Marriott on the Move

By now, I think regular readers of my blog know that I love a good story. I enjoy hearing stories about great service and tales of perseverance and determination. They really inspire me and are a great pick-me-up.

I recently received a compilation of some great stories from the leader of our Residence Inn brand team. Our associates were asked to submit inspiring, moving stories from their properties, and the best ones were packaged into a book we call "We Are INNspiring."

My favorite was about a group of Marines who were displaced from New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina and they were staying in a Residence Inn outside of Atlanta, Georgia. Two of these . . .

While I was in Atlanta to volunteer at the Atlanta Community Food Bank, I also stopped by our newly renovated Atlanta Marriott Marquis hotel. When it opened in 1985, it was the city's largest hotel - and it still is. It was certainly known for its fantastic breakthrough design. Now, they've just completed a huge $140 million renovation and they've recaptured breakthrough design.

This hotel really sparkles. I was so impressed with the wonderful concierge lounge with a great view of the city, and with the new lobby, which really picks up our great room ideas - lots of places to sit and you can work your laptop.

I was impressed with the beautiful new . . .

Last week, I told you about our Spirit To Serve Our Communities Day. It's held every May and our associates around the world are given time off from work to volunteer in their communities. They participate in activities that range from building homes with Habitat for Humanity to cleaning up local parks and rivers.

Since fighting hunger is so important to me, I have often volunteered at agencies that serve the hungry and receive food from America's Second Harvest - The Nation's Food Bank Network, an organization our company has supported since 1992.

Hunger is an important issue to me because our roots go back to 1927 when my . . .

Every May, our associates around the world take part in our annual Spirit To Serve Our Communities Day. We give them time off to volunteer in their local communities. In the Washington, D.C. area, for the last 20 years, many of our associates have worked with the Capital Area Food Bank to help alleviate hunger locally.

I was really disturbed several years ago when I learned that many, many young children in the Washington area go to bed hungry every night, and I tried to do what I could to help.

Recently, I attended a Blue Jeans Ball, which was a benefit for the Capital Area Food Bank. Usually, dressing down for me is not wearing a tie, so it was a lot of fun to wear my jeans. While the . . .

I'm very happy to tell you about a good friend and business partner, Bruce White and his company, White Lodging. White Lodging just reached a huge milestone and opened its 99th and 100th hotels with Marriott. These new hotels are a Residence Inn and a SpringHill Suites that are housed in the same building in downtown Chicago.

Bruce is the Chairman and CEO of White Lodging. Marriott's been partnering with White Lodging for a long time and our companies have very similar family histories. I remember . . .

A group of Wall Street investors came to visit us and their first question to me was, "What is your vision for the future of this company for the next five years?"

There were a lot of ways I could've answered this question. I thought about it for awhile and I said, "I think the future and the vision for this company is to continue to foster, maintain and improve our company culture."

But what does that really mean? Well, our company culture has been stated many ways. Basically, we believe in taking good care of our people and believe that if we do, they'll take good care of the guests and the customers and they'll return.

This has been embedded in the philosophy of our company for over 81 years. It was started by . . .