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    Marriott International

    Marriott International, Inc. history, profile and history video

     Marriott International, Inc. operates and franchises of hotels, corporate housing properties, and timeshare properties under numerous brand names which includes Bulgari Hotels & Resorts, The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club, The Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, EDITION, Autograph Collection, AC Hotels by Marriott, Renaissance Hotels, Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Courtyard by Marriott, SpringHill Suites by Marriott, Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott, Residence Inn by Marriott, TownePlace Suites by Marriott, Marriott ExecuStay, Marriott Executive Apartments, Marriott Vacation Club, Grand Residences by Marriott. The company operates through four business segments: North American Full-Service Lodging, North American Limited-Service Lodging, International Lodging, and Luxury Lodging. The North American Full-Service Lodging segment includes Marriott Hotels & Resorts, JW Marriott, Renaissance Hotels, and Autograph Collection. The North American Limited-Service Lodging segment includes the Courtyard, Fairfield Inn & Suites, SpringHill Suites, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, and Marriott ExecuStay properties located in the United States and Canada. The International Lodging segment includes the Marriott Hotels & Resorts, JW Marriott, Renaissance Hotels, Autograph Collection, Courtyard, AC Hotels by Marriott, Fairfield Inn & Suites, Residence Inn, and Marriott Executive Apartments properties located outside the United States and Canada. The Luxury Lodging segment includes The Ritz-Carlton, Bulgari Hotels & Resorts, and EDITION properties worldwide. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Bethesda, MD.

    “Marriott International History

    Marriott was founded by J. Willard Marriott in 1927 when he and his wife, Alice Sheets Marriott, opened a root beer stand in Washington, D.C. As a Mormon missionary in the sweltering, humid summers in Washington D.C, Marriott was convinced that what residents of the city needed was a place to get a cool drink. The Marriotts later expanded their enterprise into a chain of restaurants and hotels.

    They opened their first hotel, the Twin Bridges Marriott Motor Hotel, in Arlington, Virginia, in 1957. Their second hotel, the Key Bridge Marriott in Arlington, Virginia, is Marriott International’s longest operating hotel, and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2009. Their son, J.W. (Bill) Marriott, Jr., led the company to spectacular worldwide growth during his more than 50-year career. In March 2012, at age 80, he turned the CEO responsibilities over to Arne Sorenson, while he assumed the title of Executive Chairman.

    Marriott International was formed in 1993 when Marriott Corporation split into two companies, Marriott International and Host Marriott Corporation.

    In 2002 Marriott International began a major restructuring by spinning off many Senior Living Services Communities (which is now part ofSunrise Senior Living) and Marriott Distribution Services, so that it could focus on hotel ownership and management. The changes were completed in 2003.

    In April 1995, Marriott International acquired a 49% interest in Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company LLC. Marriott International believed that it could increase sales and profit margins for The Ritz-Carlton, a troubled chain with a significant number of properties either losing money or barely breaking even. The cost of Marriott’s initial investment was estimated to be about $200 million in cash and assumed debt. The next year, Marriott spent $331 million to take over The Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta and buy a majority interest in two properties owned by William Johnson, a real estate developer who had purchased The Ritz-Carlton, Boston in 1983 and expanded his The Ritz-Carlton holdings over the next twenty years.

    The Ritz-Carlton began expansion into the lucrative timeshare market among other new initiatives made financially possible by the deep pockets of Marriott, which also lent its own in-house expertise in certain areas. There were other benefits for The Ritz-Carlton flowing from its relationship with Marriott, such as being able to take advantage of the parent company’s reservation system and buying power. The partnership was solidified in 1998 when Marriott acquired a majority ownership of The Ritz-Carlton. Today, there are 81 The Ritz-Carlton properties around the world.

    The Marriott World Trade Center was destroyed during the September 11, 2001 attacks.

    Marriott International owned Ramada International Hotels & Resorts until its sale on September 15, 2004 to Cendant. It is the first hotel chain to serve food that is completely free of trans fats at all of its North American properties.

    In 2005, Marriott International and Marriott Vacation Club International comprised two of the 53 entities that contributed the maximum of $250,000 to the second inauguration of President George W. Bush.

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    On July 19, 2006, Marriott announced that all lodging buildings they operate in the United States and Canada would become non-smokingbeginning September 2006. “The new policy includes all guest rooms, restaurants, lounges, meeting rooms, public space and employee work areas.”

    There was a bombing at the Islamabad Marriott in 2008 and at the Jakarta Marriott in 2009.

    On November 11, 2010, Marriott announced plans to add over 600 hotel properties by 2015, the bulk of the additions will be in the emerging markets of India, where it plans to have 100 hotel properties, China and Southeast Asia.

    On January 21, 2011, Marriott said that pornography would not be included in the entertainment offered at new hotels, which will use an internet-based video on demandsystem.

    On December 13, 2011, J. W. Marriott, Jr. announced he would be stepping down as CEO of the company, while assuming the role of executive chairman. It was announced thatArne Sorenson would be taking over as CEO as of March 2012.

    The hotel is noted for including copies of the Book of Mormon in addition to the Holy Bible in its rooms.

    U.S. Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney released his 2011 federal income taxes on September 21, 2012, showing that he declared $260,390 in director’s fees from Marriott International, despite the fact that news was released on January 13, 2011, that he had already stepped down from the Marriott International board to run for President. His previously released 2010 tax returns showed earnings in 2010 of $113,881 in director’s fees from Marriott. In February, 2012, Bloomberg reported on Romney’s years overseeing tax matters for Marriott, which had included several “scams” (quoting Sen. John McCain) and legal actions brought against Marriott, which Marriott lost in court, over its manipulations of the tax code.

    In December 2012, Guinness World Records officially recognized the 5-Star JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai as the world’s tallest hotel.

    Bill Marriott’s second book, Without Reservations: How A Family Root Beer Stand Grew Into a Global Hotel Company, hit the stands in January 2013, earning early praise from past U.S. presidents and business leaders.”

    *Information from Forbes.com and Wikipedia.org

    **Video published on YouTube by “Alux.com

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