We've got Disney/Pixar's Nemo 3D fever! Join Starwood Resorts, HipTravelMama & friends for a chance to win a dreamy tropical getaway worth 50,000 Starpoints to book more than 50 Starwood Resorts in North America!

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. Finding Nemo Twitter Chat Sweepstakes OFFICIAL RULES

NO PURCHASE OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.  A PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.  Open only to legal residents of the U.S. and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 years of age or older.

ENTRY. 

If you do not have a Twitter account, and you would like to create one, visit www.Twitter.com.  In the event of a dispute as to any entry, the authorized account holder of the email address used to set up the Twitter account will be deemed to be the entrant.  Potential winners may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder of the email address/Twitter account associated with the entry. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (“Sponsor”) is not responsible for lost, interrupted or unavailable network server or other connection; miscommunications; failed phone or computer or telephone transmissions; technical failure; jumbled, scrambled or misdirected transmissions; late, lost, incomplete, delayed, or misdirected entries; or other error of any kind whether human, mechanical, or electronic.  CAUTION: Any attempt to deliberately damage any web site, or undermine the legitimate operations of the Sweepstakes, is a violation of the criminal and civil laws. Should such an attempt be made, the Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such participant to the fullest extent permitted by law and to disqualify such participant from the Sweepstakes.  In the event the Sweepstakes is compromised by virus, bug, unauthorized human intervention, or other causes beyond the control of Sponsor (defined below) that corrupts or impairs the administration, security, fairness, or proper play of the Sweepstakes, Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to suspend or terminate the Sweepstakes and award prize from all eligible entries/Tweets received prior to cancellation. Any user who, in Sponsor’s sole discretion, posts profanity, pornography or other objectionable content or third party materials on Twitter may be removed by Sponsor from being a StarwoodBuzz follower and from participating in the Sweepstakes.

RANDOM DRAWINGS/NOTIFICATION. One (1) Grand Prize winner will be selected in a random drawing on or about September 17, 2012. Drawing will be conducted by the Sponsor whose decisions will be final and binding on all matters related to the Sweepstakes. Winners will be notified by direct message on Twitter and confirmed by email. If winner cannot be reached by direct message within 48 hours of first notification attempt, an alternate winner may be selected. Odds of winning will be determined by the total number of eligible entries received throughout the Sweepstakes Period.

PRIZES/APPROXIMATE RETAIL VALUES (“ARV”) Grand Prize (1): The Grand Prize winner will receive 50,000 Starpoints (maximum ARV: USD$1,750) to be used toward winner’s hotel stay. Starpoints will be credited to the member's Starwood Preferred Guest® (SPG®) account within 3–5 days from receipt of winner’s SPG® number.  If the winner does not have an SPG® Account, he/she can create one for free at http://www.starwoodhotels.com/preferredguest/index.html. Once Starpoints are in the members account, use of Starpoints and point expiration follow the guidelines of the SPG program terms and conditions. Winner will be given an SPG customer contact care agent to assist in planning their stay who will book the stay for them.  At the Winners request, he/she will be given an SPG customer contact care agent to assist in planning and booking the stay for him/her. Alternatively, the stay can either be booked online or by contacting the resort directly. At the Winners request, he/she will be given an SPG customer contact care agent to assist in planning and booking the stay for him/her. Alternatively, the stay can either be booked online or by contacting the resort directly. Winner is responsible for booking his/her own flights. Winner will get accommodations in a standard room (double occupancy) and is subject to availability.  For resorts that do not offer standard rooms, winner will booked in lowest category room at that resort. Value of resort nights is based on the maximum number of Starpoints needed to redeem free nights, multiplied by the market value of the Starpoints ($0.035/point). Value per category could be less based on resort chosen by the member, and when they choose to stay or transferred by winners. Winners are solely responsible for all applicable taxes in connection with prize.

ELIGIBILITY. Only to legal residents of the U.S. and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 years of age or older as of date of entry. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (“Sponsor”) and its parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners, dealers, advertising and promotion agencies, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, manufacturers or distributors of Sweepstakes materials (collectively, “Sweepstakes Entities”) and their immediate families (parents, children, siblings, spouse) or members of the same household (whether related or not) of such employees/officers/directors are not eligible to enter.

GRAND PRIZE RESTRICTIONS. Starpoints earned or otherwise obtained by an SPG Member will be forfeited without notice if the Starwood Preferred Guest (“SPG”) Member becomes Inactive, even if the SPG Member has achieved SPG Lifetime Gold or SPG Lifetime Platinum status. An SPG Member is considered "Inactive" if during a 12 month period: (a) the SPG Member has not had an Eligible Stay at an SPG participating Hotel; (b) the SPG Member has not earned or redeemed any Starpoints, or (c) the SPG Member's account has been cancelled.

CONDITIONS.  Void where prohibited or restricted by law.  All federal, state, provincial, municipal and local laws apply.  Winner agrees to hold harmless and indemnify Sponsor, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, its parent and affiliated companies, Sweepstakes Entities against any and all liability, damages or causes of action (however named or described), with respect to or arising out of participant’s participation in the Sweepstakes or the receipt, use or misuse of any prize.  Acceptance of prize constitutes permission to use winner’s name, Twitter handle, likeness, entry and photograph for promotional purposes without further compensation except where prohibited by law.  Except where prohibited by law, Grand Prize winner (who is a U.S. resident) will be required to sign and return within seven (7) days, an Affidavit of Eligibility and Release Form certifying eligibility and compliance with these Official Rules, agreement to hold Sponsor/Sweepstakes Entities harmless from any liability arising out of participation in the Sweepstakes, acceptance, use or misuse of prize, and authorizing the use of the winner’s name, likeness, entry and photograph for advertising and publicity, except where prohibited by law. First Prize winners will be required to confirm his/her mailing address within seven (7) days in order to receive the prize. For Canadian Residents Only:  The potential winner must correctly answer, without assistance of any kind, whether mechanical or otherwise, a mathematical skill-testing question to be administered online or by mail, email or phone, as Sponsor determines.  Potential Grand Prize winner must execute a Declaration of Compliance (or have their parent/legal guardian sign, if potential winner is a minor in his or her place of residency), and, where legally permitted, execute a Release of Liability and Publicity Release within seven (7) days. Failure to comply with these requirements will result in disqualification and forfeiture of prize.  Return of prize notification as undeliverable will result in disqualification and alternate selection.  By participating, participants agree to be bound by the decisions of the judges and these Official Rules. Entrant hereby grants the Sweepstakes Entities the irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide rights to use, reproduce, publish, edit, market, store, adapt, assign, sell, dispose of, distribute, have distributed, publicly and privately display, communicate, publicly and privately perform, transmit, have transmitted, create derivative works based upon, and promote the Entry or excerpts of the Entry (as such may be edited and modified by the Sponsor in its discretion) in perpetuity, for editorial, commercial, promotional and all other purposes (including posting on Sponsor-affiliated websites, the Website, and/or other Sponsor-selected media).

DISPUTES. Except where prohibited, Sponsor reserves the right to make all decisions in its sole discretion arising out of or relating to the Sweepstakes, and the decisions by Sponsor are final and binding on all matters relating to the Sweepstakes.  Except where prohibited, you agree that: (a) 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 in the United States; (b) any and all claims, judgments, and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering the Sweepstakes, but in no event attorneys’ fees; and (c) notwithstanding the foregoing, you waive the right to claim any damages whatsoever, including, but not limited to, punitive, consequential, direct, or indirect damages. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, your rights and obligations, or the rights and obligations of Sponsor in connection with the Sweepstakes, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the United States of America and 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 State of New York.  By participating in the Sweepstakes, you agree that New York (in the U.S.) will be the exclusive forum for any formal dispute resolution. 

WINNERS.  Winners List requests will only be accepted after the Sweepstakes end date (listed above) and no later than October 9, 2012. To request a copy of the names of the winners, send a self-addressed (U.S. residents only), stamped envelope (U.S. residents only) to: Starwood Resorts Finding Nemo Twitter Chat Sweepstakes, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., One Starpoint, Stamford, CT 06902 USA

SPONSOR. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., One Starpoint, Stamford, CT 06902 USA