M. L. Simon is wrong below. Wells Fargo did not fail, they were forced to take bailout money they didn't need by lawmakers...who were desparate to get banks to start lending again. Wells Fargo was already lending millions of dollars to consumers, they did not need this bailout money. Please research before you post on a site like this as what you say could be damaging to an industry as a whole. Thank you Bill Marriott for speaking the truth about the meetings and convention industry, it's absolutely vital that America Keeps Meeting. Please do not post information about companies failing unless you know the truth the facts to back it up. When people post erroneous thoughts without thinking about consequences, hardworking Americans lose their jobs. Please think before you post. I live in San Francisco and I see how Wells Fargo treats their employees, and how well they treat their customers. And how much money they donate to charity. Keep America Meeting!!!

Here's some thoughts about 'Soft Touch' Leadership demonstrated by the Marriott:
It is my observation that some leaders deal, with those whom they've been entrusted to lead, with what I would call 'rough hands'.
Now I am first to agree that leadership is a tough gig at times, but a great leader will use 'soft hands', even in the midst of a change or a forced transition period. We as leaders at times need to make the hard call, but in the midst of the 'hard' therein lies the need for the 'soft touch' of compassion.
For there is a right way to handle people and there is a wrong way. The right way will allow for smooth movement, and provide encouraging, clear and compassionate direction, along with positive support.
I remember reading about the Marriott Hotel chain and of when they went through a particularly tough economic time whereby they were forced to lay off workers. Their first course of action was to set in motion an entire strategy where they actually assisted those whom they had to let go to get other jobs with other companies.
And the latest example of 'soft touch' leadership is appearing to be demonstrated by what is happening with four hundred workers at Virgin Airlines right now - where it has been reported that they are considering a whole range of creative options to help not only the airline move forward, but to help their workers to do the same through this time of economic downturn.
Softly, softly as they go I say - the 'best touch' of leadership.

I agree with you on this issue, Mr. Marriott. Personally I am travelling much more than before because of fair rates currently. I realize my travel is not making a big difference, but I like to think that I am doing my share to keep your industry going. We should not forget, however, that this time the economic crisis is self made. Caused by incomprehensive greed and incomparable short-term incentives to make wrong decisions in banks and elsewhere. I wonder where all that money is now and whether it is currently doing anyone any good.

wow..that's a huge amount of unemployment for people who works in hospitality industry. I suggest if marriott can give the information for the candidate of employee who will be terminate through HR department about how they can use their money for creating a small business or to be small entrepreneur to make them survive. It is good publicity/ PR also for your corporate.At least to show that you care!

Dear Mr. Marriott,
I am a former employee of marriott. I have nothing but great things to say about you and your company. You took care of us in our time of needs. You help us to stand on our feet again after Katrina. I am proud that i worked for you.
Please take care !

Companies who rec'd bailout funds cannot afford to have functions at any resorts. The fact is Wells Fargo failed that's why they rec'd taxpayers money. If they feel strongly about rewarding anyone, they can have their gathering at their well decorated conference rooms with subway sandwiches or KFC to show their empathy to those of us who are negatively impacted by their poor handling of their business. We all have to make sacrifices & I believe the same is true with the hospitality business like the Marriott. It's time to lower your pricing structure in order to attract more customers but raising it for business customers is unfair. By the way, we have two Marriott timeshares & own Marriott stocks. We do believe in t he Marriott brand.

Mr. Marriott, I'm writing to make a suggestion regarding how you and your teams can do even more regarding saving our environment. However, before I offer it up, thank you for offering to me 20 wonderful years of consistency, quality and care. That's the length of time that I've been staying at your hotels. With that said, I appreciate the hair dryers that are provided in some of your brands, however, I think that simply unplugging them, as well as, keeping all the lights off in the rooms will go a long way on utility bill and saving our earth. I realize that my comments will not be posted but I'd apprecaite a reply. Sincerely, loyal guest.

For years, the related ideas of demonstrating the value of meetings and elevating the profession have been debated and accepted as necessary. Until now, the effort has been largely fragmented. Economic uncertainty and the resulting knee-jerk governmental response are compounded by a lack of understanding of the economic and social impact of meetings by our politicians. This environment may provide the catalyst to unite our industry so that we speak with a powerful voice to make the strongest possible business case for the value of meetings and explain the value of human connections.

Mr. Marriott, I understand that in a harsh economic environment certain cuts are just necessary. However from what I - a frequent Marriott-guest - experience in the last weeks just seems counterproductive.
Instead of going after those that still frequently stay with Marriott, the cuts mostly hit exactly those. Benefits for frequent guests have been reduced or completely taken away (i.e. the corporate directive to hotels not to overarchieve on Elite-Benefits) which is not compensated by just another round of Megabonus. Contacting Internet Customer Care becomes more and more a nuicance, and offering upgrades for sale at $140 a night when the only difference to a normal room is the bathrobe in the room just don't sit well with folks spending much time on the road.
In tough economic times business is always a two-way road. Alienating customers that still show exceptional loyality to your company
may work in a thriving economy, but it is certainly the wrong way in the current climate.

I'm sorry to hear that Joshua, but you don't necessarily know what the dealings behind your rate were. The meeting planner might have signed for exclusivity of certain room types, etc. You can't speak without looking at the contract first. You can't expect for a hotel to give away its rooms either. I for one agree 100% with Mr. Marriott. He is completely right.

I couldn't agree more, with corporations canceling meetings which then forces hotel operations to lay off good workers has a direct impact on the economy. How can someone pay his mortgage if he just lost his job, result, more foreclosure homes in America.
The goverment needed to react yesterday on this problem and as long as their is no agreement on how the money will be used our country will get into more troubles and more people will lose their homes.

Dear Mr. Marriott, I couldn't agree with you more and would encourage people to read the Washington Post story on 2/13, Travel Industry: This is No Time to Check Out. The article furthers the point about the harmful effects on our economy caused by the current image issues and political incorrectness of holding corporate meetings at high-end resorts and hotels. Our service industry acts as an employment safety net for the U.S. economy. In addition to the highly skilled professionals working in travel and tourism, the industry offers many jobs requiring low to mid-level skills, such as waiting tables or making beds. If we undercut our service industry to avoid stereotypes our hotels and resorts will have to lay off workers at a time when the newly unemployed urgently need to find work. The outrage over the recipients of taxpayer bailouts using the money to meet at swanky resorts is perfectly understandable. But let's not expand that to our profitable industries whose executives are investing the money back into their companies and staff by taking them on trips to congratulate them, stimulate their thinking and plan for the future. When you speak to key lawmakers, I hope you will emphasize that this is no time to cut a hole in this important employment safety net.

Mr. Marriott, I am delighted to see your thoughts here. I recently wrote an article for this month's (Feb. 09) Successful Meetings Magazine where I suggest ideas to planners and providers as to what they can do when a client wants to cancel a meeting. Perhaps it might be useful to you or your readers. The link is as follows.
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/sm0209/#/20
I believe strongly in the business value of meetings. Not only do cancellations put people out of work, but they also will cause additional damage to our economy because the cornerstone of productive organizations is good communication. If we curtail purposeful communication, organizations will be less effective and the economic recovery will be further from our reach.

If the Marriott Hotel is sold out a Platinum override costs more which seems to be a reasonable business decision. If occupancy is lower Marriott often offers great deals. There is no recovery on an empty seat after the plane takes off or an empty room in a hotel after the day goes by.
As a sales overachiever I favor over achievers needing recognition at an out of town meetings to set an example, as are meetings necessary to transact businesses. I don't get the same feeling on the telephone or video as I do with a face to face meeting. In these difficult economic times travel abuses by underperformers or without a genuine business reason is under higher scrutiny or should be is off course unacceptable. As a practicing fiscal conservative I cannot support reckless spending for individuals, businesses or the country. I hope to contribute my little bit to the Marriott revenue in 2009. Syed Naqvi

Dear Mr. Marriott,
We are not very far away from you in Jordan. If the US travel sectors catch a cold, we sneeze here in Arabia. But I have always wondered about something. Do big chains need to totally fire employees to make ends meet for them at the end of every month? I don't know how the salary system works in hotels in the US but for example here in Jordan we have basic salary and service point/s that are added to them at the end of the month. When those chains go through crisis, why don't they raise the basic salaries a little to make them a bit acceptable and minimize or cancel those service points. After all this would be only momentarily till everything swipes back to normal again. By this the employees would still maintain their jobs and the salaries wouldn't be that exhausting to meet at the end of every month. I guess I believe in looking for a middle meeting point rather than going to the extremes. Marriott US hang in there! After every storm that clouds the sky there is sunlight. Our good luck prayers from Jordan! Cheers!

Sorry, Mr. Marriott, there is another side to this meeting situation called greed.
I stay exclusively in Marriott hotels and often return to the same property for weeks at a time, year after year as a loyal guest.
Then a meeting or convention comes to town and suddenly my company's nightly rate of $159 is no longer honored and now I'm paying $229 for the same room and by the way, there are plenty of rooms for cash sale. I was forced into this once and the following year I took my business elsewhere for that week. This year, the convention canceled and I paid $95 per night in spite.
You can't have it all ways, Sir. Please email me if you would like exact details.

I am the mother of an employee of the Marriott Corp. and I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed my stay at Springhill Suites in Marriott Village in Orlando on my birthday. Thank you..

The call for the freedom to travel that made business and government leaders patriots in the days after 9/11 is now making them pariahs. Everyone wants transparency and integrity around spending shareholder or taxpayer monies. But publicly condemning management spending on necessary business travel events is reckless and will not get taxpayers repaid or factories reopened.

I completely agree. When the public starts to cry foul about all this extra spending on trips and conferences, they don't realize that not only are they keeping money out of the pockets of the hotel employees (especially front line staff who spend it on necessities, thus keeping the economy going), they are also keeping millions of dollars of TOT away fron our municipal governments as well. All that tax money would have been put to use for various government infrastructure such as fire and police officers.
Corporate trainings and events are a huge part of what drives our service economy and without them, we face an even more prolonged recession.

Dear Bill,
Thank you for recognizing KeepAmericaMeeting.Org, TBA Global's contribution to resolving this crisis in the meetings industry which cuts across so many industries. It now belongs to 'all' of us and is garnering signatures quickly. Every Marriott employee should sign it, as well as workers everywere. We are pretty big in the meeting strategy, DMC and event production business, and it became clear to us how critical it was to provide a grassroots opportunity for all the people who will be affected by a downturn in the meetings business, to express their support and opinions. If we want to right the ship fast, the industry needs this petition vehicle to grow by thousands of signatures, to make a point with our legislators. You get the right kind of media attention when you share people stories. We have no shortage of our own 'Joe The Plumbers', victims of circumstances created by misperceptions that must be addressed. Why? Because not only does it hurt our industry, but it impedes a national recovery. Meetings are critical to jumpstarting business, regaining employee and investor confidence, and motivating partners to achieve goals and stay on mission. It's that simple. There's no replacement nearly as good. We're human, it's how we're wired. Face to face is how we build consensus, trust, and share ideas--that's why our own Congress 'meets'! We will now educate and inform our legislators and friends in the media about how the health of this industry contributes to a much faster recovery. The media can be very wise and they will rally with us to get the balanced story out, when we make this story about 'people' first. Through KeepAmericaMeeting.Org, every industry worker can use their voice, to aid all our industry Associations so they can share the 'thump' factor of so many signatures with our legislators, and with President Obama.

This seems to be a difficult situation. Everything Mr. Marriott says is true. Business meetings, and the travel associated with those meetings, provide good jobs for many people. As a Marriott shareholder, I want to see our hotels and resorts full with guests enjoying the wonderful experiences Marriott properties and it's loyal associates provide. On the other hand, it does not seem reasonable to me for a business to spend on something that is not necessary if employees are being laid off or having benefits reduced.
Part of the problem may be that the excesses of a few are hurting many. In these tough economic times, lavish business meetings may do more economic harm to the industry and it's employees than the dollars those events actually generate.
Travel is an essential part of our company's business. We feel it vitally important to have face-to-face meeting with our customers. We expect to travel as much this year as last. However, we are being a little more careful in how we spend our travel dollars.
Thanks for your always thoughtful and common-sense blog!

Excellent blog post! I for one wrote to a comment on their website about the full page ad and media's lack of due diligence in understanding the knee-jerk reaction with cause and effect. The court of public opinion has caused much downside in our industry only contributing to the downward economy and rising unemployment.
Thanks for being bold...am a member of Keep American Meeting on their site and also joined their group on FaceBook!

AMEN! It's time we put America - and the global economy - back in business. Many thanks to Mr. Stumpf and Mr. Marriott for having the courage to speak-up and stand-up for what's right.

Congratulations Bill on your positive attitude and efforts to keep Marriott on the move. I just visited your Crystal Shores Project here on Marco Island, and while I have been a developer connected with the leisure industry (Elliottbaymarina.net), I had no idea how well you have developed the timeshare concept.
My latest project, Daybreak at Lake Chelan, foundered for lack of Capital but we still hold a 1300 acre parcel over looking Lake Chelan and the North Cascades in Washington State with a view and surroundings that rival any in the world, including those special properties in the Lake Tahoe area. One day we might interest you in bringing your concept to our site.
Regards
David