Marriott on the Move

I started out at Marriott much the same way our young people do today.  I worked after school and during the summer.  It wasn’t called an internship back then, but I knew it was a great way to get experience and learn the business.  When I was 14, I stapled invoices after school in the Hot Shoppes accounting office. 

Today, when walking around hotels and headquarters, I see a lot of bright, young excited faces.  A few interns are helping me post this blog.  They want us to add more pictures.  So we took a picture and wham!  It appeared instantly on one of their Facebook pages with the caption: “Hanging out with the boss man after recording his blog.”

They took a picture of the boardroom, too.  I don’t know why anybody would want that, but they did.  Long gone are the quiet interns who just put invoices together. 

While a majority of our interns come from hospitality schools, many don't.  I knew nothing about hotels when we opened our first one, but I was sure anxious to learn.   I certainly learned on the job much the same way our interns learn when they arrive at our company.  

In the coming weeks, we will say goodbye to our summer interns.  Hopefully, they will come away with a better understanding of how hotels operate.  And, equally as important, we will learn from the next generation what truly "turns them on." 

As “the Boss Man,” I want to say thank you to all of you. 

I’m Bill Marriott and thanks for helping me keep Marriott on the Move.

Leave a comment telling me about your internship.

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I was raised on good hamburgers and I just love a good burger.  It takes me back to my boyhood days and the fun of eating in one of my parents’ Hot Shoppes restaurants.

When I travel out west, I try to pop into In-N-Out Burger, a regional chain located primarily in California and Arizona in the Southwest.  In-N-Out burgers are great and their “Animal Style” burger really hits the spot.  My father would have loved In-N-Out Burger because they cook their burgers to order and they use the best ingredients. 

Back in the heyday of our Hot Shoppes restaurants, our menu had more than 300 items.  We insisted that every selection be fresh and always available.  It was that customer–oriented philosophy that helped make Hot Shoppes successful and laid the foundation for our global hotel business today.

Our attention to detail carries over to our Marriott sales force.  They’ve helped In-N-Out Burger expand in Texas by offering one-stop shopping.  Let me explain.  Our sales representative has arranged for their team to stay at multiple Courtyards and Residence Inns.  We’re the only hotel company that operates this way.  

  

Before, our corporate customers would have to call each individual hotel to book a meeting or block of rooms.  Now, they can make a single call to one of our sales offices and shop and compare all of our hotels across our family of brands and find just exactly what they need for their business.  

That’s how our customers, like In-N-Out, told us they want to do business and we listened. 

We began transforming our sales organization many years ago and now have eight offices around the U.S.  It’s changing the game and making it easier than ever for our customers to book our hotels.  We’re selling them the way they want to be sold.

At Marriott, we know a good burger and good customers.  Thank you In-N-Out Burger.  We’re certainly glad we can help you expand your terrific business.  

I’m Bill Marriott and thanks for helping me keep Marriott on the Move.

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On July 6, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal published extensive obituaries on my friend, George Lang, one of America’s most successful restaurateurs.

George had a truly fascinating and exciting life.  He was born in Hungary in 1924.  He was Jewish and escaped a Nazi forced-labor camp and imminent execution in the Second World War.  He came to New York with no money, but with hopes of becoming a concert violinist.   

When his violin career did not work out, he pursued a career in restaurants.  He worked for Restaurant Associates and was instrumental in establishing the Four Seasons Restaurant in New York City, one of the world’s most famous.  George also established and ran the famous Café des Artistes Restaurant in New York.  He wrote a lot of cookbooks and was one of the most renowned restaurateurs of all time.  

When he left Restaurant Associates, we got together.  As we talked we came to the conclusion that it might be a good idea for George to establish a consulting business and I offered us up as the first client.  At that time, we were big-time in the airline catering business.  We just acquired the Qantas Airline account at our London Flight Kitchen at Heathrow.  Qantas flights to Australia were, of course, a long haul and very expensive in first class.  They were charging a lot and expected the highest level of service.

George volunteered to go to London and create a very high-end food service for Qantas in-flight catering.  He not only designed it, he stayed on in the kitchen for many weeks, training the chefs and ensuring that they did an outstanding job. 

When we opened our Marriott hotel in Budapest, Hungary, I was there for the opening and George showed up.  He was there opening a very famous restaurant in Budapest and joined us for dinner.  

He was a great friend and George and I worked together on many projects through the years.  I will miss him.  He made an outstanding contribution to the restaurant industry for over 40 years.  And he certainly helped me out when I really needed it the most with Qantas in London.  

I’m Bill Marriott and thanks for helping me keep Marriott on the Move. 

George Lang Obituary (The New York Times)