J.W Marriot

J.W Marriot

Introduction

The John Willard Marriott of 1927 was the first of three to bear this name. John W. (Bill) Marriott II is the current Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Marriott International Inc. His son, John W. Marriott III, left his position as executive Vice President of Lodging and President of North American Lodging in January 2006. He now is chief executive officer of J.W.M. Family Enterprises, L.P., which he began in 1993.

The founder of the multi-million dollar Marriott chain was born in 1900 in Utah. He was educated at the University of Utah. The first business enterprise J. W. Marriott engaged in was a small root beer stand in Washington, D. C., that was expanded to include hot food and be named The Hot Shoppe. Two years later his Hot Shoppes, Inc., business line was incorporated in the state of Maryland.(Kouzes,2006)

The years between 1937 and 1939 saw Marriott set up the first business to cater on airlines. He was given several accounts to manage cafeterias at the U. S. Treasury building and at defense plants around the country. In 1955, roadside Hot Shoppes were set up along the New York State Thruway. Then, in 1957; Marriott established his name in the lodging business by opening a hotel in Arlington, Virginia. He named it the Twin Bridges Marriott Motor Hotel.(Marriott,2002)

In 1964, the corporate name was changed to Marriott-Hot Shoppers, Inc. The 1960's also saw Marriott go international with airline catering, purchase the Big Boy restaurant chain, change the corporate name to Marriott Corporation, and found the Roy Rogers restaurant chain. These years were the time of great growth as the company grew to four times its size. In 1972, John Willard Marriott stepped down as chief executive officer. His son replaced him as the head of the corporation.(Trevor,2007)

In the years between 1972 and 1985, the corporation expanded even more its sales of food, merchandise, and beverages in airports worldwide. In fact, the food service part of the business grew and diversified quite a bit. The first Courtyard hotel was opened in 1983 for travelers who needed a moderate-priced place to stay, and in 1984, the Marriott Corporation ventured into the vacation time-sharing market by purchasing American Resorts Group.(Pointer,2001)

In 1985, John Willard Marriott died and left as a legacy a huge multi-million dollar corporation which manages and operates lodging chains for every budget, golf courses, executive apartments, time-share vacation resorts, conference centers, and restaurants and food service facilities in many places worldwide.(Rochelle,2002)

Social and Economic Impact

Besides leaving a $3 billion business to his son, J. Willard Marriott passed on a rock-solid management system. His perfectionism led him to create detailed procedural manuals for all tasks within his empire. Bill Jr. described his father's methods in his book The Spirit to Serve: “Almost from the start, my parents especially my father, launched the process of figuring out how to do something right and then writing it down. From washing windows to burnishing silverware, to arranging buffet tables and ...