HVS Announces Its Annual Hospitality Leadership Awards

HVS Executive Search is pleased to announce the HVS Hospitality Leadership Awards for:

• Top-Performing CEO: Jeff Boyd of priceline.com
• and Stephen Holmes of Wyndham Worldwide, and
• Top-Performing Board: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

Keith Kefgen, CEO of HVS Executive Search, and Steve Rushmore, President & Founder of HVS, will present the awards to the winners during the 32nd Annual New York University International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference. The award ceremony will take place on Monday, June 7, 2010, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the 16th Floor Sky Lobby at the New York Marriott Marquis.

This is the 17th year of the award presentation to the Top-Performing CEO, and the 12th year for the Top-Performing Board of Directors award.

The Top-Performing CEO of the Year Award is presented annually to the CEO who offers the best value to shareholders based on a Pay-for-Performance model designed by Keith Kefgen. The model compares CEO compensation to such indicators as stock appreciation, market capitalization, and increases in EBITDA or FFO, to determine the top-performing CEO.

HVS Executive Search has presented the Top-Performing CEO Award each year since 1994. This is the first time in the award’s 17-year history that there have been joint winners for this award. It is also the first time that the top spot has been won by the same executive two years in a row, by Jeff Boyd of priceline.com.

Jeffery H. Boyd has been President of priceline.com since May 2001 and Chief Executive Officer since November 2002. Mr. Boyd was President and Co-Chief Executive Officer from August 2002 to November 2002 and Chief Operating Officer from November 2000 to August 2002. He previously served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of priceline.com from January 2000 to October 2000. Prior to joining priceline.com, Mr. Boyd was Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Oxford Health Plans, Inc.

Stephen P. Holmes was named Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Wyndham Worldwide during the formation of the company in 2006. Prior to Wyndham Worldwide, Mr. Holmes was Vice Chairman and a member of the Board of Directors of Cendant Corporation. In 1997, Mr. Holmes was appointed Vice Chairman and CEO of the Travel Content Division of Cendant Corporation when Hospitality Franchise Systems (HFS) merged with CUC International. From 1990 to 1996, Holmes was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of HFS. Mr. Holmes joined HFS at the company’s founding in 1990 and served on the Board of Directors and as Chief Financial Officer. Previously, he served as Managing Director of The Blackstone Group. Mr. Holmes began his career in the travel industry in 1984 when he was with Reliance Group, LP.

The Top-Performing Board of Directors of the Year Award is presented annually to the board of directors that is most effective in leading a public hotel company. Using a corporate governance model designed by Keith Kefgen, HVS Executive Search tabulates rankings that compare board makeup, independence, committee structure, conflicts of interest and a commitment to pay-for-performance.

HVS Executive Search has presented the Top-Performing Board Award each year since 1999. This year’s winner, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., also won the award in 2002 and 2007.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world, with 1,000 properties in nearly 100 countries and territories, and 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels 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, and the recently launched Aloft® and Element SM. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high-quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit .

About HVS Executive Search | HVS Executive Search is the premier executive search and advisory firm providing consulting services to leaders of the hotel, restaurant, gaming and real estate industries. Practice areas include senior-level executive search, mid-management recruitment, compensation consulting and performance management. HVS delivers highly customized solutions by focusing on the needs of our clients and bottom-line results. Our professionals are located in New York, London, Hong Kong, Moscow, Mumbai and New Delhi and give the firm the worldwide exposure our clients demand. HVS Executive Search is a division of HVS, a fully integrated consulting firm focused on the hospitality industry. Founded in 1980, HVS is the world's leading specialist in hospitality consulting. With 30 offices globally, HVS offers unparalleled worldwide market expertise.