MasterCard Cardholders Eligible for a Free Weekend Night's Stay for Three Hotel Stays at Participating Starwood Hotels and Resorts
SINGAPORE, Nov. 5, 2010 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- MasterCard Worldwide and Starwood Hotels and Resorts are joining hands once again to reward MasterCard cardholders who are members of Starwood Preferred Guest® (SPG), with a Free Weekend Night Award at over 250 Starwood Hotels and Resorts. The promotion, in its fourth year now, has been expanded to include selected Starwood properties in the Middle East and Africa.
To qualify for this privilege, guests need to stay three times at a minimum of one night per stay, at any of the participating hotels from 1 November 2010 to 31 January 2011, and pay for their stays using a MasterCard card. Cardholders who are not SPG members can simply join online for free. The Free Weekend Night Award can be redeemed for a Friday, Saturday or a Sunday night at the participating hotels and resorts, except in properties in select countries in the Middle East and Africa, where it can be redeemed on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday.
The expansion of the program to cover the Middle East and Africa means travelers to popular destinations in the two regions, such as Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen, can also enjoy this promotion.
According to the results of MasterCard's travel survey conducted in Mar-Apr 2010, one in four consumers surveyed across Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa wanted to take a trip abroad in the six months ahead. Many of these would-be travelers ranked destinations within their region as places they were likely to visit.
"We are excited to continue our partnership with MasterCard and to reward our guests with such a rich offer. In busy times like this, it is important to have a short break to recharge and rejuvenate and this promotion is a great opportunity to do so," said Nelli Yong, Vice President, Brand Marketing, Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels & Resorts.
"MasterCard is delighted to work with Starwood again on this promotion. Our research shows that travel is an integral part of consumers' lives, and we are happy to offer them excellent privileges as they set about their year-end trips. With the program being expanded to exciting destinations across Middle East and Africa this year, our cardholders have more memorable vacations to look forward to!" said Nagesh Devata, vice president, Market Development, Asia/Pacific, Middle East & Africa, MasterCard Worldwide.
Brands under Starwood Hotels & Resorts include Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien, St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Aloft, Four Points by Sheraton and W hotels. To automatically stand a chance to receive a free weekend night award at participating Starwood hotels and resorts in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, MasterCard and SPG cardholders must register and make their room reservations through www.SPG.com/mastercardfreeweekend or via a Starwood Customer Contact Center and mention the promotion code '3MC'. Travelers who are not SPG members can join at no cost when they register for the promotion. A list of SPG participating properties can be found at www.spg.com/mastercardfreeweekend. The free weekend night award can be redeemed between 2 December 2010 and 27 February 2011. For further information and terms and conditions, please visit www.SPG.com/mastercardfreeweekend
About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1000 properties in nearly 100 countries and territories with 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 Meridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, and the recently launched Aloft®, and ElementSM. 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 www.starwoodhotels.com.
About MasterCard Worldwide
As a leading global payments company, MasterCard Worldwide prides itself on being at the heart of commerce, helping to make life easier and more efficient for everyone, everywhere. MasterCard serves as a franchisor, processor and advisor to the payments industry, and makes commerce happen by providing a critical economic link among financial institutions, governments, businesses, merchants, and cardholders worldwide. In 2009, $2.5 trillion in gross dollar volume was generated on its products by consumers around the world. Powered by the MasterCard Worldwide Network – the fastest payment processing network in the world – MasterCard processes over 22 billion transactions each year, has the capacity to handle 140 million transactions per hour, with an average network response time of 140 milliseconds and with 99.99 percent reliability. MasterCard advances global commerce through its family of brands, including MasterCard®, Maestro®, and Cirrus®; its suite of core products such as credit, debit, and prepaid; and its innovative platforms and functionalities, such as MasterCard PayPass™ and MasterCard inControl™. MasterCard serves consumers, governments, and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information, please visit us at www.mastercard.com. Follow us on Twitter: @mastercardnews.
