Starwood Hotels & Resorts has appointed marketing veteran Matthew Jung as its marketing director for the W brand in Asia Pacific as the company ramps up its portfolio with five new hotels slated to open in the next three years.

Three W hotels are confirmed to open in 2010. W Koh Samui will unfurl in quarter two of the year while W Guangzhou and W Bali Seminyak are scheduled to commence operations in December. Currently, there are three W hotels operating in Asia: W Hong Kong (2008), W Maldives (2006), and W Seoul (2004).

Jung, who spent the past two years heading up brand-building, marketing and public relations for Asia�s flagship W Hong Kong, takes on the newly created role after successfully positioning the hotel as Hong Kong�s premiere lifestyle destination hotel.

A 12-year events and entertainment, media and hospitality marketing veteran in Asia Pacific, Jung joined W Hong Kong in 2007 as Director of Marketing responsible for launching the brand and the hotel in a key Asian gateway city. W Hong Kong quickly became a central player in the region's creative and cultural arenas, with partnerships secured in the areas of MUSIC (Music Matters 2008 and 2009), DESIGN (Business of Design Week 2009) and FILM (Hong Kong International Film Festival - 2009 and 2010).

Jung marketed W Hong Kong�s passion points and soon established the hotel�s appeal to the trendsetters with further engagements with local tastemakers, galleries and indie events, such as "I SHOT HONG KONG" film festival, Hong Kong & Shenzen Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism and Architecture, Quintessentially Foundation, and more. He garnered much publicity with top design magazines such as "Perspective", and was responsible for the advent of "pop-up" galleries featuring Warhol, Hirst, and Murakami. W Hong Kong�s Sip & Indulge series (happy hours featuring high profile speakers who meet and greet W guests) have also graced celebrities like Oliver Stone, Jean Reno, Wing Shya, Martina Navratilova, and Yi Zhou.

�There is so much happening culturally and creatively in the new markets where W hotels will be opening and where W brand already exists.� Jung said. �It is my mandate to further integrate W passion points and brand essence into all of W hotels� happenings and we look forward to continually live up to our brand promises, innovating fresh and memorable experiences for our guests.�

Jung will be responsible for leading the development and execution of W brand communication plans in Asia Pacific, and supporting W hotels with revenue generating activities. He is based at Starwood�s Hong Kong office, working within the Brand Management team.

About W Hotels Worldwide W Hotels is a global luxury lifestyle brand with 35 properties in the most vibrant destinations around the world. Inspiring, iconic, innovative and influential, W Hotels provides the ultimate in insider access. Each hotel offers a unique mix of sophisticated design, chic comfort, and cultural influences from fashion to music, pop culture to art, and everything in between. W Hotels are unique and individual expressions of modern travel and stylish living, featuring world-class cuisine, destination bars and signature spas. In North America and Latin America, W Hotels have been announced in Austin, Buckhead Atlanta, Downtown Atlanta, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Hoboken, Hollywood, Huntington Beach, Downtown New York, Santiago, South Beach, and Washington, D.C. In Europe, W Hotels have been announced in Athens, Barcelona, London, Manchester, Milan and St. Petersburg. In Asia, W has announced properties in Bangkok, Guangzhou, and Shanghai. In Africa and the Middle East, W has announced properties in Amman, Dubai-Festival City, Dubai-The Palm and Marrakech. W has plans to open W Retreat & Spa properties in Bali, Koh Samui, Vieques Island and Verbier, the latter of which will serve as W Hotels� first ski retreat. For more information, visit www.whotels.com.