Marriott values our guests and understands the importance of protecting personal information. We have taken measures to investigate and address a data security incident involving the Starwood guest reservation database. The investigation has determined that there was unauthorized access to the database, which contained guest information relating to reservations at Starwood properties on or before September 10, 2018. This notice explains what happened, measures we have taken, and some steps you can take in response.
On September 8, 2018, Marriott received an alert from an internal security tool regarding an attempt to access the Starwood guest reservation database. Marriott quickly engaged leading security experts to help determine what occurred. Marriott learned during the investigation that there had been unauthorized access to the Starwood network since 2014. Marriott recently discovered that an unauthorized party had copied and encrypted information, and took steps towards removing it. On November 19, 2018, Marriott was able to decrypt the information and determined that the contents were from the Starwood guest reservation database.
Marriott has not finished identifying duplicate information in the database, but believes it contains information on up to approximately 500 million guests who made a reservation at a Starwood property. For approximately 327 million of these guests, the information includes some combination of name, mailing address, phone number, email address, passport number, Starwood Preferred Guest (“SPG”) account information, date of birth, gender, arrival and departure information, reservation date, and communication preferences. For some, the information also includes payment card numbers and payment card expiration dates, but the payment card numbers were encrypted using Advanced Encryption Standard encryption (AES-128). There are two components needed to decrypt the payment card numbers, and at this point, Marriott has not been able to rule out the possibility that both were taken. For the remaining guests, the information was limited to name and sometimes other data such as mailing address, email address, or other information. Marriott reported this incident to law enforcement and continues to support their investigation. We have already begun notifying regulatory authorities.
Marriott deeply regrets this incident happened. From the start, we moved quickly to contain the incident and conduct a thorough investigation with the assistance of leading security experts. Marriott is working hard to ensure our guests have answers to questions about their personal information with a dedicated website and call center. We are supporting the efforts of law enforcement and working with leading security experts to improve. Marriott is also devoting the resources necessary to phase out Starwood systems and accelerate the ongoing security enhancements to our network.
Guest SupportMarriott has taken the following steps to help guests monitor and protect their information:
Dedicated Call Center
Marriott has established a dedicated call center to answer questions you may have about this incident. The call center is available in multiple languages. Our dedicated call center may experience high call volume initially, and we appreciate your patience. Please check info.starwoodhotels.com for any updates to our call center contact details.
The call center contact details are:
| Country/Region | Toll Free Phone Number | Hours | Days of the Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 0800 345 5412 | 1200 - 0000 ART | Mon-Sun |
| Australia | 1 800 270917 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| Austria | 0800 281462 | 0900-2100 CET | Mon-Sun |
| Belgium | 0800 70843 | 0900-2100 CET | Mon-Sun |
| Brazil | 0800 724 8312 | 0900-2100 Brasilia ST | Mon-Sun |
| Bulgaria | 0800 46057 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| Canada | 1 877 273 9481 | 0900-2100 EST | Mon-Sun |
| Chile | 800 914056 | 1200 - 0000 CLST | Mon-Sun |
| China | 400 120 0845 | 0900-1800 China ST | Mon-Sun |
| Colombia | 01800 518 5279 | 0900 - 2100 COT | Mon-Sun |
| Croatia | 0800 805974 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| Cyprus | 8007 7002 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| Czech Republic | 800 144 335 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| Denmark | 807 05303 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| Estonia | 800 0049 093 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| Finland | 0800 412894 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| France | 0805 080216 | 0900-2100 CET | Mon-Sun |
| Germany | 0800 1 801 978 | 0900-2100 CET | Mon-Sun |
| Greece | 00800 4922 493 0009 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| Hong Kong | 80 096 7828 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| Hungary | 800 88202 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| India | 000 800 050 1531 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| Indonesia | 0078033218412 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| Ireland | 1 800 903133 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| Israel | 1 80 946 7273 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| Italy | 800 728 023 | 0900-2100 CET | Mon-Sun |
| Japan | 0120 901 011 | 0900-1800 Japan ST | Mon-Fri |
| Latvia | 8000 3590 | 0800 - 2000 EET | Mon-Sun |
| Lithuania | 8 800 00394 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| Luxembourg | 8002 2870 | 0900-2100 CET | Mon-Sun |
| Malaysia | 1 800 815310 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| Malta | 800 62784 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| Mexico | 01 800 099 0742 | 0900-2100 EST | Mon-Sun |
| New Zealand | 0800 359 805 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| Peru | 0800 78472 | 0900 - 2100 PET | Mon-Sun |
| Philippines | 1 800 1322 0163 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| Poland | 00 800 1410322 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| Portugal | 800 180205 | 1100 - 2300 GMT | Mon-Sun |
| Romania | 0800 360147 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| Russia | 8 800 100 6925 | 0900-2100 Moscow | Mon-Sun |
| Saudi Arabia | 800 8852897 | 0800 - 2000 AST | Mon-Sun |
| Singapore | 800 4922405 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| Slovakia | 0 800 002 328 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| Slovenia | 0 806 88804 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| South Africa | 0 800 980 645 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| South Korea | 080 822 1429 | 0900-1800 Korea ST | Mon-Fri |
| Spain | 900 905407 | 0900-2100 CET | Mon-Sun |
| Sweden | 020 109326 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| Switzerland | 0800 561876 | 0900-2100 CET | Mon-Sun |
| Taiwan | 00801 491 196 | 0900-1800 China ST | Mon-Sun |
| The Netherlands | 0800 0228574 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
| United Arab Emirates | 800 0320134 | 0900-2100 Gulf | Mon-Sun |
| UK | 0 808 189 1065 | 0800-2000 GMT | Mon-Sun |
| USA | 1 877 273 9481 | 0900-2100 EST | Mon-Sun |
| Vietnam | 122 80 369 | 24 Hours | Mon-Sun |
Marriott began sending emails on a rolling basis on November 30, 2018 to affected guests whose email addresses are in the Starwood guest reservation database.
Starwood brands include: W Hotels, St. Regis, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, Westin Hotels & Resorts, Element Hotels, Aloft Hotels, The Luxury Collection, Tribute Portfolio, Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts, Four Points by Sheraton and Design Hotels. Starwood branded timeshare properties (Sheraton Vacation Club, Westin Vacation Club, The Luxury Collection Residence Club, St. Regis Residence Club, and Vistana) are also included.
Click on your country/region, if listed, to begin the enrollment process.
Marriott is providing guests the opportunity to enroll in web monitoring free of charge for one year. This service monitors internet sites where personal information is shared and generates an alert to the guest if evidence of the guest's personal information is found. Due to regulatory and other reasons, web monitoring or similar products are not available in all countries/regions. Guests from the United States who complete the web monitoring enrollment process will also be provided fraud consultation services and reimbursement coverage for free.
On September 8, 2018, Marriott received an alert from an internal security tool regarding an attempt to access the Starwood guest reservation database. Marriott quickly engaged leading security experts to help determine what occurred. Marriott learned during the investigation that there had been unauthorized access to the Starwood network since 2014. Marriott recently discovered that an unauthorized party had copied and encrypted information, and took steps towards removing it. On November 19, 2018, Marriott was able to decrypt the information and determined that it was from the Starwood guest reservation database.
The information copied from the Starwood guest reservation database over time includes information about guests who made a reservation at a Starwood property, including names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, passport numbers, Starwood Preferred Guest (“SPG”) account information, dates of birth, gender, arrival and departure information, reservation dates, and communication preferences. The combination of information varies by guest. For some individuals, the information copied also included payment card numbers and payment card expiration dates, but the payment card numbers were encrypted using Advanced Encryption Standard encryption (AES-128). There are two components needed to decrypt the payment card numbers, and at this point Marriott has not been able to rule out the possibility that both were taken.
After receiving the internal security alert, we immediately engaged leading security experts to help us determine what occurred. We quickly installed additional security tools to help us gather facts and reported the incident to law enforcement. Forensic investigative work is painstaking, and our internal and external security teams have been working nonstop to investigate the incident, implement additional security measures, and address what was found. We recently discovered that an unauthorized party had copied and encrypted information, and took steps towards removing it. On November 19, 2018, Marriott was able to decrypt the information and determined that the contents were from the Starwood guest reservation database. We then immediately began taking steps to notify our guests and regulatory authorities.
Marriott has not finished identifying duplicate information in the database, but believes it contains information on up to approximately 500 million guests who made a reservation at a Starwood property. For approximately 327 million of these guests, the information includes some combination of name, mailing address, phone number, email address, passport number, Starwood Preferred Guest (“SPG”) account information, date of birth, gender, arrival and departure information, reservation date, and communication preferences. For some, the information also includes payment card numbers and payment card expiration dates, but the payment card numbers were encrypted using Advanced Encryption Standard encryption (AES-128). There are two components needed to decrypt the payment card numbers, and at this point Marriott has not been able to rule out the possibility that both were taken. For the remaining guests, the information was limited to name and sometimes other data such as mailing address, email address, or other limited information.
The guest reservation database that is involved was only used for Starwood reservations. Marriott uses a separate reservation system that is on a different network.
Starwood brands include: W Hotels, St. Regis, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, Westin Hotels & Resorts, Element Hotels, Aloft Hotels, The Luxury Collection, Tribute Portfolio, Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts, Four Points by Sheraton and Design Hotels that participate in the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) program. Starwood branded timeshare properties (Sheraton Vacation Club, Westin Vacation Club, The Luxury Collection Residence Club, St. Regis Residence Club, and Vistana) are also included.
Starwood’s operation of its reservation database is also performed on behalf of other companies including those that independently own hotel properties, that manage hotel properties as a franchisee of Starwood and that offer timeshare and other vacation ownership interests and programs under a license agreement with Starwood.
Starwood operates its reservation database to independently process reservations for guests of the Starwood properties that book their stay via an Online Travel Agency or other company that acts as an agency, broker or exchange service.
The investigation only identified unauthorized access to the separate Starwood network.
Marriott deeply regrets this incident happened. From the start, we moved quickly to contain the incident and conduct a thorough investigation with the assistance of leading security experts. Marriott is working hard to ensure our guests have answers to questions about their personal information with a dedicated website and call center. We are supporting the efforts of law enforcement and working with leading security experts to improve. Marriott is also devoting the resources necessary to phase out Starwood systems and accelerate the ongoing security enhancements to our network.
If you made a reservation on or before September 10, 2018 at a Starwood property, information you provided may have been involved. You may choose to enroll in WebWatcher if it is available in your country/region. Guests from the United States who enroll in WebWatcher will also be provided fraud consultation services and reimbursement coverage free of charge.
We want you to be confident that the email notification you may receive is from Marriott. The email will come from the following email address: starwoodhotels@email-marriott.com. We also want you to be aware that when other companies have provided notifications like this, other people used it to try to trick individuals into providing information about themselves through the use of links to fake websites (phishing) or by impersonating someone they trusted (social engineering). Please note that the email you may receive from us will not contain any attachments or request any information from you, and any links will only bring you back to this webpage.
Regardless of whether you are an SPG member, if you made a reservation on or before September 10, 2018 for a Starwood property, information you provided may have been involved.
SPG account information includes your SPG account number, points balance, status level, and communication preferences. The combination of information varies by guest.
The investigation did not identify any evidence that the information that was copied has been used to attempt to access SPG accounts. It is always a good idea to monitor your account and report any unusual activity.
WebWatcher monitors internet websites where personal information is shared and generates an alert if evidence of your personal information is found. Due to regulatory and other reasons, WebWatcher or similar products are not available in all countries/regions. To enroll in WebWatcher, please click on your country/region (applicable for US, Canada and UK residents ) listed on the top right portion of this website and complete the “enroll now” instructions.
For residents of the United States, enrolling in WebWatcher also provides you with two additional benefits: (1) a Fraud Loss Reimbursement benefit, which reimburses you for out-of-pocket expenses totaling up to $1 million in covered legal costs and expenses for any one stolen identity event. All coverage is subject to the conditions and exclusions in the policy; and (2) unlimited access to consultation with a Kroll fraud specialist. Consultation support includes showing you the most effective ways to protect your identity, explaining your rights and protections under the law, assistance with fraud alerts, and interpreting how personal information is accessed and used, including investigating suspicious activity that could be tied to an identity theft event.
Marriott has established a dedicated call center to answer questions you may have about this incident. Please use the appropriate number (listed above) to inquire if a web monitoring service is available in your country/region of residence.
In addition to enrolling in WebWatcher if it is available in your country/region, below are some other steps you can take regardless of your location.
Regardless of where you reside, below are some additional steps you can take.
If you are a resident of the United States:
We remind you it is always advisable to be vigilant for incidents of fraud or identity theft by reviewing your account statements and free credit reports for any unauthorized activity. You may obtain a copy of your credit report, free of charge, once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide credit reporting companies. To order your annual free credit report, please visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll free at 1-877-322-8228. Contact information for the three nationwide credit reporting companies is as follows:
If you believe you are the victim of identity theft or have reason to believe your personal information has been misused, you should immediately contact the Federal Trade Commission and/or the Attorney General’s office in your state. You can obtain information from these sources about steps an individual can take to avoid identity theft as well as information about fraud alerts and security freezes. You should also contact your local law enforcement authorities and file a police report. Obtain a copy of the police report in case you are asked to provide copies to creditors to correct your records. Contact information for the Federal Trade Commission is as follows:
If you are a resident of Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, or Rhode Island, you may contact and obtain information from your state attorney general at:
If you are a resident of Massachusetts or Rhode Island, note that pursuant to Massachusetts or Rhode Island law, you have the right to file and obtain a copy of a police report. You also have the right to request a security freeze.
If you are a resident of West Virginia, you have the right to ask that nationwide consumer reporting agencies place "fraud alerts" in your file to let potential creditors and others know that you may be a victim of identity theft, as described below. You also have a right to place a security freeze on your credit report, as described below.
Fraud Alerts: There are two types of fraud alerts you can place on your credit report to put your creditors on notice that you may be a victim of fraud—an initial alert and an extended alert. You may ask that an initial fraud alert be placed on your credit report if you suspect you have been, or are about to be, a victim of identity theft. An initial fraud alert stays on your credit report for at least 90 days. You may have an extended alert placed on your credit report if you have already been a victim of identity theft with the appropriate documentary proof. An extended fraud alert stays on your credit report for seven years. You can place a fraud alert on your credit report by contacting any of the three national credit reporting agencies.
Credit Freezes: You have the right to put a credit freeze, also known as a security freeze, on your credit file, free of charge, so that no new credit can be opened in your name without the use of a PIN that is issued to you when you initiate a freeze. A security freeze is designed to prevent potential credit grantors from accessing your credit report without your consent. If you place a security freeze, potential creditors and other third parties will not be able to get access to your credit report unless you temporarily lift the freeze. Therefore, using a security freeze may delay your ability to obtain credit.
There is no fee to place or lift a security freeze. Unlike a fraud alert, you must separately place a security freeze on your credit file at each credit reporting company. For information and instructions to place a security freeze, contact each of the credit reporting agencies at the addresses below:
To request a security freeze, you will need to provide the following information:
The credit reporting agencies have one business day after receiving your request by toll-free telephone or secure electronic means, or three business days after receiving your request by mail, to place a security freeze on your credit report. The credit bureaus must also send written confirmation to you within five business days and provide you with a unique personal identification number (“PIN”) or password or both that can be used by you to authorize the removal or lifting of the security freeze.
To lift the security freeze in order to allow a specific entity or individual access to your credit report, or to lift a security freeze for a specified period of time, you must submit a request through a toll-free telephone number, a secure electronic means maintained by a credit reporting agency, or by sending a written request via regular, certified, or overnight mail to the credit reporting agencies and include proper identification (name, address, and Social Security number) and the PIN or password provided to you when you placed the security freeze as well as the identity of those entities or individuals you would like to receive your credit report or the specific period of time you want the credit report available. The credit reporting agencies have one business day after receiving your request by toll-free telephone or secure electronic means, or three business days after receiving your request by mail, to lift the security freeze for those identified entities or for the specified period of time.
To remove the security freeze, you must submit a request through a toll-free telephone number, a secure electronic means maintained by a credit reporting agency, or by sending a written request via regular, certified, or overnight mail to each of the three credit bureaus and include proper identification (name, address, and Social Security number) and the PIN number or password provided to you when you placed the security freeze. The credit bureaus have one business day after receiving your request by toll-free telephone or secure electronic means, or three business days after receiving your request by mail, to remove the security freeze.
Fair Credit Reporting Act: You also have rights under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, which promotes the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information in the files of consumer reporting agencies. The FTC has published a list of the primary rights created by the FCRA (https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/pdf-0096-fair-credit-reporting-act.pdf), and that article refers individuals seeking more information to visit www.ftc.gov/credit. The FTC’s list of FCRA rights includes:
If You Are A European Union Data Subject, and you want to complain to your Data Protection Authority, you may contact them at:
If You Are A Canadian Resident and you want to complain to your privacy commissioner, you may contact them at:
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC), 30 Victoria Street, Gatineau, Quebec, K1A 1H3, Toll-free: 1-800-282-1376, Telephone: (819) 994-5444, or contact via OPC’s Contact Us page at https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/contact-the-opc/.
Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta (OIPC), Edmonton Office: #410, 9925-109 Street, Edmonton, Alberta, T5K 2J8, Toll-free: 1-888-878-4044, Telephone: 780-422-6860; Calgary Office: Suite 2460, 801 6 Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta, T2P 3W2, Toll-free: 1-888-878-4004, Telephone: 403-297-2728, or contact via OIPC Alberta’s Contact Us page at https://www.oipc.ab.ca/about-us/contact-us.aspx.
Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia, PO Box 9038 Stn. Prov. Govt., Victoria, B.C. V8W 9A4, Telephone: 250-387-5629, or contact via the Contact Us page at https://www.oipc.bc.ca/about/contact-us/.
Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec, Québec Office, Bureau 2.36, 525 boul. René-Lévesque Est, Québec (Québec) G1R 5S9, Telephone: 418 528-7741; Montreal Office: Bureau 18.200, 500 boul. René-Lévesque Ouest, Montréal (Québec) H2Z 1W7, Telephone: 514 873-4196, or contact via Contact Us page at http://www.cai.gouv.qc.ca/a-propos/nous-joindre/.
Where available in your country/region, Marriott is offering affected guests the opportunity to enroll in a personal information monitoring service free of charge for one year. This will be provided by Experian, a global data and information service provider. This service (IdentityWorks℠ Global Internet Surveillance) is available to residents of Australia, Brazil, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain and the Netherlands. (Experian does not currently offer this service in all countries or regions.)
IdentityWorks℠ Global Internet Surveillance monitors whether your personal data is available on public websites, chat rooms, blogs, and non-public places on the internet where data can be compromised, such as "dark web" sites, and generates an alert to you if evidence of your personal information is found.
This is an optional service, and how much information you want to include in the identity monitoring is completely at your discretion.
Please visit the following website: https://www.globalidworks.com/identity1 and click the "Get Started" button to activate this 12-month complimentary service. You can then enter the activation code: K9QX65ZN3TR3 to start your IdentityWorks℠ Global Internet Surveillance membership.