The place where the Marriott Hotel is now located in Tbilisi has its own history. In 1915, the Hotel Majestic was built here, which was awarded the Grand Prix and Gold Medal as the best hotel in Europe that same year.
The history of the Marriott Corporation’s family business began in Washington in 1927 when John Willard Marriott opened a beer bar with his wife. Today, the Marriott chain counts 2,600 hotels and 500,000 rooms.
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“You can do business well or poorly. Doing business well should become a habit. The result is worth it. The main thing is to pay attention to details, and if you don’t like something, you should focus on exactly that,” Marriott used to say.
This was precisely the foundation of his business success.
His name is also associated with the idea of developing roadside diners. In 1927, Marriott opened a beer bar in Washington with his wife. Later, the Marriotts expanded the company, and thus the Hot Shoppes restaurant chain was born. The restaurants had convenient parking, and drivers could grab a snack without leaving their cars. The chain was the first to offer customers such a service. In 1937, Marriott developed another business direction – catering for American airlines.
In 1957, Marriott opens his first hotel in Arlington.
The company opened its first hotel, Twin Bridges Motor Hotel, on January 16, 1957, in Arlington, Virginia. A night’s stay at this hotel cost $9, with an additional $1 for each person in the car. The company’s second hotel, Key Bridge Marriott, opened in Rosslyn in 1959. It’s still operating and is the company’s longest continuously operating hotel.
Marriott rarely rested. He treated his employees like family members. When visiting his restaurant, he greeted everyone with a handshake. The company had an employee whose job was to ensure that all employees were satisfied and happy with their work.
Those who worked with Marriott for a long time said he was full of contradictions – both soft and tough in character, fanatically religious and at the same time, loved to have fun. The only thing he demanded from family, employees, and friends was perfection. He remained faithful to his ideals until the end of his life. For him, actions were more important than words.
In April 1995, Marriott acquired a 49% stake in The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. Marriott believed he could increase sales and profits for The Ritz-Carlton, which was on the brink of bankruptcy at the time and owned many hotels. This deal cost Marriott $200 million. By 1998, Marriott was the majority owner of Ritz-Carlton.
In 1997, the company acquired the brands Renaissance Hotels and Ramada from Chow Tai Fook Group and its associated company, New World Development. Marriott International also signed an agreement to manage hotels owned by New World Development.On July 19, 2006, Marriott announced that starting from September 2006, it would ban smoking in all its managed hotels in the United States and Canada.
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In 2007, Marriott became the first hotel chain to offer trans fat-free food to customers in all its hotels across North America.
Marriott International is the largest hotel chain in the world. It has 30 brands in 131 countries worldwide and over 1,332,826 rooms globally. Besides the highest service standards, the chain is known for actively addressing social issues of global importance. Compared to other chains, Marriott is represented by the largest number of hotels in Georgia.
