Marriott on the Move

Since I began blogging about two and a half years ago, I've learned a lot about the brave new world of communications. Our company has also made many advances, embracing social media like Twitter and YouTube. We've developed a highly interactive website for one of our brands, gocourtyard.com; and I even filmed a video entry for my blog last year about Thanksgiving. We've been doing a lot of exciting things with video lately - one of my favorites was when dance sensation David Elsewhere showed off his best moves in one of our TownePlace Suites.

And just a few weeks ago, we released another really exciting video featuring members of Washington's pro soccer team, D.C. United. The four soccer players, dressed . . .

I'm blogging today from one of my favorite cities in the world - London. It's a busy few days for me over here. We just celebrated the 80th birthday of the famed Grosvenor House hotel located on Park Lane and overlooking beautiful Hyde Park. The weather has been glorious and springtime in London is truly terrific. The Grosvenor House is one of our newest additions to our luxury JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts brand and it is a beautiful, iconic property.

I remember staying at Grosvenor House with my wife Donna during our first trip to London in 1962 before we had any hotels anywhere outside the United States. We both thought it was such a magnificent hotel with so much history and in such a wonderful location. I'm thrilled that now, 47 years later, it's a flagship hotel for us.

I've also been to two hotel grand openings this week - a Courtyard with the brand's new look at Gatwick Airport, outside of London, and a Marriott hotel in Twickenham, the home of English rugby. There, I went on the rugby field, which is called a pitch, and received a jersey from . . .

Today marks an important milestone at Marriott and one I am very proud of - the 25th anniversary of Marriott Vacation Club International, our timeshare business. I'm also very proud to tell you the story of an outstanding MVCI associate, Abri Kruger, who is a sales executive at our MVCI Surf Watch Resort on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. He was giving a potential timeshare owner a tour of the property when he saw a 3 year-old girl fall into the pool. He rushed over to where she was and pulled her out of the water as fast as he could, saving her from drowning.

Abri later said he didn't usually take the route he was on when he gives tours, but for some reason, that day, he decided to switch things up and go a different way. He truly believes that fate put him in the right place at the right time to save that little girl. This type of care and service has been a standard for our MVCI division for the past 25 years.

We ventured into timeshare back in 1984 when we purchased a company called American Resorts. Our first timeshare, Marriott's Monarch Resort, was on . . .

Most of us have our morning routines. Mine usually starts with skimming through a couple of newspapers with my dog Murphy while we have breakfast together. It's one of the ways I stay informed about the latest world events and business trends. I also love to relax by reading a good book, sitting down in a comfortable chair and getting lost in the story.

But times are changing. My children and grandchildren check the news on their PDAs and read books on Kindles. While I can't imagine reading something from such a small screen, they love the portability and timeliness of getting their news and information on the go.

A lot of our guests are telling us the same thing. They'd rather get their news online, and they feel guilty about seeing the newspapers outside their hotel room which they don't have time to read. So this week we made a major decision: In our full-service hotels like Marriott and Renaissance, we are going to ask our guests if they want a paper delivered to their rooms, and if so, which one they prefer. In our . . .

It's April 14, 2009, and a very happy day for the Marriott family. My son David and his wife Carrie just had another baby boy. The baby was born this morning around 11 o'clock. We don't have a name for him yet, but he's a big boy at 8 pounds, 1 ounce, 20.5 inches long - the biggest child they've had.

They have four children now and we have . . .

Although I'm not computer literate, I know what a key role our website, marriott.com, plays in booking business at our hotels. More than 750, 000 individuals visit marriott.com every day. Thank you for that.

While the Internet is very helpful and a useful tool, we understand that many visually impaired people have a difficult time using it. However, my son Steve, who is legally blind, relies tremendously on his computer. It speaks to him, talks to him, reads the newspaper to him, and he is really up to speed on what's going on in the world.

Many people take for granted their ability to perform everyday tasks like use the Internet, drive a car or read a book. At Marriott, we are always working hard to improve the access and services we provide to our guests with disabilities.

To help address these challenges, we are currently working with the American Foundation for the Blind, whose commitment . . .