You Can't Lead With Your Feet on the Desk

Ed Fuller, our president and managing director of international lodging, knows first hand that you can’t lead with your feet on the desk. You’ve got to get those boots on the ground, as Ed says, and I agree with him. Ed has shown that by just returning from Egypt where...

Lending a Hand in Haiti

It’s been a year since a devastating earthquake struck Haiti, killing more than 230,000 people. Although we don’t have a Marriott property in Haiti, this tragedy affected many of our associates who originally came from Haiti. Our South Florida hotels alone employ more than 1,000 associates from Haiti, most of...

A Warmer Welcome Means More Jobs

President Obama has just returned from Asia, where he had an extensive visit promoting U.S. exports. But here at home we’re doing all we can to increase exports and create more jobs because each time a visitor from abroad buys a hotel room in the United States, that counts as...

Serving New Orleans -- Commemorating the 5th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

Five years ago, Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast and forever changed New Orleans. It was a tragic event that will be remembered for years to come. We all know there is still much to do, but New Orleans and its people are resilient and on their way back. Today...

Saluting Marriott's Heroes in Bangkok

We’re in the hospitality business and nothing gives us more pleasure than welcoming our guests for life’s most memorable moments, an important business negotiation, or simply a good night’s sleep. Sometimes, situations outside our control create inhospitable conditions, like the tragic events that recently unfolded in Bangkok. That’s when our...

Anticipating the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai

Today marks the beginning of one of the largest global events in history – the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. This expo is much like the World’s Fairs that were held decades ago in places like New York, Paris, Stockholm and Montreal. I was seven years old when I visited...

A Meeting with Wall Street Analysts

On Tuesday night (April 13) I was at the Green Street Lodging Conference at our Ritz-Carlton hotel in Washington, D.C., and met with a group of Wall Street analysts and other industry leaders. We discussed what lies ahead for our company and the entire travel industry as we come out...

Great News - President Obama Signs the Travel Promotion Act

Thank you, Mr. President! President Obama signed the Travel Promotion Act into law this week, representing a great victory for our business and the U.S. economy. We’ve been working on this for years and the credit goes to Senators Reid, Dorgan and Ensign and Congressmen Blunt and Delahunt for a...

The Earthquake in Haiti

The devastating earthquake that hit Haiti on Tuesday has had aftershocks all over the world. I am currently at our Harbor Beach Marriott in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where more than a third of our associates at this hotel are Haitian and have been directly affected by this terrible disaster. I...