Get More For Your Meeting
Give More To Your Community
Sweepstakes

OFFICIAL RULES
NO PURCHASE REQUIRED TO ENTER OR WIN

1. ELIGIBILITY: Get More For Your Meeting, Give More To Your Community Sweepstakes (the Sweepstakes”) is open to Professional Meeting Planners on behalf of their Planner employer and individuals planning their personal event (excluding wedding and cater-only events). Entrant must be a legal resident of the fifty (50) United States (including the District of Columbia) or Canada (excluding residents of Quebec) and 21 years of age or older at time of entry. Employees of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., and Pepsi-Cola Company and its bottlers, as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings, and children) and household members of each such employee are not eligible.  The Sweepstakes is subject to all applicable federal, state, provincial and local laws and regulations and is void where prohibited by law. 
2. SPONSOR: The Sweepstakes is sponsored by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., 1111 Westchester Avenue, White Plains, NY 10604 (the “Sponsor”).
3. AGREEMENT TO OFFICIAL RULES: Participation in the Sweepstakes constitutes entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor, which are final and binding.  Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein. Planner must be an active member of and in good standing with the Starwood Preferred Planner program and the Starwood Preferred Guest^® program to receive Starpoints. Membership in the SPP/SPG program is required to redeem Starpoints. Join for free at www.SPG.com or www.starwoodpreferredplanner.com.
4. PROMOTION PERIOD: The Sweepstakes begins at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on May 3, 2010 and ends at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on September 30, 2010 (the “Promotion Period”).  Entries submitted prior to or after the Promotion Period will be disqualified.
5. METHOD OF ENTRY:  No purchase or booking is required to win. There are two ways to enter the Sweepstakes. 
   1. To Enter Online with a Qualified Meeting/Event Booking:
      Visit www.starwoodhotels.com/valueaddedmeetings to learn about the sweepstakes promotion. Meeting Planner automatically earns one (1) entry for each Qualified Meeting booked during the Promotion Period. In addition for each Qualified Meeting booked, Planner will receive an electronic acknowledgement of the sweepstakes entry along with a 2500 Starpoints signing bonus for every 25 room nights booked. A Qualified Meeting entry is defined as a Group contract sign on or after May 3, 2010 and on or before September 30, 2010; contracted room block must be used and paid for by December 31, 2010.  Minimum of 25 room nights must be booked to qualify for this offer at Luxury Collection, W, Westin, Sheraton, Le Meridien, Four Points by Sheraton, Element and Aloft brand hotels. Offer is not valid at St. Regis Hotels. Promotion excludes catering-only events or wedding contracts. Multiple rooms booked under the same contract, when qualified, will only count as one Meeting booked.
   2. To Enter by Mail: Submit your Professional Meeting Planner business name (if applicable), your name, the date of your event (optional), your address, work number and e-mail address on a 3" x 5" piece of paper. Mail it in a hand-addressed envelope to: Get More For Your Meeting, Give More To Your Community Sweepstakes, P.O. Box 3010, Rogers MN 55374-3011. Mail-in entries must be postmarked no later than September 30, 2010, and received by October 7, 2010. Each mail-in entry must be on a separate 3” x 5” card.
   For All Methods of Entry:  LIMIT: one (1) entry per day per person. Sponsor is not responsible for late, lost, illegible, incomplete or misdirected or postage due mail entries; interrupted or unavailable network servers; or other connection miscommunications, failed phone or computer or telephone transmissions, or technical failure, jumbled, scrambled or misdirected transmissions or other error of any kind whether human, mechanical or electronic that may affect the Sweepstakes entry process.  All entries become the exclusive property of the Sponsor, and none will be acknowledged or returned.  Use of any automated system or agency relationship to submit entries is prohibited and will result in disqualification.
6. DRAWING: Winner is defined as the Meeting Planner’s employer of record in the case of a Professional Meeting Planner or the individual personal event entrant (as defined under #1 ELIGBILITY). One (1) potential winner will be selected in each of the four (4) random drawings, from among all qualified entries, on or about the following dates: June 4, July 9, August 20 and October 7, 2010. Each qualified entry will be included in all drawings based on date eligible. The drawings will be conducted on Sponsor’s behalf in St. Paul, MN, by Interactive Games, an independent judging organization whose decisions as to the administration of the Sweepstakes and the selection of the potential winners are final.  Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. The Sponsor will attempt to notify the potential winner via mail, email or phone within ten (10) days of the drawing.  If the potential winner does not respond within seven (7) days after the first attempt to contact him/her, the Sponsor will select an alternate potential winner in his/her place at random from all eligible entries received.
7. REQUIREMENTS OF THE POTENTIAL WINNER:  Except where prohibited, the potential winner(s) will be required to complete and return an affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity release (the “Affidavit/Release”) within ten (10) days of being notified.  If the potential winner fails to sign and return the Affidavit/Release within the required time period, an alternate entrant will be selected in his/her place in a random drawing of all eligible entries received. For residents of Canada only, potential winner will be required to correctly answer a time limited mathematical skill testing question administered by telephone without any assistance in order to receive a prize.
8. GRAND PRIZE AWARDS: Four (4) $50,000.00 Charitable Donation Grants. The winning Planner entrant will be awarded the right to designate a $50,000.00 charitable donation to their favorite local charitable organization that meets the Charitable Organization Award Criteria as described below. The entrant may divide the charitable award and designate up to three (3) qualified charitable organizations.
   Charitable Organization Award Criteria: For the purposes of this offering, a winner’s designated charitable organization must be duly registered and formed under federal, state or provincial laws as required and is subject to Sponsor’s approval. U.S. based charities will be required to furnish Letter of Determination certifying that the institution/organization has qualified for federal tax exemption under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code and Federal Identification Number. Canada based charities will be required to furnish Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) registration documentation and current Charity Information Return Form T3010. In addition charitable institution/organization must meet the stated eligibility criteria herein and provide the following applicable written documentation:
   • Annual Report
   • A mission statement defining goals, objectives, scope of influence and community impact.
   • Organization’s diversity policy inclusive of service, outreach and hiring policies, practices integrated into the organization's structure, leadership and governance policies.
   • Accreditation with Charity Navigator for non-profit rating evaluation.  Charity Navigator reviews IRS Forms 990 to evaluate the financial health of the charity - organizational efficiency and organizational capacity. Organization must have a 4-Star (Exceptional) or 3-Star (Good) rating.
   • Letter of confirmation from Canada Revenue Agency verifying charity is in good standing with Charitable BN/Registration Number.
   Sponsor reserves all rights to reject and disqualify any charitable organization from receiving a prize donation for any reason including, but not limited to, failure to meet the criteria set forth herein or any other reason it deems appropriate. Sponsor will incur the cost of the charitable donation and remit donation directly to designated approved charitable organization. The Winner, having been provided charitable grant designation privileges is not eligible and has no claim for a charitable contribution tax deduction.
   The Prize is not transferable or refundable and must be accepted as awarded.  No cash or other substitution may be made, except by the Sponsor, who reserves the right to substitute the Prize with another prize of equal or greater value if the Prize is not available for any reason as determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion. All expenses not specified including transportation, correspondence and other related expenses, are the sole responsibility of Prize winner. Prize must be distributed by December 20, 2010.
9. PUBLICITY:  Except where prohibited, participation in the Sweepstakes constitutes winner’s consent to the Sponsor’s use of winner’s name, voice, likeness and country of residence for the purpose of advertising, trade or promotion, in any media throughout the world, without further payment or consideration.
10. PRIVACY:  By participating in the Sweepstakes, you hereby authorize Sponsor the right to collect, use, process, transfer and store all data provided by you, including without limitation, personal data, to the United States, or any location(s) throughout the world that the Sponsor deems necessary, whether within your country of residence or elsewhere, and with such party(ies) as Sponsor deems appropriate, for purposes of administration of the Sweepstakes. All information submitted to the Sponsor as part of this Sweepstakes will be treated in accordance with the Sponsor privacy policy, available at www.starwoodhotels.com.  Personal information will be used to: (a) contact potential winners; and (b) if an entrant selects to receive additional information from the Sponsor on the entry form, to send additional information to that entrant.  Entrants have the right to access, withdraw, and correct their personal data. Directions on procedure for administrative access to personal data are provided in the privacy policy.
11. GENERAL CONDITIONS:  In the event that the operation, security, or administration of the Sweepstakes is impaired in any way for any reason, including, but not limited to fraud, virus, or other technical problem, or any condition caused by events beyond the reasonable control of the Sponsor that may cause the Sweepstakes to be disrupted or corrupted, the Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, either: (a) suspend the Sweepstakes to address the impairment and then resume the Sweepstakes in a manner that best conforms to the spirit of these Official Rules; or (b) award the prize at random from among the eligible entries received up to the time of the impairment. The Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process, the operation of the Sweepstakes, to be acting in violation of these Official Rules, or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to undermine the legitimate operation of the Sweepstakes may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, the Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. The Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.
12. RELEASE AND LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY:  By participating in the Sweepstakes, entrants agree to release and hold harmless Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., Pepsi-Cola Company and its bottlers, its officers, directors, employees, and agents (the “Released Parties”) from and against any claim or cause of action arising out of participation in the Sweepstakes, or receipt or use of any prize, including, but not limited to: (a) unauthorized human intervention in the Sweepstakes; (b) technical errors related to computers, servers, providers, or telephone or network lines; (c) printing errors; (d) lost, late, postage-due, misdirected, or undeliverable mail; (e) errors in the administration of the Sweepstakes or the processing of entries; or (f) injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from entrant’s participation in the Sweepstakes or acceptance, receipt  use or misuse of any prize.  Entrant further agrees that in any cause of action, the Released Parties’ liability will be limited to the cost of entering and participating in the Sweepstakes, and in no event shall the Released Parties be liable for attorney’s fees.  Entrant waives the right to claim any damages whatsoever, including, but not limited to, punitive, incidental, consequential, direct, or indirect damages.  Sponsor is not responsible if any prize cannot be awarded due to travel cancellations, delays or interruptions due to acts of God, acts of war, natural disasters, weather or acts of terrorism. Luxury Collection, W, Westin, Sheraton, Le Meridien, Four Points by Sheraton, Element and Aloft and their respective logos are the trademarks of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. or its affiliates.
13. DISPUTES:  Except where prohibited, entrant agrees that any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of, or connected with, the Sweepstakes or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the appropriate court located in the State of New York.  All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, entrant’s rights and obligations, or the rights and obligations of the Released Parties in connection with the Sweepstakes, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the State of New York or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of New York. 
14. SWEEPSTAKES RESULTS:  To find out the name of the winners visit www.starwoodpromos.com/nasppoffers/winner between October 15, 2010, and December 31, 2010.