The Natural Gas Revolution Begins in Newark

Ready for my first ride in the Courtyard's green van Marriott has a companywide program called “Spirit to Preserve.” It’s a global effort to protect the planet. It’s up to each hotel to make it happen. I was visiting the Courtyard Newark Liberty International Airport Hotel around Earth Day and...

Eco-Tourism Makes Environmental Ambassadors of Us All

Jean-Michel Cousteau and I enjoyed the green environment of St. Thomas I’ve been called a lot of things in my life, but I’m not sure “eco-tourist” has ever been one of them, until now. I just returned from an early spring break in St. Thomas with my wife, Donna, where...

LEED-ing the Way

I’ve studied travelers and hotel guests all of my life. When people choose a hotel, these are the deciding factors: price, location, and cleanliness. Now, according to a survey in Conde Nast Traveler, 87% of participants say it’s important to be environmentally friendly. One way we can go 'green' is...

Cleaning up the Red Sea One Dive at a Time

IN CELEBRATION OF EARTH DAY The Sharm El Sheikh Marriott Red Sea Resort sent me a video of their recent community service project. The hotel associates cleaned up the beach, but didn’t stop at the water’s edge. They strapped on scuba tanks, dove into the sea and hunted for buried...

Congratulating the Fairfield Inn & Suites Small Business Challenge Winner: ecycler

A few months ago, I mentioned a great contest our Fairfield Inn & Suites brand was doing called “The Small Business Challenge.” The owners of ten small businesses stayed for free at our Fairfield Inn & Suites hotels as they traveled around the country, trying to grow their businesses and...

Freshness Is the Key Ingredient at AMP 150

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...

Mapping Marriott's Global Footprint

When I’m on vacation, I love to walk along the beach and look back to see the footprints I’ve left in the sand. I know that companies can’t literally leave footprints, but all companies leave evidence of their activities. Marriott recently released its 2008-2009 Sustainability Report. It is a record...

Enjoying a Smooth, Quiet Ride in the New Chevrolet Volt

I love cars. I collect a few – I’m a real aficionado. I used to go to car races when I was a kid and I’ve been to a lot of car shows. So I’ve really been a car enthusiast. We just finished test driving the brand new Chevrolet Volt,...

Marriott Guests Can Give Back with New Voluntourism Package

The people and businesses along the Gulf Coast and New Orleans have sure endured a lot over the past five years -- between Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and now the oil spill -- but I want to focus on the resilience of that wonderful community. Earlier this summer, some of...

Supporting Critical Water Conservation in China

For the past two weeks, I’ve been traveling throughout China visiting our hotels in the region. We’re just about ready to open a brand new Ritz-Carlton hotel in Pudong, a suburb of Shanghai. It is truly an amazing hotel – very tall and very beautiful. But we’re opening an even...