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Great lines from HOTELS ’ February interview with Bill Marriott
The best advice I can give is , ‘ work , work , work .’ I found out in my life the harder I worked the luckier I got .
You have to staY close to the business . I think a lot of people who run hotels get distracted away from the business .
I told my grandson [ who had just graduated from Harvard ’ s business school ], ‘ Hot food hot and cold food cold , and make sure the customer is well cared for .’ that ’ s our strategY , and it has worked all these years .
Bill Marriott is always quick to credit his colleagues and talk about the opportunities the company has provided millions of people .
is focus intensely on lodging in the ’ 70s . We would have really gone forward instead of being siphoned off into other businesses not germane to hotels . No one would have been able to touch us .”
Perhaps the most pivotal moment in Marriott history came in 1993 when the then-struggling company was divided into a profitable hotel management company separate from a heavily indebted real estate management business . “ The model to manage and not own freed us up to expand rapidly ,” he reflects . “ If we decided to own and have the debt that goes with it , today we ’ d have 100,000 rooms at the most .”
The thought of a much smaller Marriott , no doubt , would have never sat well with Bill Marriott , who , while acknowledging his competitors , does not thrill in their success . “ They keep you on your toes ,” he says . “ When we see what they are doing , we say to ourselves , ‘ We have to get ahead of them .’”
In fact , Marriott says he is always studying his competitors , as well as his own business . “ You have to stay close to the business . I think a lot of people who run hotels get distracted away from the business ,” he says . “ Getting involved in the community is a good thing to a point , but you when we hire senior executives , I want to know how strong his people skills are and how much he values the people working for him .
Back in the ‘ 70s security analysts and investors on Wall Street were always looking for new business ideas . ... We were pushed into a lot of businesses . ... What we should have done is focus intenselY on lodging .
it ’ s a real thrill to Meet with a bunch of gMs and sit around and ask how many years they ’ ve been with the company . On average , it ’ s 25 years , and over 50 % started in hourly ranks . That is a fantastic story and really important .
What ’ s at the top of my to-do list ? a date with MY wife .
16 HOTELS April 2015 www . hotelsmag . com