Marriott on the Move

I was recently interviewed on Nightline and had an opportunity to talk about my role as a Mormon bishop, which happened almost 40 years ago. I was in charge of a ward-which is really a parish-of around 800 members, and about 300-400 of them were Hispanic. I had an opportunity to work closely with these wonderful people who were struggling to make it in America and trying to keep their family together, feed their children, find a . . .

It was my father who coined the phrase, "Take care of the associates, and they'll take good care of the guests, and the guests will come back." Most people might think that only means customer service, but it really is the mindset of how we do business. Let's talk about safety and security.

We know that feeling safe and secure at hotels is a major priority for those of us who travel. We all take it very seriously. Marriott was recently recognized as having "world class status" when it comes to safety and security. That's because we . . .

As Albert Einstein once said, "Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile." As much as I love my job with Marriott, what gives me great pleasure is knowing what we can do for our communities around the world.

Tonight, here in Washington, I'll be attending the annual fundraising gala for Bridges-from school to work. It's a program operated by the Marriott Foundation for People with Disabilities. My brother Richard is the foundation's chairman. Bridges trains young people in the U.S. with physical and mental challenges to . . .

This is a special week for us here at Marriott. At our headquarters here in Bethesda, Maryland, we're honoring ten of our most outstanding associates with the Marriott Award of Excellence. They come from all four corners of the world, so they're really excited to come to Washington and see where the company's based. And an extra special gala will be held in their honor when they are presented their awards.

Each of the associates has a commitment to excellence, to teamwork, and to the "spirit to serve." And each one has a really unique story to tell.

Let me tell you a little bit about . . .

I've told you how my mother and father built a root beer stand into a chain of restaurants called the Hot Shoppes. I remember how my folks would often say, "Treat your employees well, and they'll treat the customers well, and they'll come back, again and again."

One day, at my dad's restaurant, the cook didn't show up for work. The lady who was filling up the root beer mugs didn't show up either. My father had a real problem. At that point, he realized that job number one was to take care of his people. So, when they were sick, he . . .

Hi, my name is Valerie McSwain, I am a concierge at the Washington Marriott, and here today, I am guest blogging for Mr. Marriott.

Before I came to Marriott about 11 years ago, I was on welfare; and at that particular time, I knew that that wasn't enough to take care of my family. So, they had a program called the Pathways program, which was a program to help families get off welfare and to become employed. I truly thank God for the Pathways program because it truly led me to a life of freedom, job opportunities, better education like never before and it's truly been a blessing to my family.

When I first started with Marriott, my first job here was at the front desk. But, at that time. . .