Press Release: Marriott International, Inc.
September 12, 2001
WASHINGTON, DC -- Just in time for International Housekeepers Week (September 9-15), housekeeping supervisors at
30 Marriott hotels will begin using Palm(TM) handheld computers with Acadian Embedded Solutions, Inc. software
to perform housekeeping audits of guest rooms. The agreement was reached after a successful pilot at the 1,300-room
New Orleans Marriott.
``Along with Acadian Embedded Solutions, Marriott has developed a low-cost, efficient method for supervisors to
perform housekeeping inspections,'' said Steven Hall, south central regional vice president of operations, Marriott
International. ``With a few keystrokes, supervisors can enter inspection results, analyze data and identify training
opportunities so Marriott can continue to deliver the highest levels of service in the lodging industry *.''
Boisy G. Pitre, Acadian Embedded Solutions' president and chief executive officer, added, ``We are excited to be
working with Marriott International toward its continuing goal of increasing customer satisfaction by providing
a solution that leverages the versatility of the Palm OS platform. Acadian Embedded Solutions looks forward to
working with Marriott International to deploy these solutions and collaborating with them on future products.''
Best In Customer Satisfaction: The Wall Street Journal reported on May 21 that Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE:
MAR) received the highest score for a lodging company in The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), a customer
survey conducted by the University of Michigan Business School.
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC. (NYSE: MAR) is a leading worldwide hospitality company with nearly 2,400 operating
units in the United States and 59 other countries and territories. Marriott International operates and franchises
hotels under the Marriott, JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Courtyard, TownePlace Suites,
Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites and Ramada International brand names; develops and operates vacation ownership
resorts under the Marriott, Ritz-Carlton and Horizons brands; operates Marriott Executive Apartments; provides
furnished corporate housing through its ExecuStay by Marriott division; and operates conference centers. Other
Marriott businesses include senior living communities and services and wholesale food distribution. The company
is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has approximately 154,000 employees. In fiscal year 2000, Marriott International
reported systemwide sales of $19.8 billion. For more information or reservations, please visit the web site at
http://www.marriott.com .
ACADIAN EMBEDDED SOLUTIONS, INC. is a privately held technology company formed in April 2000. Based in Opelousas,
Louisiana, Acadian Embedded Solutions provides embedded software design, development and deployment solutions to
a wide variety of customers. Additional information about Acadian Embedded Solutions is available at the company's
web site: http://www.acadian-embedded.com .
Note: This press release contains ``forward-looking statements'' within the meaning of federal securities law,
including statements concerning business strategies and their intended results and similar statements concerning
anticipated future events and expectations that are not historical facts. The forward-looking statements in this
press release are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including the effects of economic conditions, supply
and demand changes for hotel rooms, competitive conditions in the lodging industry, relationships with clients
and property owners, the impact of government regulations, and the availability of capital to finance growth, which
could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the statements herein Palm
OS is a registered trademark and Palm is a trademark of Palm, Inc. or its subsidiaries. All other company and product
names mentioned are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.
SOURCE: Marriott International, Inc.