Company Overview

Marriott International, formerly Hot Shoppes Inc., began in 1927 as a nine-seat root beer stand in Washington, D.C., run by J. Willard Marriott and his wife. It has since become the top lodging company in the world. The company went public in 1953, and entered the hotel business in 1957 with the opening of the Twin Bridges Marriott in Arlington, Virginia. In 1967, it acquired the Big Boy restaurant chain, and founded the Roy Rogers restaurant chain the next year. Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, ExecuStay, and Fairfield Inn are among the company’s 15 brands. In 1983, the company entered the moderately priced hotel market by opening the first Courtyard by Marriott.

Marriott now has almost 3,200 properties, including senior-living communities, time-share resorts, conference centers, and executive apartments. In 2007 Marriot announced plans to create a boutique chain of small, upscale hotels in popular locations called Edition. The first Edition is expected to open 2010.

Because of the economic downturn’s negative effect on profit, Marriot was forced to restructure its timeshare segment. The restructure led Marriott to make $100 million in cross-departmental cuts and 1,000 layoffs in early 2009.