Marriott on the Move

Analysis Is the Key to Making Good Decisions

undisclosed@blogs.marriott.com (Bill-Marriott) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:32:17 EST

I recently read a book about General George Custer, famous for being annihilated in Custer's Last Stand at the Battle of Little Bighorn before the turn of the 19th century. Custer was a somewhat impetuous, but brilliant, officer. At the age of 23, he was made a Brigadier General in the United States Army and was an important contributor to the Union victory at . . .

Being a Part of D.C.'s Heritage

undisclosed@blogs.marriott.com (Bill-Marriott) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:10:06 EDT

As many of you know, our company started out as a small, nine-stool A&W root beer stand in Washington, D.C, more than 80 years ago. We quickly evolved into the restaurant business, opening a chain called Hot Shoppes.

One of our very first Hot Shoppes was in the Columbia Heights neighborhood on 14th Street. The last Hot Shoppe closed its doors years ago, but the memory of that one on 14th Street is being commemorated . . .

Colombia: The Newest Stamp on My Passport

undisclosed@blogs.marriott.com (Bill-Marriott) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:51:46 EDT

For as many years as I've been traveling, there is nothing like visiting a new country. My passport has stamps and visas for China, India, the UK, France, Spain, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates and now, Colombia since we just opened our first hotel in Bogota. I had never been to Colombia before, but the political and economic climate is much improved for travel and tourism.

Our new Marriott near the Bogota airport is owned by Ricardo Poma, who runs a family business a lot like ours. They hold many . . .

Marriott Celebrates 20 Years in Eastern Europe

undisclosed@blogs.marriott.com (Bill-Marriott) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:52:24 EDT

This month we're celebrating the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Warsaw Marriott hotel in Poland. We opened the hotel back in October of 1989, about the time the Iron Curtain was beginning to fall. It was a milestone property for us because it was our 500th hotel worldwide and also the first Western-managed hotel in the city of Warsaw.

Back when it opened, this hotel was . . .

Chef Laurent Tourondel Serves Up BLT Burgers

undisclosed@blogs.marriott.com (Bill-Marriott) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:17:00 EDT

We have had a lot of great meals in our test kitchen, but one of my favorites took place recently when we hosted Chef Laurent Tourondel for a BLT Burger lunch. Laurent has partnered with us on several restaurants including BLT Steak at the Camelback Inn in Scottsdale and BLT Market at the Ritz-Carlton New York Central Park. He has . . .

An Oasis for Travelers in the Dynamic City of Miami

undisclosed@blogs.marriott.com (Bill-Marriott) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:13:15 EDT

I'm blogging today from the Miami Airport Marriott in Miami, Florida. We built this hotel in 1972. I remember back when we opened it, Garo Yepremian was the place kicker for the Miami Dolphins. We asked him to kick a football over the ribbon to open the hotel, and it was my finger that held the ball. Good thing he was such a great kicker! I still have five fingers left on my hand.

The Marriott has now been completely redone and it looks great. We have three hotels on this campus including a brand new Residence Inn and newly refurbished Courtyard. These . . .

Taking a Break on a Great Football Afternoon

undisclosed@blogs.marriott.com (Bill-Marriott) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:15:15 EDT

During the contest for the College Football National Championship in January, I met University of Florida coach, Urban Meyer. I was so proud of the great result he achieved when he coached my alma mater, the University of Utah. I was anxious to meet him and thank him for all his Utah victories.

He recently invited me to be his guest at the University of Florida's home opener game versus University of Tennessee in Gainesville, Florida. My son, David, and I attended the . . .

CBS Football's James Brown Answers Fan Questions from One of Our Courtyard Hotels

undisclosed@blogs.marriott.com (Bill-Marriott) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:38:14 EDT

We're really excited that this Monday, September 28, CBS football broadcaster James Brown will be at one of our Courtyard hotels. He's spending the afternoon with us to shoot a video that you'll be able to see very soon.

But while he's there, he's also going to answer some questions from his fans via video segments that will be posted online throughout the fall. You can send in your questions for J.B. either by leaving me a comment on my blog, or through Twitter on our CourtyardHotels site.

We'll select a few questions for J.B. and he'll tape his answers, so be sure to check in with us often to see if your question gets answered! We'll also be . . .

Two Courtyard Hotels Make Eco-History

undisclosed@blogs.marriott.com (Bill-Marriott) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:59:47 EDT

They say you can't be in two places at once, but I learned today you can, thanks to technology!

Today we celebrated two big milestones with one big event. First, the Courtyard Portland City Center in Oregon, which opened just a few months ago, officially received its LEED-Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and there are only 20 hotels in the United States that have earned that label.

At the same time, the Courtyard Chevy Chase in Md., officially opened today after a $35 million renovation. This hotel also expects to be LEED-certified by the end of the year. It's among 50 Marriott hotels currently registered for LEED certification.

Even though I could only be in Chevy Chase today, I was able to join the Portland event too via our live webcast. The two events were linked . . .

A General Manager's Concern for the Well-Being of His People

undisclosed@blogs.marriott.com (Bill-Marriott) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:45:01 EDT

A few months ago, I posted a blog about the decline in travel and tourism in Mexico as a result of the global recession and the concern about the H1N1 virus. In fact, for some of our properties, the decline in occupancy was so drastic management was faced with the possibility of having to lay off members of their staff.

One of those hotels was The Ritz-Carlton in Cancun. The summer months in North America are considered the slow season in Cancun and the hotel was hosting even fewer guests than in past years. The general manager, Hermann Elger, faced a difficult decision about laying off his staff. Hermann's concern for the well-being of his associates led him to an inventive idea that allowed many of his people to keep working and support themselves and their families.

Hermann knew that the slow season in Cancun was actually high season for many cruise lines so he reached out to Carnival Cruise Lines. He explained the situation . . .