My father and I at the first JW Marriott hotel in Washington, D.C., in 1984. We’re celebrating a big milestone this month – the opening of the JW Marriott Tampa Water Street. It’s the 100th hotel of the JW Marriott brand. Atrium at JW Marriott Tampa Water Street What a growth story. I remember when we opened the first JW Marriott in 1984,  in honor of my father, JW Marriott, who founded the company with my mother Alice Marriott. That first JW Marriott Hotel opened in Washington, D.C. on 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue – the same street where we started the company as an A&W ro ..read more

Volunteers from Manila Marriott Hotel in the Philippines prepare personal protective equipment kits during 2020. As we wind down 2020, much of the world’s focus is on the unprecedented impact of COVID-19. This has certainly been a year for the history books. A number of our associates and their families have battled the unthinkable – the disease itself – and some lost the fight to this virus that has claimed far too many lives. Most people have faced some sort of restrictions or control measures in their community, or juggled home schooling with job demands, or maybe they’ve been managing pr ..read more

J. Willard Marriott (left) with future business partner Hugh Colton circa 1920. 2020 has been an unbelievably challenging year for the travel industry. We were forced to close hundreds of hotels around the world, shut down our corporate headquarters and postpone weddings, bar mitzvahs, anniversary parties and so many other once-in-a-lifetime events the world holds dear. As if that wasn’t enough, we also had to furlough, layoff and offer voluntary separation plans to so many of our beloved associates, many of whom have been with Marriott for 20, 30 and even 40 years. I think most of the assoc ..read more

Me with my great grandson on September 17th, his 7th birthday and what would have been my father’s 120th birthday! With the pandemic closing schools, this is the first time we were able to celebrate his September birthday together. We’re entering the final few months of one of the most difficult years in our lifetime. It’s been devastating to hear about the illness and loss of millions of people around the world. I’ve watched with sadness as unemployment and food insecurity have risen. And for those lucky enough to be untouched by any of that, there’s still the isolation factor that com ..read more

Associates at Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott in Gaylord, Michigan, packed free lunches for the local community. As I turn 88 years old today, my thoughts have dwelled, of course, on the global pandemic that has severely impacted our world and our company, resulting in quarantines and illness for some of our associates and their families and for others: furloughs, reduced work weeks and hotel closings around the world. Even for an octogenarian, this is an unprecedented time. My parents, J.W. and Alice Marriott,  founded the company 92 years ago against tough odds. We weathered the Gr ..read more

Donna and me with the kids, before David was born, in 1964. I’ve worked in the hotel business for more than 60 years and I’ve been passionate about it from day one. While many other professionals enjoy a round of golf or a trip to a professional football game every now and then, I honestly would rather visit hotels around the world. I love this business. That said, I can’t stress enough the importance of work-life balance or at least some sort of time management. I learned this lesson myself, the hard way. Years ago, my son David was asked by his elementary school teacher to draw a picture ..read more

I had the privilege and honor to serve in the U.S. Navy shortly after graduating from the University of Utah in 1954. I was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy in June 1954. I was assigned to the U.S.S. Randolph aircraft carrier and given the job of wardroom mess officer where my team provided three meals a day for several hundred officers – most of whom had strong opinions about what they should be eating and how it should be prepared. As I shared in Dale Van Atta’s new biography “Bill Marriott: Success is Never Final,” my Navy service was a perfect training ground for a career in h ..read more

Over the next few months, I will share life lessons from my new biography, “Bill Marriott: Success Is Never Final.” When journalist and New York Times best-selling author Dale Van Atta approached me a few years ago about writing a biography exploring the lessons learned from my life story, I said no. I had already written a book about Marriott International: “Without Reservations: How a Family Root Beer Stand Grew into a Global Hotel Company.” My work was done. I couldn’t help but recall a Winston Churchill quote: “Writing a book is an adventure. To begin with it is a toy and an amusement ..read more

In 1976, we opened a pair of amusement parks called Great America, in Santa Clara, California, and Gurnee, Illinois. In our quest to be the world’s favorite travel company, Marriott International has dabbled in a variety of businesses over the years, from airline catering to cruise ships to a number of restaurant chains. On National Roller Coaster Day, I’m reminded of the year we opened two amusement parks called Great America, in Santa Clara, California, and Gurnee, Illinois. We opened the parks in 1976, during the nation’s bicentennial celebration. The theme was patriotic Americana with a ..read more

One of my family's Hot Shoppes locations from the late 1930s. Happy National Root Beer Float Day! It’s no secret I love root beer. I love ice cream, too. They taste good together and they’re so closely tied to Marriott International’s history. My parents started their company as an A&W Root Beer stand in Washington, D.C., in 1927, just before the Great Depression. Even after the stock market collapsed in 1929, my parents’ three eateries – they changed the name to Hot Shoppes – thrived. People wanted that ice cold 5 cent mug of root beer. The crystal mugs they used, it turns out, were a ..read more