J. Willard Marriott

(September 17, 1900 - August 13, 1985)

J. W. Marriott successfully launched a restaurant business with the opening of the first "Hot Shoppes" - A&W Root Beer shop in 1927. This prosperous venture stemmed from Marriott's notion of providing inexpensive quality food and services. (Reader's Digest, 1972) The Depression years fueled a tremendous ingenuity in Marriott. He recognized the success of a low-cost restaurant and the failure of luxury restaurants.

Consequently, Marriott expanded his business opportunities by entering the airline and hotel industry. Specifically in 1957, J.W. Marriott opened his first hotel, the Twin Bridges Marriott in Washington, D.C. Following thereafter, Marriott Hotels were launched in Dallas, Philadelphia, and Atlanta. As a result, the Marriott Company earned $84 million in revenue with 9,600 employees by 1964. In the late 1960s, Marriott acquired the Big Boy restaurant chain and the Roy Rogers fast food restaurant division. However, J.W. Marriott's business ventures did not stop with the hotel industry. A decade later in 1976, J. W. Marriott entered the entertainment industry with the creation of the Marriott Great America Theme Parks that aimed to provide wholesome family entertainment. Additionally, the Marriott standard of quality and wonderful service also sailed the high seas with the company's acquisition of three luxury Sun Line cruise ships that sailed to the Caribbean and the Aegean/Mediterranean areas.

In the mid-1980s, the Marriott company earned $4.5 billion in revenue with 200,000 employees, and by 1989, the company opened its 500th hotel in Warsaw, Poland. A decade later in 1994, Marriott doubled its revenues by acquiring approximately $8.4 billion in revenue. The success of the Marriott company stemmed from a belief in community. M.O. "Bus" Ryan, a senior vice president of Marriott Hotels, described his relationship to J.W. Marriott as one of a father to a son.

M.O. "Bus" Ryan stated that:

"J.W. Marriott, our founder who was really like a father to me, lived quite a few years beyond my dad's passing. I grew to love him, and I believed in his philosophy so deeply. It was a thing that our company taught that the way to be successful in this business is that you take care of your employees and they will take care of your guests. It was a simple concept, but it really stuck with me. . . . That climate, that culture of people concern, is what I think over the years has made Marriott so special." (Oral History Interview with Senior Vice President Bus Ryan and C. Baird 1994).

 Print Friendly