Marriott on the Move

After 52 years in the business, one thing I've learned is go south in the winter and north in the summer to visit hotels. One of my favorite places to go, of course, is southern Florida.

In February, we had our board meeting at our Marriott resort in Marco Island, Florida. That property just underwent a huge renovation - almost $200 million worth. Now they have a fantastic spa that features Balinese treatments, they have eight terrific restaurants and brand new swimming pools. The rooms have all been redone, they've got a brand new ballroom . . .

One of the things I love about my job is being part of the creative design team. I'm a frustrated interior designer I guess. I love color and I love to fiddle around with the designs.

I'm pleased to say that these days we're taking a bolder approach to our hotel lobby designs. We're designing them the way guests want to use our lobby and it's changed a lot. It seems that lobbies have become the hub for work and play.

I toured the Fair Oaks, Virginia Courtyard hotel a few miles away from our headquarters. It has the new lobby concept, and I know you're really going to love it.

The colors are bright and vivid. They were inspired by . . .

A lot of my fellow corporate executives like to play golf. I have a set of clubs, but they're a little bit rusty and I've got to tell you, golf is a handicap for me. I've never been able to play the game well and that's always been a frustration. I'm sure some of you know how I feel.

Despite my frustrations, it was more than three decades ago our company recognized the growing popularity of golf. Today, our Marriott Golf division is perhaps the world's largest resort golf management company.

It started back in 1970 when we acquired the legendary . . .

I always enjoy reading the comments on my blog. Thank you for sending me so many neat comments. Some of my favorite ones came from a post I did back in December where I asked you to tell me your great customer service stories. One that really caught my eye was from Carol Lopez-Calleja.

Carol used to work in a hotel for a boss who was dedicated to making sure that the staff consistently provided great customer service. She had very specific ideas about how to make this happen, and one of those was cross training her staff in very . . .

I'm a bit old fashioned when it comes to communication. I think there's no substitute for a warm handshake with a smile and genuine conversation. I don't do emails. I prefer to talk on the telephone or write handwritten notes.

The hotel business is a people business. Most of our guests want a pleasant greeting when they're checking in or a helping hand with their luggage. It's about the one-on-one experience. And for our . . .

I don't drink coffee, but I love Starbucks. What a great company and what a great brand. Did you ever imagine that customers would become so passionate about the coffee "experience?"

The proof certainly is in the numbers. Starbucks has . . .