Marriott on the Move

Last night, I went to a big party in Beverly Hills.  Beverly Hills is a great place to have a party, by the way.  It was a great night because we were celebrating our new boutique hotel brand.  I joined Ian Schrager and our Chief Financial Officer, Arne Sorenson, in announcing the name of the brand before high-powered developers from all over the place.  It's going to be called Edition.  E-D-I-T-I-O-N.  We also announced the first hotels with our developers to build Edition hotels in Paris, Madrid, South Beach in Miami, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Costa Rica, Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Arizona.

I've blogged before about going to the movies on Saturday afternoon with my wife, Donna.  Well, we went to one last Saturday that we really enjoyed.  We saw The Bucket List with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.  The critics haven't been too favorable toward this movie, but we really enjoyed it.

Many years ago, I joined Boy Scout Troop 241 in Chevy Chase, Maryland.  It was one of the most rewarding and difficult experiences of my life.  Finally, I achieved the highest Boy Scout honor, that of becoming an Eagle Scout.  It took a lot of hard work and determination.

I recently went on a short road trip on a Church assignment with my wife Donna to Fredericksburg, Virginia.  It's not very far from where I live in Washington, D.C. - about 50 miles.  We passed a lot of exits on the highways and I was back in the road warrior mode, like all vacationers and business travelers who travel America's highways.

I want to tell you about something that really touched me because it speaks volumes about our Marriott culture.

Last summer, my grandson Chris traveled to India where he volunteered at a school and orphanage for more than 120 children of parents with leprosy.  It's run by Becky Douglas and she's a friend of Chris, and his mother and father.

I'm a bit old fashioned when it comes to communication.  I think there's no substitute for a warm handshake with a smile and genuine conversation.  I don't do emails.  I prefer to talk on the telephone or write handwritten notes.