Brianna Parker Company: Marriott International
CEO: Arne M. Sorenson
Founders: Alice Marriott, J. Willard Marriott
Year founded: 1927
Headquarter: Bethesda, Maryland
Number of Employees (2020): 174,000
Type: Public
Ticker Symbol: MAR
Annual Revenue(FY19): $20.97 billion
Profit |Net income (FY19): $1.27 billion
Subsidiaries: Sheraton Hotels and Resorts | Starwood | Westin Hotels and Resorts | Ritz-Carlton Hotel company | Aloft Hotels | Courtyard | Le Meridien | Four points | Delta Hotels | Gaylord Hotels | Fairfield | Renaissance | Residence Inn
Competitors: Hyatt Hotels Corporation | InterContinental Hotel Groups |Wyndham Worldwide Corporation | Choice Hotels International Inc. | Four Seasons Hotels Limited | Hilton Hotels and Resorts | Accor Hotel | Fairmount Hotels and Resorts
Did you know ?
The massive hotel and resort chain that now manages hundreds of hotels and resorts throughout the world started as a root beer stand?
It then evolved into a restaurant and then a hotel. This was the beginning of an international empire in the service industry.
Marriott’s Vision Statement
Marriott International Organization has ensured continued success for close to a hundred years on a global stage by following the vision of the founders of the company.
Marriott’s vision statement put forth by the company is as follows:
“To be the World’s Favorite Travel Company.”
To achieve the monumental success in the service industry on a global stage, the founders of the Marriott International thought it was best to put forth a vision so simple that it was not only easy to implement but also follow throughout the organization.
The goal of the company is very simple – to leave a legacy of excellence in the service industry. Marriott International aims to be the favorite travel company for the masses throughout the world. It was this vision in addition to the work ethic and company culture that made it possible to achieve the success the company has.
Marriott’s Mission Statement
The mission statement for the Marriott International is as follows:
“To enhance the lives of our customers by creating and enabling unsurpassed vacation and leisure experience.”
An analysis of the mission statement has been done below
Enhance the lives of the customers
The key to long term success of any service providing company is to offer its customers services of that quality that the customer is left with no other option other than choosing your brand.
Marriott International believes that by enhancing the lives of their customers and by providing them with premium services, they can establish themselves as a profitable company in the long term. The company has pursued a wide range of strategies to make this mission a reality. In 2020, Marriott International partnered with Quintessentially to provide its customers with one-of-a-kind adventures and immersive experiences across the US and Europe. [1]
Creating and enabling unsurpassed vacation and leisure experience
To retain customers, Marriott International goes an extra mile to provide the customer with a vacation experience that is their money’s worth. They do so by creating a vacation experience and hotel experience full of comfort and enjoyment.
Right from the hotel room to the services provided by the Marriot International are of premium quality. An example is the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, which is the go-to spot for all the high-profile people and celebrities. This shows that the company has been successful in creating a credible brand Name for itself.
Marriott’s Core Values
Marriott International takes, great pride in its employees and their behavior, which is the reflection of the core values and the culture of the company. Following are the core values of the company
Putting people first
The main philosophy put forward by the founders of Marriott International was to create a company culture as such that people are made a priority. People first culture has been a critical factor in the success of the organization, and the company expects its employees to be well equipped with this skillset. Two decades ago, Marriott International established a board of directors committee focused solely on advancing inclusion. It was one of the first companies to take matters of inclusion into the boardroom. Over the past years, the company has insisted on inclusivity at every level, from suppliers to employees and the boardroom. [2]
Pursuing excellence
The company takes great pride in providing services of par excellence, so all the employees are expected to exhibit professional excellence. It is a critical skill for survival at Marriott International as the company tries to hire the best talent there is.
Embracing change
The modern hospitality industry has been shaped by the Marriott family; hence, the company is not new at all to embracing change and adapting accordingly. Employees are expected to not only welcome change but also adjust accordingly. Even with the uncertainties of 2020, CEO Arne Sorenson sought to encourage employees to “embrace the promise of what to come” despite the loss of what was. [3]
Acting with Integrity
Amongst all fundamental core values, integrity is the most important one. For the company to grow as a trustworthy brand name, all the employees are expected to execute their duties with the utmost integrity.
Serving the World
Marriott International expects all its employees to be committed to not only the company but also towards the society and the planet. All employees are expected to give back to society and help make the world more sustainable. Marriott-owned Starwood Hotels was the first U.S. hotel to sign a deal with Cuba since 1959. By spearheading the normalization of US-Cuba relations, Marriott put its core value of serving the world. Under Trump’s administration, the company put up a fierce fight in an attempt to retain the hotel in Cuba as a symbol of unity but could not prevail. [4]
Marriott’s Pricing Strategy
Marriott International is an organization that offers services of all kinds to its customers. All of its revenue depends upon the prices of those services provided. The company makes use of Group Pricing Optimizer (GPO). It is a decision support system, with user-friendly integrated software that helps the company decide the prices of its various services such as hotel room pricing. The GPO makes an analysis-based decision depending upon multiple factors such as price elasticity, demand segmentation, and optimization techniques.
The system has not only improved sales and increased profitability but has also resulted in more satisfied customers. Pricing services based on prevailing market conditions enabled Marriott International to entice a record number of customers in 2019 and signed more than 515,000 rooms by the start of 2020. It is breaking records thanks to the GPO. [5]
Conclusion
Marriot International, as a company, started the venture with a vision to be the best in the world when it comes to hotels or resort chains. They proved their vision right by setting out a mission that made the customers a priority.
One of the factors that helped the company pave the way for success was providing services of premium quality. Moreover, the culture established in the company in addition to its professional, excellent employees is also the reason behind the global success of Marriott International.
References & more information
- Tell, C. (2020, Aug 26). Marriott International And Quintessentially Team Up On Luxury Road Trip Collection. Forbes
- World News (2020, June 23). Marriott International details 4 themes to scale up diversity and inclusion. Voyages Afriq
- McGirt, E. (2020, March 24). Marriott CEO’s authentic message to employees. Fortune
- Marsh, S. (2020, June 5). Trump administration orders Marriott to cease the Cuba hotel business. Reuters.
- HB Staff. (2020, Feb 10). Marriott: Strong 2019 to Lead to 2020 Growth. Hotel Business
- About us | Marriott
- Marriott Annual Report
- Featured Image by Michelle Maria from Pixabay
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S.K. Gupta
Kevin Johnson
Marriott do not own the hotels (apart from a few flagship properties), they simply operate them. They own their brands and franchise them.
Hi Sophie,
You have raised a very good point;
Mostly, Marriott operates. manages or franchises hotels/ properties rather than own it.
Here is the breakdown of their “rooms by ownership” type, according to their 2019 report.
1 % – owned/ leased (17,003 rooms/ 68 properties)
41 % – Management (managed) Agreements (567,876 rooms / 2076 properties)
58% – Franchise/ licensed Agreements (796,042 rooms / 5,205 properties)
I’m staying in a Towneplace suites by Marriott in Clearwater Florida 49th st. Why aren’t all staff wearing face masks and social distance? We are in the middle of the pandemic. Why aren’t they being safe?