Repositioning Marriott for Global Opportunity
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Repositioning Marriott for Global Opportunity
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Category: Worldwide
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2009-07-23
There's a lot of debate among economists and business leaders about whether we're headed towards a recovery in the second half of this year. While we've seen some optimism, the data in the United States is mixed. Here at Marriott, we reported our second quarter earnings last week and our industry is always an interesting bellwether of the global economy. If business leaders feel confident, they're going to book meetings and plan travel. If consumers feel confident about their job and their income, they'll go on vacation, even if it may be just a weekend getaway.
The good news is that occupancy is stabilizing as leisure customers take advantage of the great deals out there, booking their vacations, weddings and family reunions. But corporate business continues to decline. There's no clear sign when it will recover. Similarly, the pipeline of new hotels to be built in the United States has slowed down because mortgage financing is scarce. However, we're still signing management agreements around the world and just announced our first hotel in Hanoi. It'll be a stunning 450-room JW Marriott in the city's dynamic Tu Liem District next to the new state-of-the-art National Convention Center. It's a beautiful hotel and I'm excited about planting roots in the capital of Vietnam.
The strength of our company has always been our ability to look for new opportunities and to continue to re-invent ourselves. We began over 82 years ago when my parents opened their root beer stand in Washington, D.C., in 1927. For the first half of our history, we were largely a restaurant business. But over 50 years ago, we saw the tremendous potential in the hotel business and today we have 3,200 hotels in almost 70 countries. Even with the global recession, I'm bullish about the long term opportunities for travel and leisure and lodging around the world.
As we accelerate our global growth, it's important that we're organized in a way that can truly support this business evolution. Under the leadership of our new President and COO Arne Sorenson, we've embarked on a multi-year plan that will enhance Marriott International's ability to operate nimbly on every continent. Our goal is to leverage our size and capabilities around the world to deliver superior personalized customer experiences.
Instead of a structure that divides the world between International and North America, where we started, we'll be moving to a continental structure with four different divisions: the Americas, Middle East and Africa, Asia/Pacific, and Europe, which will include the UK and Ireland.
We will also establish a Global Lodging Services support organization that will collaborate with the continental teams to provide strategic brand management, sales and marketing and operations excellence.
What will never change is Marriott International's commitment to our core values, our culture of taking care of our people, whether they are our customers, associates or investors. That's always been the foundation for Marriott's leadership.
While others argue about "green shoots" or "weeds among the shoots," I'm very excited about planting for the future.
I'm Bill Marriott and thanks for keeping Marriott on the move.
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