I recently received a few questions from The Connection by SpringHill Suites, an exclusive online community of the brand’s most passionate guests. I’m delighted to be able to interact with this loyal group of supporters and thank them for being so enthusiastic about this wonderful brand.
Brian Earley asked, “If I had five to seven nights to spend at any Marriott in the world, which would I choose?”
One of my favorite things to do is to eat and one of my very favorite meals is a big, juicy hamburger – I like them pink, and rare if I can get them that way. And it’s very hard for me to pass up a good dessert, especially rice pudding.
When I visit our hotels, I get to experience a lot of different cuisines and dishes from the many fantastic restaurants we have around the world. One restaurant that I find very unique is AMP 150 in our Cleveland Airport Marriott. AMP stands for America’s Modern Palate and serves a lot of very reasonably priced small bites to medium sized portions from what the chef, Ellis Cooley, likes to call a garden-focused menu.
Hello, I’m Bill Marriott and it is a true pleasure to speak with you about the exciting future of Marriott Vacation Club International.
We’ve just announced plans to split Marriott International into two separate, publicly traded companies by the end of 2011. One will be focused on lodging and the other on timeshare. We believe it’s a win-win for both companies.
In the New Year, many of us make resolutions to eat healthier, exercise more and even lose some weight. Here at Marriott, our people have pledged to “Maintain, Don’t Gain.” It’s part of our TakeCare Wellness Program that started last year. The goal is to help our people make healthy choices to improve overall wellness for themselves and their families. We began this initiative with informational sessions called “Choose Health Every Day,” and we kicked off our first TakeCare National Challenge this past September.
Throughout our hotels, we’ve seen new enhancements such as healthier options in our employee cafeterias, wellness newsletters and weight loss challenges. Many of our associates are taking daily Wellness Walks either around the hotel or nearby area, and some of our hotels are hosting team stretches during their brief stand-up meetings.
People often ask me what motivates me every day to go to the office, when other business leaders at my age have long retired. The answer for me is simple. I know that every hotel that Marriott opens, whether it's in Indianapolis or India, is opening doors to a world of opportunity.
Creating these opportunities for our people, guests, owners, investors, and communities is the purpose that drives me personally and has made Marriott successful for more than eight decades. It's our reason for being, our unifying mission and the unique value we deliver to people and communities around the world.
