Marriott Hotels & Resorts isMarriott International's brand of full-servicehotels andresorts based inBethesda, Maryland. As of June 30, 2020, there were 582 hotels and resorts with 205,053 rooms operating under the brand, in addition to 160 hotels with 47,765 rooms planned for development.[2][3]
The Marriott hotel chain began when the Hot Shoppes, Inc. restaurant company decided to diversify into hotels. Its first hotel opened in 1957 in Virginia, theMarriott Motor Hotel, adjacent toThe Pentagon andWashington National Airport.[4] The company's second hotel was the nearby Marriott Key Bridge Motor Hotel, which opened in 1959.[5] This was soon followed by Marriott Motor Hotels in Dallas in 1960, Philadelphia in 1961, Atlanta in 1965, andSaddle Brook, New Jersey in 1966.[6]
Hot Shoppes, Inc. was renamed theMarriott Corporation in 1967,[7] by which point it was operating 8 hotels.[8]
In 1972, the Marriott lodging division acquired the Greek-based Sun Line cruise line,[10] which it owned until 1987.[11]
In 1975, Marriott Hotels & Resorts expanded toEurope, with the opening of the Amsterdam Marriott.[12] In 1980, Marriott opened its first hotel in the Middle East, the Riyadh Marriott, in Saudi Arabia. TheCairo Marriott followed in 1981, the chain's first hotel in Africa.[13]
In these first several decades, Marriott International owned and managed many of the hotels within its portfolio. In 1993, the company decided to spin off the real estate ownership operations as a new company,Host Marriott, while retaininghotel management services under theMarriott International company name.
By 1999, there were over 360 Marriott Hotels & Resorts in 47 countries, and in November 2010, Marriott Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of what is said was their 500th property, the Pune Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre, inPune, India.[14] In September 2005, Marriott Hotels & Resorts unveiled its first new room designs in ten years. Dubbed "mSpot", the new rooms feature clean lines and updated technology.[15]
In August 2020, Marriott announced it was ending its Make A Green Choice program.[citation needed] In October 2020, the UK data privacy watchdog fined Marriott Hotels £18.4 million for a serious data breach that exposed the millions of the companies customer's data to cyber-criminals.[16]
In July 2022, The Marriott Hotel revealed that the company's data had been breached. Hackers were able to compromise the hotels' data which led to 20GB of data which included internal documents and information in addition to consumer data such as credit card information. The hackers broke into a server at the Marriott Hotel atBaltimore-Washington International Airport. The group shared screenshots of customer information and were in contact with the Hotel chain. This data breach marks the third data breach for the company in the last 4 years.[17]
In 2023, acriminal investigation was opened against Marriott inPoland, claiming that it acted fraudulently and unethically against the Lim company, the owner of aWarsaw hotel. During theCOVID-19 period, Marriott would not keep up the hotel'smaintenance and shifted the costs of maintaining the empty hotel to the Lim Company. At the same time Marriott prevented the Lim Company from renting the hotel to the National Health Fund for doctors' housing or contracting for advertising deals until the Lim Company would pay unwarranted bonuses to Marriott.[18]
Cairo, Egypt: TheMarriott Mena House Hotel is part of a historic accommodation located to the north of theGiza pyramid complex, providing direct views of the monuments. Originally a hunting lodge built in 1869 for theIsma'il Pasha of Egypt, it became a hotel called The Mena House in 1886, named after PharaohMenes. In 1977, Egyptian and Israeli diplomats sat down at the hotel to negotiate a settlement that would produce theCamp David Accords, which returned theSinai Peninsula to Egypt. In 2018, Marriott began managing the garden wing of the hotel as a Marriott, while the palace wing is planned to be transformed into aJW Marriott.[43][44]
TheLondon Marriott Hotel County Hall repurposes a Grade II-listed county hall originally used as the headquarters of the local government of London.[58]
Paradise Valley, Arizona, United States: In 1968, theCamelback Inn was bought byBill Marriott, who once stayed there with his parents as a teenager. It became Marriott's Camelback Inn, the company's first ever resort. In 2003, it was renovated and rebranded as aJW Marriott.[67]
St. Louis, Missouri, United States: TheMarriott St. Louis Grand Hotel was originally aStatler Hotel acquired byHilton in 1954, but it left the chain in 1966. It reopened as aRenaissance (also owned by Marriott) in 2002, but it closed in 2009 after its owners failed to repay interest payments to bondholders. Following renovations, it reopened for the second time as a Marriott in 2015.[73]
Tbilisi, Georgia: TheTbilisi Marriott Hotel was designed to be the most luxurious hotel in Tbilisi in 1915, initially with the name Hôtel Majestic, by Armenian merchantMikael Aramyants. After several years being converted into a hospital and an office, it became a hotel again in 1939 under the name Hotel Tbilisi. Marriott assumed management of the property in 2002 after an extensive reconstruction.[76]
Yerevan, Armenia: TheArmenia Marriott Hotel Yerevan, located near theRepublic Square, opened as the government-owned Armenia Hotel in 1959. Following the fall of communism, it was privatized, with Marriott assuming management in 1999. It is the second-largest hotel in the country.[80]
Nagoya, Japan: The Nagoya Marriott Associa hotel located near Nagoya station is a 52-story hotel directly above Nagoya station. The hotel is connected to Nagoya station by a passageway.
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