Marriott on the Move

One of my very favorite spots in the world to vacation is the Arizona desert.  Since I was 16 years old, I have spent time with my family at our Camelback Inn Resort, just outside of Phoenix, Arizona, first with my parents and now with my great grandchildren.  We love the climate and the great Native American culture.

Last night, not far from our Camelback Inn, members of our Marriott development team celebrated a huge milestone for our company.  We signed our first ever Marriott-branded hotel owned by Native Americans and built on tribal land in the United States.  It’s a Courtyard by Marriott that will be situated in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community just outside of Scottsdale.

I never thought that starting my own blog would have such far-reaching impact within our company.  Since we first launched the blog, we have continued to grow in the social media sphere by adding more blogs, several different Twitter feeds and even our own online community for our Marriott Rewards members.

When I asked Kathleen Matthews to head our global communications department a few years ago, she convinced me to launch the blog and it has proven to be revolutionary for our company and the way we communicate with our associates and our guests.  Now, her team has rolled out what they’re calling our company’s new front door for news and information, the Marriott News Center.

This winter has certainly brought its share of nasty weather to all parts of the globe.  Here in the Washington, D.C., area, where I live, we got 2-3 feet of snow over 2 days.  We lost power at my house and had to move to our Marriott Bethesda Suites next to our corporate headquarters.  It seemed like all our neighbors were there with their children and their dogs.

Historically speaking, hotels, for many years, had some of the best and most popular restaurants around.  I remember when I was a young boy in grade school, my father used to take me to the Mayflower hotel.  They had a fabulous restaurant with a big, beautiful glass chandelier.  I remember seeing J. Edgar Hoover, the former head of the FBI, who used to eat lunch there every day.