Press Release: Marriott International, Inc.
October 29, 1999
WASHINGTON, DC -- Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) was named ``best'' in the lodging industry for delivering
excellence to guests, employees and investors, according to a recent landmark study, American Lodging Excellence:
The Key to Best Practices in the U.S. Lodging Industry. The study was funded by American Express in partnership
with the American Hotel Foundation. In addition, the TRIP.com has recognized Marriott with its "Best of Online
Travel'' (BOOT) Awards for Marriott's website innovations in the category of "Best Corporate Concierge'' and
``Most Wired Inn.''
Marriott International's Best Practices Highlighted in Lodging Industry Survey
American Lodging Excellence: The Key to Best Practices in the U.S. Lodging Industry, conducted by researchers at
Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration, featured Marriott International in 26 of 144 Best-Practice
categories and selected J.W. Marriott, Jr. as the overall Best-Practice Individual Champion in Corporate Management.
Examining all market segments and functional areas of the lodging industry, 13,400 hotel managers at both the hotel
and corporate level were surveyed and over 3,500 individual nominations were examined before the 144 Best-Practice
Champions were selected. Examples of Marriott's best practices include:
* Overall Best-Practice Individual Champion in Corporate Management: J.W.
Marriott, Jr.
J.W. Marriott, Jr. was recognized for his care for the guest, employees
and owner, development and franchisee relationships. He is also
commended for his ability to challenge and encourage his employees to
always improve the level of service for guests, stating that "success
is never final."
* Sales Innovations Strategies
Richard Hanks, executive vice president, sales, for Marriott
International was recognized for developing several innovative ways to
make it easier, faster, and cheaper to reserve rooms at Marriott brand
hotels. Innovations include a "customer-centric" sales force, the
ability to sell multiple brands, Event Booking Centers (EBCs), the
cross selling of transient reservations, single-image inventory, online
Internet marketing, and linkages with travel agencies.
* Successful Creation for New Brands
Joe Lavin, senior vice president, franchising, and Kathy Townshend,
brand vice president, SpringHill Suites by Marriott, for Marriott
International were recognized as leaders in the creation, development,
and marketing of SpringHill Suites by Marriott, a new all-suite hotel
in the upper-moderate tier. Marriott's success is primarily based on
the process used to determine the desirability and feasibility of
creating a new brand of hotels. This process includes listing and
evaluating customer, franchisee and investor feedback as well as
gathering the input and expertise of internal Marriott recources: brand
management, franchising, development, finance, market management,
architecture, and construction.
The best practices study is the largest survey of its kind ever to be conducted by the American Hotel Foundation,
a subsidiary of The American Hotel & Motel Association, and the first time the organization has collaborated
with an industry partner.
TRIP.com Recognizes Marriott for Business Traveler Services
TRIP.com, a leading online travel services and technology provider, honored Marriott in its second annual BOOT
Awards competition, recognizing ``leaders that have made significant impacts on business travelers through technology,
tools and services.'' A panel of one million high-tech travelers participated in the survey.
Marriott was named the ``Best Corporate Concierge'' based on its ``Express Reservations'' feature on its website,
www.marriott.com. The feature allows web users to get directions to and from Marriott properties, plan corporate
events and redeem mileage credits for free vacations.
In addition, Marriott Hotels, Resorts and Suites was recognized as the ``Most Wired Inn'' for ``The Room That Works''
guest room workstation. Designed for business travelers, ``The Room That Works'' features a large console table
and mobile writing desk, two power outlets and a PC modem jack mounted in the console top, moveable task light,
and a fully adjustable ergonomic chair. ``The Room That Works'' is available, at no additional charge, in more
than 20,000 rooms in over 200 Marriott full-service hotels.
BOOT Award winners were selected by a panel representing 10 categories, including airlines, car agencies, airports,
search engines, map services, consumer electronics and general travel-oriented websites. Nominees were identified
based upon the convenience, ease of use and impact a particular product or service had on business travel in the
past year.
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC. (NYSE: MAR - news) is a leading worldwide hospitality company with over 1,900 operating
units in the United States and 56 other countries and territories. Marriott Lodging operates and franchises hotels
under the Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Courtyard, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill
Suites and Ramada International brand names; develops and operates vacation ownership (timeshare) resorts under
the Marriott, Ritz-Carlton and Horizons brands; operates executive apartments and conference centers; and provides
furnished corporate housing through its ExecuStay by Marriott division. Other Marriott businesses include senior
living communities and services, wholesale food distribution, and procurement services. The company is headquartered
in Washington, D.C. and has approximately 140,000 employees. In fiscal year 1998, Marriott International reported
total sales of $8.0 billion.
SOURCE: Marriott International, Inc.