Keeping Our Eyes on the Road Ahead

A message from Bill Marriott: November 3, 2008 8:03:47 AM

I was out in Los Angeles recently to check out the progress of the L.A. Live project - a brand new commercial and residential center revitalizing downtown L.A. When it opens in 2010, it will include two of our top brands - a JW Marriott and a Ritz-Carlton. Also, a Ritz-Carlton Residences. It's stunning and I'm betting it will be a great success both for Los Angeles and for Marriott.

I'm glad I was there. Particularly given all the gloomy financial and economic news around these days, it was important to make the point that when we come out of these tough times, we'll be ready. That's not going to happen overnight, but it's going to happen. I'm confident that the actions of the political and financial leaders in Washington and globally are going to help the financial markets tremendously.

But unfortunately, even if the financial markets are calmed, there's been enough impact to the economy that virtually all the experts now believe that we're into a recession.

I've experienced eight downturns in my 52 years in business and we've always come out of them stronger and more competitive than when the trouble began. In early October, we reported our third quarter earnings results and also provided observations about business for the rest of 2008 and into 2009. At that time, we expected business in late 2008 and 2009 to decline, but in just the last few weeks our business outlook has further weakened. Although business is slowing, our corporate staff and our hotel management teams have been doing everything they can to operate as efficiently as possible.

We're doing what we can to contain costs, keep our loyal customers and attract new ones. This will help preserve jobs for our people, which is a top priority for me and for all of us. We are anxious to support the communities where we operate. Our hotels generate thousands of jobs, millions of dollars in wages and tax receipts that the local governments need to pay for schools, police and fire departments. We're all connected and we're all in this together.

Although we have to work our way through this tough economic patch, it's important to keep our eyes on the road ahead as better times will return.

I'm Bill Marriott, and thanks for helping me keep Marriott on the move.