This Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations ("MD&A") discusses our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and costs and expenses during the reporting periods. On an ongoing basis, management evaluates its estimates and judgments, including those relating to revenue recognition, bad debts, inventories, investments, plant, property and equipment, goodwill and intangible assets, income taxes, financing operations, frequent guest program liability, self-insurance claims payable, restructuring costs, retirement benefits and contingencies and litigation.

Management bases its estimates and judgments on historical experience and on various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making decisions about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily available from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions and conditions.

We believe the following to be our critical accounting policies:

Revenue Recognition. Our revenues are primarily derived from the following sources: (1) hotel and resort revenues at our owned, leased and consolidated joint venture properties; (2) management fees and franchise fees; (3) vacation ownership and residential sales; (4) other revenues from managed and franchised properties. Generally, revenues are recognized when the services have been rendered. The following is a description of the composition of our revenues:

• Owned, Leased and Consolidated Joint Ventures - Represents revenue primarily derived from hotel operations, including the rental of rooms and food and beverage sales from owned, leased or consolidated joint venture hotels and resorts. Revenue is recognized when rooms are occupied and services have been rendered. These revenues are impacted by global economic conditions affecting the travel and hospitality industry as well as relative market share of the local competitive set of hotels. Revenue per available room ("REVPAR") is a leading indicator of revenue trends at owned, leased and consolidated joint venture hotels as it measures the period-over-period growth in rooms revenue for comparable properties.

• Management Fees and Franchise Fees - Represents fees earned on hotels and resorts managed worldwide, usually under long-term contracts, franchise fees received in connection with the franchise of our Luxury Collection, Westin, Le Méridien, Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, Aloft and Element brand names, termination fees and the amortization of deferred gains related to sold properties for which we have significant continuing involvement. Management fees are comprised of a base fee, which is generally based on a percentage of gross revenues, and an incentive fee, which is generally based on the property's profitability. For any time during the year, when the provisions of our management contracts allow receipt of incentive fees upon termination, incentive fees are recognized for the fees due and earned as if the contract was terminated at that date, exclusive of any termination fees due or payable. Therefore, during periods prior to year-end, the incentive fees recorded may not be indicative of the eventual incentive fees that will be recognized at year-end as conditions and incentive hurdle calculations may not be final. Franchise fees are generally based on a percentage of hotel room revenues. As with our owned, leased and consolidated joint venture hotel revenues discussed above, these revenue sources are affected by conditions impacting the travel and hospitality industry as well as competition from other hotel management and franchise companies.

• Vacation Ownership and Residential Sales - We recognize revenue from VOI sales and financings and the sales of residential units which are typically a component of mixed use projects that include a hotel. Such revenues are impacted by the state of the global economy and, in particular, the U.S. economy, as well as interest rates and other economic conditions affecting the lending market. Revenue is generally recognized upon the buyer demonstrating a sufficient level of initial and continuing investment, when the period of cancellation with refund has expired and receivables are deemed collectible. We determine the portion of revenues to recognize for sales accounted for under the percentage of completion method based on judgments and estimates including total project costs to complete. Additionally, we record reserves against these revenues based on expected default levels. Changes in costs could lead to adjustments to the percentage of completion status of a project, which may result in differences in the timing and amount of revenues recognized from the projects. We have also entered into licensing agreements with third-party developers to offer consumers branded condominiums or residences. Our fees from these agreements are generally based on the gross sales revenue of units sold. Residential fee revenue is recorded in the period that a purchase and sales agreement exists, delivery of services and obligations has occurred, the fee to the owner is deemed fixed and determinable and collectability of the fees is reasonably assured. Residential revenue on whole ownership units is generally recorded using the completed contract method, whereby revenue is recognized only when a sales contract is completed or substantially completed. During the performance period, costs and deposits are recorded on the balance sheet.

• Other Revenues from Managed and Franchised Properties - These revenues represent reimbursements of costs incurred on behalf of managed hotel properties and franchisees. These costs relate primarily to payroll costs at managed properties where we are the employer. Since the reimbursements are made based

Goodwill and Intangible Assets. Goodwill and intangible assets arise in connection with acquisitions, including the acquisition of management contracts. We do not amortize goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives. Intangible assets with finite lives are amortized over their respective useful lives. In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") Topic 350, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other, we review all goodwill and intangible assets for impairment annually, or upon the occurrence of a trigger event. ASC Topic 350 permits us to assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount as a basis to determine whether the two-step impairment test is necessary. We also have the option to bypass the qualitative assessment for any reporting unit in any period and proceed directly to performing the first step of the two-step goodwill impairment test. Impairment charges, if any, are recognized in operating results.

Frequent Guest Program. Starwood Preferred Guest ("SPG") is our frequent guest incentive marketing program. SPG members earn points based on spending at our owned, managed and franchised hotels, as incentives to first-time buyers of VOIs and residences, and through participation in affiliated partners' programs such as co-branded credit cards (see Note 17). Points can be redeemed at substantially all of our owned, managed and franchised hotels as well as through other redemption opportunities with third parties, such as conversion to airline miles.

We charge our owned, managed and franchised hotels the cost of operating the SPG program, including the estimated cost of our future redemption obligation, based on a percentage of our SPG members' qualified expenditures. Our management and franchise agreements require that we are reimbursed for the costs of operating the SPG program, including marketing, promotions and communications and performing member services for the SPG members. As points are earned, we increase the SPG point liability for the amount of cash we receive from our managed and franchised hotels related to the future redemption obligation. For our owned hotels, we record an expense for the amount of our future redemption obligation with the offset to the SPG point liability. When points are redeemed by the SPG members, the hotels recognize revenue and the SPG point liability is reduced.

Through the services of third-party actuarial analysts, we determine the value of the future redemption obligation based on statistical formulas which project the timing of future point redemptions based on historical experience, including an estimate of the "breakage" for points that will never be redeemed, and an estimate of the points that will eventually be redeemed as well as the cost of reimbursing hotels and other third parties in respect of other redemption opportunities for point redemptions.

We consolidate the assets and liabilities of the SPG program including the liability associated with the future redemption obligation which is included in other long-term liabilities and accrued expenses in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. The total actuarially determined liability (see Note 17), as of December 31, 2012 and 2011 was $922 million and $844 million, respectively, of which $275 million and $251 million, respectively, was included in accrued expenses.

Long-Lived Assets. We evaluate the carrying value of our long-lived assets for impairment by comparing the expected undiscounted future cash flows of the assets to the net book value of the assets if certain trigger events occur. If the expected undiscounted future cash flows are less than the net book value of the assets, the excess of the net book value over the estimated fair value is charged to current earnings. Fair value is based upon discounted cash flows of the assets at a rate deemed reasonable for the type of asset and prevailing market conditions, sales of similar assets, appraisals and, if appropriate, current estimated net sales proceeds from pending offers. We evaluate the carrying value of our long-lived assets based on our plans, at the time, for such assets and such qualitative factors as future development in the surrounding area, status of expected local competition and projected incremental income from renovations. Changes to our plans, including a decision to dispose of or change the intended use of an asset, can have a material impact on the carrying value of the asset.

In 2012, we had one hotel, with a carrying value of $9 million, that passed the impairment test despite deteriorating operating results. It is reasonably possible that if the operating results do not improve in the future, the carrying value of this hotel may be impaired.

Loan Loss Reserves. For the vacation ownership and residential segment, we record an estimate of expected uncollectibility on our VOI notes receivable as a reduction of revenue at the time we recognize a timeshare sale. We hold large amounts of homogeneous VOI notes receivable and therefore assess uncollectibility based on pools of receivables. In estimating loan loss reserves, we use a technique referred to as static pool analysis, which tracks defaults for each year's mortgage originations over the life of the respective notes and projects an estimated default rate. As of December 31, 2012, the average estimated default rate for our pools of receivables was 9.7%.

We use the origination of the notes by brand (Sheraton, Westin, and Other) as the primary credit quality indicator to calculate the loan loss reserve for the vacation ownership notes, as we believe there is a relationship between the default behavior of borrowers and the brand associated with the vacation ownership property they have acquired. In addition to quantitatively calculating the loan loss reserve based on our static pool analysis, we supplement the process by evaluating certain qualitative data, including the aging of the respective receivables, current default trends by brand and origination year, and the Fair Isaac Corporation ("FICO") scores of the buyers.

Given the significance of our pools of VOI notes receivable, a change in the projected default rate can have a significant impact to our loan loss reserve requirements, with a 0.1% change estimated to have an impact of approximately $4 million.

We consider a VOI note receivable delinquent when it is more than 30 days outstanding. All delinquent loans are placed on nonaccrual status, and we do not resume interest accrual until payment is made. We consider loans to be in default upon reaching 120 days outstanding, at which point, we generally commence the repossession process. Uncollectible VOI notes receivable are charged off when title to the unit is returned to us. We generally do not modify vacation ownership notes that become delinquent or upon default.

For the hotel segments, we measure the impairment of a loan based on the present value of expected future cash flows, discounted at the loan's original effective interest rate, or the estimated fair value of the collateral. For impaired loans, we establish a specific impairment reserve for the difference between the recorded investment in the loan and the present value of the expected future cash flows or the estimated fair value of the collateral. We apply the loan impairment policy individually to all loans in the portfolio and do not aggregate loans for the purpose of applying such policy. For loans that we have determined to be impaired, we recognize interest income on a cash basis.

Assets Held for Sale. We consider properties to be assets held for sale when management approves and commits to a formal plan to actively market a property or group of properties for sale and a signed sales contract and significant non-refundable deposit or contract break-up fee exist. Upon designation as an asset held for sale, we record the carrying value of each property or group of properties at the lower of its carrying value which includes allocable segment goodwill or its estimated fair value, less estimated costs to sell, and we stop recording depreciation expense. Any gain realized in connection with the sale of a property for which we have significant continuing involvement (such as through a long-term management agreement) is deferred and recognized over the initial term of the related agreement. The operations of the properties held for sale prior to the sale date are recorded in discontinued operations unless we will have continuing involvement (such as through a management or franchise agreement) after the sale.

Legal Contingencies. We are subject to various legal proceedings and claims, the outcomes of which are subject to significant uncertainty. An estimated loss from a loss contingency should be accrued by a charge to income if it is probable that an asset has been impaired or a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. We evaluate, among other factors, the degree of probability of an unfavorable outcome and the ability to make a reasonable estimate of the amount of loss. Changes in these factors could materially impact our financial position or our results of operations.

Income Taxes. We provide for income taxes in accordance with principles contained in ASC Topic 740, Income Taxes. Under these principles, we recognize the amount of income tax payable or refundable for the current year and deferred tax assets and liabilities for the future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in our financial statements or tax returns.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in earnings in the period when the new rate is enacted. Deferred tax assets are evaluated for future realization and reduced by a valuation allowance to the extent we believe a portion will not be realized. We consider many factors when assessing the likelihood of future realization of our deferred tax assets, including our recent cumulative earnings experience and expectations of future available taxable income by taxing jurisdiction, the carry-back and carry-forward periods available to us for tax reporting purposes and tax attributes.

We measure and recognize the amount of tax benefit that should be recorded for financial statement purposes for uncertain tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. With respect to uncertain tax positions, we evaluate the recognized tax benefits for derecognition, classification, interest and penalties, interim period accounting and disclosure requirements. Judgment is required in assessing the future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in our financial statements or tax returns.

The following discussion presents an analysis of results of our operations for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010.

Results for the year ended December 31, 2012 were strong. We performed well along all four key drivers of value. We held our costs in check for the fourth year in a row, grew our footprint with quality hotels and contracts, sustained high REVPAR and occupancies in an uncertain environment, and we realized significant value from real estate sales. Our results for the year ended December 31, 2012 benefited from the sales of residential units at the St. Regis Bal Harbour. During 2012, we closed sales of 188 units and realized revenues of $684 million. From project inception through December 31, 2012, we have closed contracts and recognized revenue on 224 units representing approximately 73% of the total residential units.

The uncertainty we saw in major world economies is showing signs of giving way to stronger demand growth. Beyond next year into the foreseeable future, we are bullish about the long-term outlook on the global high-end lodging industry. We are poised to benefit from higher rates in North America and Europe where demand is growing but supply is already limited. Even more importantly, the dramatic economic growth in Asia, Latin America, Middle East and Africa is fueling demand for our brands worldwide.

We remain optimistic that the strength of our brands will continue to drive strong operating results. We believe that we have the highest quality pipeline in the industry, as measured by percentage growth potential as well as our focus on valuable management contracts in the upscale and luxury segments. At December 31, 2012, the Company had approximately 400 hotels in the active pipeline representing approximately 100,000 rooms. Of these rooms, 67% are in the upscale and luxury segments and 85% are outside of North America. During 2012, we signed 131 hotel management and franchise contracts (representing approximately 30,500 rooms). Also, during 2012, 69 new hotels and resorts (representing approximately 17,600 rooms) entered the system and 25 properties (representing approximately 5,500 rooms) exited the system.

An indicator of the performance of our owned, leased and consolidated joint venture hotels, as well as our managed and franchised hotels, is REVPAR, as it measures the period-over-period change in rooms' revenue for comparable properties. Along with REVPAR, we also evaluate our hotels by measuring the change in Average Daily Rate ("ADR") and occupancy. This is particularly the case in the United States, where there is no impact on this measure from foreign currency exchange rates.

We continually update and renovate our owned, leased and consolidated joint venture hotels and include these hotels in our Same-Store Owned Hotel results. We also undertake major repositionings of hotels. While undergoing major repositionings, hotels are generally not operating at full capacity and, as such, these repositionings can negatively impact our hotel revenues and are not included in Same-Store Owned Hotel results.

We may continue to reposition our owned, leased and consolidated joint venture hotels as we pursue our brand and quality strategies. In addition, several owned hotels are located in regions which are seasonal and, therefore, these hotels do not operate at full capacity throughout the year.

We and our hotel owners have continued to invest capital in our hotels and provide innovative ways to utilize public space, such as our Link@SheratonSM experienced with Microsoft, and also by maximizing guest room conveniences. Finally, we believe our SPG loyalty guest program is an industry leader. With our recently announced changes to the program, we expect to drive further loyalty to our properties and brands from our SPG members as well as attract the next wave of global elite members. As the program is constantly refined and new promotions are offered, it provides rewards to our patrons while its growth in membership favorably impacts our results. As we move forward to 2013, we will continue to focus on providing superior guest experiences for our business, leisure, and group customers while maintaining a commitment to controlling our costs.

On July 1, 2012, we completed an internal management reorganization related to how we manage and operate our former hotel operating segment. Whereas our hotel business had previously been included in a single reportable segment, as a result of this reorganization, these results are now segregated into three separate hotel segments: (i) the Americas, (ii) EAME, and (iii) Asia Pacific. Our vacation ownership and residential business remains a separate segment. Prior period data has been restated to be consistent with the current year presentation.

In addition to revenues recorded within our four segments, we also have other revenues from managed and franchised properties, which represent the reimbursement of costs incurred on behalf of managed property owners. These revenues, together with the corresponding expenses, are not recorded within our segments. Other corporate unallocated revenues and earnings primarily relate to other license fee income and are also reported outside of segment revenues.

This Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations includes discussion of our consolidated operating results, which were unaffected by our internal management reorganization, as well as discussion about each of our four segments. Additionally, Note 26 to the consolidated financial statements presents further information about our segments.

Year Ended December 31, 2012 Compared with Year Ended December 31, 2011

Consolidated Results



                                                                              Increase /         Percentage
                                      Year Ended          Year Ended          (decrease)           change
                                     December 31,        December 31,         from prior         from prior
                                         2012                2011                year               year
                                                                  (in millions)
Owned, Leased and Consolidated
Joint Venture Hotels                 $       1,698       $       1,768       $        (70 )             (4.0 )%
Management Fees, Franchise Fees
and Other Income                               888                 814                 74                9.1 %
Vacation Ownership and
Residential                                  1,287                 703                584               83.1 %
Other Revenues from Managed and
Franchised Properties                        2,448               2,339                109                4.7 %

Total Revenues                       $       6,321       $       5,624       $        697               12.4 %

The decrease in revenues from owned, leased and consolidated joint venture hotels was primarily due to lost revenues from 11 owned hotels that were sold or closed in 2011 and 2012. These sold or closed hotels had revenues of $420 million in the year ended December 31, 2012, compared to $484 million for the corresponding period in 2011. Revenues at our Same-Store Owned Hotels (39 hotels for the year ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, excluding the 11 hotels sold and 14 additional hotels undergoing significant repositionings or without comparable results in 2012 and 2011) decreased 0.2%, or $3 million, to $1.252 billion for the year ended December 31, 2012, when compared to $1.255 billion in the corresponding period of 2011.

REVPAR at our worldwide Same-Store Owned Hotels was $160.01 for the year ended December 31, 2012, compared to $159.85 in the corresponding period in 2011. The slight increase in REVPAR at these worldwide Same-Store Owned Hotels resulted from an increase in occupancy rates to 72.5% for the year ended December 31, 2012, compared to 72.3% in the corresponding period in 2011, partially offset by a 0.2% decrease in ADR to $220.71 for the year ended December 31, 2012, compared to $221.17 for the corresponding period in 2011. While REVPAR growth was particularly strong at our owned hotels in San Francisco, California, Mexico City, Mexico and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the growth was substantially offset by decreases in REVPAR at our owned hotels in Montreal, Canada, Buenos Aires, Argentina and various cities in Italy.

The increase in management fees, franchise fees and other income was primarily a result of an $89 million increase in management fees and franchise fees to $861 million for the year ended December 31, 2012, compared to $772 million for the corresponding period in 2011. Management fees increased 11.9% to $509 million and franchise fees increased 7.0% to $200 million. These increases were primarily due to the net addition of 48 managed and franchised hotels to our system in 2012 and a 3.2% increase in Worldwide Systemwide REVPAR, compared to the same period in 2011. Other income for the year ended December 31, 2012 decreased $15 million when compared to the corresponding period in 2011, primarily as a result of payments received, in 2011, on promissory notes that had previously been reserved.

Total vacation ownership and residential revenue increased $584 million to $1.287 billion for the year ended December 31, 2012, when compared to the corresponding period in 2011, primarily due to the recognition of residential sales at the St. Regis Bal Harbour. In late 2011, we received the certificate of occupancy for this project and began contract closings and, during the year ended December 31, 2012, we closed sales of 188 units. We realized revenues of $684 million during the year ended December 31, 2012 compared to realized revenues of $122 million for the year ended December 31, 2011. From project inception through December 31, 2012, we have closed contracts and recognized revenue on 224 units representing approximately 73% of the total residential units.

Vacation ownership revenues for the year ended December 31, 2012 increased 3.7% to $587 million, compared to the corresponding period in 2011, primarily due to . . .