Marriott Executive Talks COVID Impact, Hotel Outlook in 2022, Spring Break and More

As fear surrounding the coronavirus pandemic decreases and bookings throughout the travel industry continue to climb, Marriott International continues to lead hospitality brands in dedication to customers and the vacation experience.

Marriott Group President for the United States and Canada Liam Brown has helped the company throughout the pandemic, and he spoke to TravelPulse about a multitude of topics, including the impact of COVID-19, travel’s resurgence in 2022, sustainability initiatives, diversity efforts and more.

Here is the full Q&A session with Brown:

TravelPulse (TP): The Omicron variant has been just the latest in a series of coronavirus-related roadblocks for the travel industry’s recovery. What has been the impact on Marriott and have any plans been altered as a result?

Liam Brown (LB): Travel is incredibly resilient, and we’ve seen that more than ever over the last two years. We’re pleased with the progress we’ve made despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic. While Omicron caused a temporary setback, we’re gaining momentum, with new bookings across customer segments having returned to pre-Omicron levels.

In terms of any plans that have been altered, central to our approach is that while the environment is certainly different than it was pre-pandemic, our commitment to providing guests with an exceptional stay and the experiences they look forward to when they travel has not changed. At its core, our business is about giving guests a great experience, attracting great talent, and working really well with owners and franchisees. These are the principles that have guided us and will continue to guide us.

Additionally, we are excited about some of the new ways people are traveling. Leisure demand continues to be strong, and we think there will be interest in travel that combines business and leisure this year. More flexible work environments and comfortability with connecting virtually will encourage this way of traveling. At the same time, the engagement, connection, and collaboration people get from meeting in-person simply can’t be replicated through technology – we’re hearing and seeing this from our group customers.

TP: Travelers are dealing with cold temperatures and dreaming of vacations, whether it be to warm-weather destinations or Spring Break and Summer breaks. Do you think Marriott is ready for the influx of bookings? From a staffing perspective?

LB): Over the last year, we’ve seen a strong pent-up demand for leisure travel, and like the rest of our industry, we have experienced staffing challenges particularly in those markets where we saw an uptick in leisure demand – for example, Florida, California, Texas, and Arizona, among others. As of the end of last year, we have filled almost 50,000 positions in our U.S. and Canada managed hotels.

Our focus is on communicating the incredible benefits of a career in hospitality. There is truly no more exciting, rewarding, and challenging career. That’s a message our entire industry needs to embrace and communicate. We are seeking to attract candidates who want to build a long-term relationship with Marriott. I can speak from personal experience that we provide great opportunity for people to grow their careers with us. For example, half of our General Managers in the U.S. began as hourly hotel workers.

TP: A new year is a time for new beginnings. What does Marriott have planned for 2022 in terms of marquee future properties and the future of the company as whole?

LB: We have several much-anticipated openings and renovations happening this year. In March, the new Marriott Bethesda Downtown at Marriott HQ will open its doors. The New York Marriott Marquis has undergone a major $135 million renovation. The Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad will open this spring as one of the tallest buildings in the area, with views from the Empire State Building to the Statue of Liberty. The Sheraton brand continues its transformation with several newly renovated properties in Canada, including The Sheraton Centre Toronto, which recently debuted its new arrival experience, lobby, and renovated Club lounge. From a future growth standpoint, we’re well positioned to continue growing our lead in resort destinations, as well as in the luxury space.

Overall, our ability to deepen our engagement with our customers through Marriott Bonvoy will continue to be vital. We are enhancing and expanding Marriott Bonvoy into an immersive travel platform that includes our 30 hotel brands along with multiple products and offerings that enable us to provide value to our members beyond hotel stays.

TP: What are some sustainability efforts being made by Marriott to make its hotels, resorts and other properties more environmentally friendly?

LB: Our sustainability and social impact platform, Serve 360, guides our commitment to make a positive and sustainable impact wherever we do business, delivering value for associates, customers, owners, the environment, and communities around the world. Embedding sustainability throughout our operations and value chain is core to our business strategy to ensure the resiliency and longevity of the company, as well as the communities and environments in which we operate. Our sustainability strategy includes our commitment to climate action – last year, we took our next steps by committing to set science-based emissions reduction targets and reach net-zero emissions by no later than 2050. We also signed on to the Race to Zero via the most ambitious standard, Business Ambition for 1.5, in which all participants are committed to reducing emissions across all scopes swiftly and fairly in line with the Paris Agreement, with transparent action plans and robust near-term targets.

To support these goals and commitments, we implement a variety of initiatives from innovative ecosystem restoration and carbon sequestration projects, such as working with The Ocean Foundation to remove and repurpose sargassum seaweed, to the launch of a publicly available responsible sourcing guide for our supply chain. Our hotels lead the way by operationalizing programming such as The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage and five other California hotels installing a food waste reduction system, which led to 37,931 tons of food waste being diverted from landfills between November 2019 and March 2021. The JW Marriott Washington DC was recently recognized with the 2021 global Energy Management Leadership award, one of the highest accolades in energy management and conservation, for reducing more than 725 metric tons of carbon emissions. And these are only a couple of examples – there are so many more.

TP: What efforts are being made by Marriott as it relates to diversity, equity and inclusion?

LB: Marriott has a longstanding commitment to fostering a culture of inclusion and belonging. More than 50 percent of top U.S. leadership and our Global Operating Committee is diverse. While we’re proud of this progress, we also know that there is more to do. Last year, we announced an acceleration of our efforts to achieve global gender parity for women in leadership positions by 2023, two years sooner than our original goal. We also established a new objective to increase the representation of people of color in executive positions in the U.S. from 20.5% to 25% by 2025. We have several programs focused on attracting and developing diverse and inclusive talent, including the Emerging Leaders Program. To date, this program has had over 1,200 participants that have progressed to leadership roles within the company. Additionally, Marriott is working with The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation and Howard University to establish the Marriott-Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership at Howard to address racial equity in the hospitality industry by building a pipeline of diverse leadership talent, which is a priority for Marriott and our industry.