These features created an outstanding backbone for a great company using tactics discussed in Built to Last by Jim Collins. These ideas implemented years ago are holding true, keeping Marriott International two steps ahead of their competitors in all aspects of business. J. Willard Marriott founded Marriott International in 1927 ground by quenching people’s thirst during Washington D. C. ‘s hot, muggy summers. Their original guiding principle was “Good food and good service at a fair price. ” Within two years J. W. Grew from a concession stand to three restaurants, including the first ‘drive-in’ restaurant on the east coast.
These restaurants were known as ‘Hot Shoppe’. By 1937 they had expanded their company to a growing market, the airline industry. J. W. Began selling in-flight boxed lunches to on planes traveling through the Hoover airport in Washington. In 1953 Hot Shoppe Inc. Went public. Their shares were sold out within 2 hours of trading. The company’s innovation continued to into the second half of the century with their introduction the hotel industry. In 1957 the Twin Bridges Hotel opened in Arlington, Virginia, with 365 rooms. It was the first ever ‘motor hotel’ which had a drive-though check-in.
Jaw’s son, Bill Marriott, was the manager of this new establishment. In 1965 the company entered another thriving industry, fast food. Hot Shoppe Jar. Was opened in Maryland selling fifteen-cent hamburgers. Two years later, the company expanded into the international hotel market by opening a five-star vacation resort in Acapulco, Mexico. In 1972, JAW again saw a thriving new potential business in the cruise liner industry. Seeing this undeveloped industry, Marriott partnered with Sun Lines, a cruise ship based in Greece. Ten years later, J. W. Once again saw a high potential in another aspect of the tool industry, the business traveler.
The courtyard Marriott hotel chain was opened to cater to the traveling businessman. The hotels are designed to have a homey feeling for businessmen who needed to be away from home for an extended period of time. At this point in time Marriott innovated its name in the travel industry to one that had “A bed for every traveler. ” From pioneering the extended-stay business to launching distinctive brands geared toward the business traveler to increasing its presence overseas, Marriott International had broken new ground in its new mission. They wanted to become the top hospitality organization in the world.
In 1987 Marriott introduced two new kinds of hotels to the world, the Fairfield Inn and Marriott Suites. The Fairfield Inns offer a simplistic setting aimed at guest staying only a night or two. They have minimum amenities but offer very quick services. Fairfield offer the lowest price in the Marriott family and are commonly found around airports. The Marriott Suites, currently known as Springtail Suites, are designed for a longer stay in mind. The rooms are priced substantially higher than Fairfield because all rooms are duties and the amount/quality of amenities is much higher.
In 1987 Marriott Pioneered yet another new aspect to the industry, the extended stay lodging business. These hotels do not have hotel rooms; instead they have one to three bedroom apartments, equipped with a full kitchen, dining area, and living room. In the mid sass Marriott acquired forty-nine percent interest in Ritz Carlton Hotel Company. This move gave Marriott an even more powerful name in the industry. In 1997 Marriott purchased the rights to Renaissance Hotel Group, an international hotel chain that focus on upscale travelers seeking to experience the culture of wherever they are visiting.
The purchase of this chain doubled Amorist’s presence in the international hotel industry. In the following years Marriott International purchased a number of other hotel chains, all were in the upscale end of the industry. They now have nineteen hotel brands in their family including: The Ritz- Renaissance, Marriott, AC Hotels, Fairfield Inn & Suites, Courtyard Marriott, Springtail Suites, Residence Inn, Townspeople Suites, Ritz-Carlton Destination Club, Marriott Executive Apartments, Executers, Marriott Vacation Club, and Grand Residence. The sweet edition to the Marriott family is Gaylord Hotels.
Marriott bought out Gaylord Hotels for 210 million in October of 2012. Marriott has been at the top of the industry for decades and continues to push itself to become more and more powerful, and respected. In Just the last year, Marriott has opened 150 new hotels worldwide. Their stock value has gone up 32. 52 percent in the last year and 290. 06% in the last five years, a clear sign that this company is stable and maintains constant growth. How is this company able to stay so strong for so long? The answer is not complicated; J. W. Marriott and Bill Marriott both understood the value of a vision. From the beginning J.
W. Had his vision set right. “Good food and good service at a fair price” is simple and clear. Jim Collins Defines a visionary company as “a premier institution in their industries, widely admired by their peers and having a long track record of making a significant impact on the world around them. ” When looking at Marriott International, it is clear why Collins believes Marriott is a visionary company. J. W. Started his empire by looking for what the people needed and continued that idea through many successful ideas before landing on the hotel industry. He had no intention of being in the hotel industry at first.
All he wanted was to be in an industry that he could provide people with a good product and service at a fair price. J. W. Understood that he did not have to stick with one industry; rather he knew that he could take his vision to any industry that was booming at the time. His airline catering business and the cruise line industry are great examples of this. Collins also states in his book that there is never such thing as an “over-night success”, instead true success comes from small great company that found a great idea. In the case of Marriott, they found multiple great ideas in the early years of the company.
The difference between Marriott and other companies is that once Marriott found some great ideas, they didn’t stop. Marriott continued to look for the next great idea. Collins also states that there is no ‘right’ ideology but a great core ideology should include one or more of the following: customers, product/service, employees, risk taking, and innovation. In Amorist’s case, they incorporate all of these into their vision. Below is a diagram oaken from Amorist’s Annual report. It is labeled OUR VISION. Amorist’s vision put into a visual diagram Their vision is a BAG that can be achieved but requires constant improvement to maintain I. . A perfect vision statement. Purpose: “We open our doors too world of opportunities for our people, customers, owners & franchises, investors, business alliances, and communities. ” Values: Their long lasting core values set them apart from the competition because Marriott puts the people first. They believe that keeping all associates happy will, in return, keep customers happy. Their constant pursuit of excellence shows their dedication to the customer. Their statement regarding change is very powerful. “Embrace change- success is never final” Strategy: They have a six- part breakdown to describe their strategy.
Part 1, Next Generation Travelers: They are attempting to look into the future to see what their customers will desire. At the at a hotel. Attracting the younger generations as soon as possible will assure future guest satisfaction. Part 2, Brand Distinction: They are attempting to continuously create distinction and innovation within the industry. Keeping themselves different from the competition. Marriott wants to always have their customers thinking of Marriott hotels as Marriott hotels, not Just another room to sleep in. Part 3, Portfolio Power: They strive in having a very strong customer loyalty relation.
Marriott Rewards is a very compelling system that really solidifies the bond between Marriott and their frequent customers. When a customer approaches the front desk they are greeted with “Good afternoon Mr.. Morning” there is an immediate attachment with that camaraderie. Part 4, Technology Leadership: Being up to date with social media outworking is yet another way to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. Part 5, Owner Preference: Marriott treats the individual franchise owners with great care. They do anything they can to assure the hotel owners are given an increase in value every period.
Part 6, Global Growth: Marriott aims to expand further and further into the growing markets around the word. Starting in 2010 Marriott has set a near impossible goal of having 300 new hotels up and running by 2015. Over 150 of them are to be built in India and China. If you want a Job at a Marriott, move there. With heir constant push to grow their company value grows steadily as does their stock. Success: Marriott has three very clear ways of calculating their success. First is loyalty, how many customers they have participating in their rewards program is an easy way to keep track of their customers numerically.
Second is Profitably, keeping the numbers up high and striving to get higher numbers in upcoming periods. Third is Growth, how many new hotels are going to be up and running soon. Are they buying out another high end hotel chain? J. W. Marriott was never the CEO of his company, nor was he ever president. Instead, he allowed his son to take the ranked position. At an early age, Bill Marriott developed a passion for the business and worked in a variety of positions in the Hot Shoppe restaurant chain during his time in high school and college.
He began work full-time in 1956 and soon afterward, took over management of Amorist’s first hotel. From there he became Executive Vice President of the company, then President in 1964. He was elected Chief Executive Officer in 1972, and Chairman of the Board in 1985. Bill’s ability to lead and the company grew at an amazing rate. Bill was a level-5 leader. When he stepped down from his position as CEO on March 31, 2012, he appointed Earn Sorenson as the new CEO and President.
Although Sorenson has not been in the seat long, it is clear that he was the right man for the Job. He had been with Marriott International for almost twenty years and has a long list of achievements and committees he as been apart of. Some of his accomplishments and participation prior to becoming CEO include: chairman of Amorist’s Global Diversity, Inclusion Council, “which complements the efforts of the Marriott Board of Directors’ Committee for Excellence to monitor and evaluate the progress of our Meany’s strategy to promote an increasingly diverse workforce”.
He is also on the Committee for Excellence, He co-founded Amorist’s Global Sustainability Council, and he launched Amorist’s rainforest’s preservation partnership with the Amazons Sustainable Foundation in Brazil. Sorenson is on Marriott Internationally board of College, President’s Export Council and Brand USA. Putting all that together, he knew this company and its core values very well before becoming CEO. In conclusion, Marriott International is an ideal visionary company that is going to main great far into the future.
They have a very well thought out core ideology and vision that is well implemented into every aspect of the organization. Marriott has had level-5 leaders throughout its existence. The company has continuously pushed forward trying to keep up with its vision and constantly sets Abash to keep the energy high in the workplace. They keep a constant focus on their gauges of success: growth, profitability, and loyalty. Most importantly, they keep pushing themselves to improve and don’t get caught up with how successful they currently are. Marriott
International is the greatest company of our time. References Marriott International. (2013, November 17). Yahoo Finance. Retrieved November 17, 2013, from http://finance. Yahoo. Com/charts? s=MAR Shari=on;alehouses=o;logical=off;source=undefined; Fortune 500– Marriott International. (2012, May 21). Commonly. Retrieved November 1 7, 2013, from http://money. CNN. Com/magazines/fortune/fortune/2012/snapshots/ 10664. HTML http://www. Marriott. Com/ Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies (Harper Business Essentials) (08 August 2002) by Jim Collins, Jerry l. Operas
