected as the independent named fiduciary by the Board of Trustees of the Plumbers' and Pipefitters' National Pension Fund, which owns The Diplomat.

The new name of the Diplomat's hotel and convention center will be The Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa, while the Diplomat Country Club and Spa will retain its name and join Starwood's Luxury Collection, an exclusive group of some of the world's finest hotels. Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels spearheaded the selection of a new hotel operator and negotiated a 15-year management contract with Starwood.

"We're thrilled to have Starwood on board to manage this luxurious, state-of-the-art hotel and convention center," said Anthony C. O'Malley, Senior Vice President of LaSalle Investment Management, a member of the Jones Lang LaSalle group. "It's a perfect fit since the Westin brand is one of the leading upscale hotel brands, while the Luxury Collection is a premier player in its class."

Arthur Adler, Managing Director of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, concurred: "The management selection process was very competitive with strong interest from a number of large international hotel operating companies. We selected Starwood because of its outstanding experience in operating large convention and resort properties around the world, as well as its distribution and depth in national and international sales and marketing offices."

"We feel privileged to have been selected to operate such an important asset under the Westin brand as the preeminent convention hotel in South Florida," said Barry Sternlicht, chairman and CEO for Starwood. "The Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa and the Diplomat Country Club and Spa will be outstanding additions to the already unmatched collection of upscale convention hotels and luxury properties within the Starwood family."

The Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa joins other celebrated Westin hotels and resorts including the legendary Westin St. Francis in San Francisco, The Westin Maui and The Century Plaza Hotel & Spa, A Westin Hotel, in Los Angeles. The Diplomat Country Club and Spa, a Luxury Collection Resort, joins a portfolio that includes such lauded hotels such as the Five Star / Five Diamond Phoenician in Scottsdale, Arizona, The Lodge at Koele and Manele Bay Hotel in Hawaii and The St. Regis, New York.

About The Diplomat

The 39-story Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa, scheduled to open January 2002, will feature 996 luxuriously appointed guest rooms including Westin's signature Heavenly Bed(TM) with a custom-designed pillow-top mattress, down blanket and five pillows. Guests can choose from several restaurants including a fine dining restaurant and The Crystal Cafe with over 100 premium terrace seats. The Celebrity Room Lounge will be reminiscent of the original Diplomat Hotel, which opened in 1958.

The five-story glass enclosed lobby will have an elaborate fountain running the length of the lobby, huge waterwalls and views of an infinity-edged bridged pool with a clear bottom to view the 240-foot lagoon pool below.

An enclosed pedestrian skywalk will connect the resort to a 217,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art convention center. The Convention Center meeting rooms, ballrooms and 50,000-square-foot Great Hall exhibition space feature the latest conference and exhibit space technology. The complex will also feature The Diplomat Landing, with 52,000 square feet of retail space.

Westin is the brand of choice of the upper upscale business traveler, according to Business Travel News, whose readers awarded it the top spot in its annual survey of hotels in the upper tier two years in a row. When it opens in 2002, The Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa will be among Westin's more than 30 distinctive and award-winning resorts around the world.

Opened in March 2000, The Diplomat Country Club and Spa provides luxury amenities including 60 deluxe guest rooms, a Joe Lee-designed championship golf course, a clay court tennis center and a 30,000- square-foot European-inspired full-service spa and salon.

As part of Starwood's Luxury Collection, The Diplomat Country Club and Spa joins a unique portfolio of the world's most grand and renowned hotels including 59 properties in 25 countries ranging from former palaces dating back to the 14th century to some of the most modern resorts.

Guests at each property will be able to earn their way toward free travel in Starwood's frequent guest program, Starwood Preferred Guest, voted the number one hotel frequency program by frequent travelers. Starwood Preferred Guest features a vast global portfolio of properties, allowing guests to accumulate points and redeem awards at Westin, Sheraton, The Luxury Collection, Four Points and W brand hotels -- representing more than 700 participating properties worldwide. The program allows for flexible award redemption without blackout dates and no point expiration for active members.

About Jones Lang LaSalle and LaSalle Investment Management

Jones Lang LaSalle JLL is the world's leading real estate services and investment management firm, operating across more than 100 markets on five continents. The company provides comprehensive integrated expertise, including management services, implementation services and investment management services on a local, regional and global level to owners, occupiers and investors. Leading Jones Lang LaSalle's work on The Diplomat, LaSalle Investment Management, the company's investment management business, is one of the world's largest and most diverse real estate investment management firms, with $22.5 billion of assets under management. Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, the world's leading hotel investment services business, provides clients with value-added investment opportunities and advice.

About Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Worldwide

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. 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 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 us at www.starwoodhotels.com.