It's that special time of year again here at Marriott. I'm blogging directly from our annual Awards of Excellence ceremony held at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center right near our headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland.
We hold this ceremony every year to honor the best of the best within Marriott. This year, we honored nine individuals with the J. Willard Marriott Award of Excellence for consistently providing outstanding service. It's the highest honor a Marriott associate can receive. This year's recipients come from all over the world - from Turkey to London and throughout the United States.
We also gave out two other awards tonight. The first was the Alice S. Marriott Award for Community Service, which was named after my mother and her passion for serving the community. She strongly believed that "By generously giving our time, energy and resources, we greatly enrich the lives of others." This year's recipient was the Global Reservation Sales and Customer Care center in San Antonio, Texas for their great work in the community.
The other was the J.W. Marriott, Jr. Diversity Excellence Award to recognize excellence in promoting diversity and building an inclusive environment. This year, the award went to the team at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort and Spa in Tucson, Arizona.
I had lunch yesterday with the two representatives from this resort and I learned about their great diversity in the hotel. They have several different groups. They have groups representing cowboys and they also have a group representing Native Americans, so they really have cowboys and Indians! And they also have a lot of people from south of the border.
There are 14 different languages and six different cultures represented in this hotel. The resort has its own diversity committee that educates associates on a variety of cultures and the value of inclusion. They have created a diversity calendar that features a different culture every month and the associates learn about customs, food and folklore from that particular culture.
The staff also educates their guests about the local heritage and the cultural influences in Tucson. For example, every afternoon they hold a traditional Mexican toast where they educate the guests on the story of Pancho Villa, the famous Mexican revolutionary, and teach them about traditional Mexican food and drink. The resort even serves authentic Mexican food that is based on old family recipes from the hotel's associates themselves.
It's really been fun to hang out with these wonderful people - to listen to their stories and the challenges they've faced and every day taking care of our customers and providing for their families.
I'm so proud of each recipient that was here with us tonight. Their stellar customer service, work in the community and devotion to promoting diversity is what makes Marriott such a well-respected company. Over the next few months, you can read more about these honorees by clicking here to go to Marriott's "Our Stories" website. It was such an honor to here with them tonight. I would like to thank them for everything they have done for our guests and our company.
I'm Bill Marriott and thanks for helping me keep Marriott on the move.
I have stayed at this resort, when it first opened. I can tell you the service has grown over the years to the pinnacle it is rewarded with here. The twilight views at the firepit are awsome, not to mention the staff attention to detail and service. This gold elite approves.
Posted by: Chris Shirley | 06/11/2008 at 05:06 PM
Thank you for a truly inspirational start to my day. I read with awe each and every Our Stories of the Marriott Award winners. Mr. Marriott, your transformational leadership truly sets you and your company apart in the hospitality industry. Thank you for rewarding excellence and servant leadership. My loyalty to your brand continues to grow.
Posted by: Kevin Brooks | 06/06/2008 at 02:04 AM