Bill Marriott said it well:
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With more than 3,000 hotels and resorts around the world bearing his family's name or the name of a sister brand such as Ritz-Carlton, Bill Marriott pretty much has his pick of vacation spots.
Yet when it comes time for spring break every year, the chairman and chief executive officer of Marriott International and his family retreat to the same Paradise Valley resort: the company's flagship Camelback Inn on Lincoln Drive.
The tradition predates the company's ownership in the hotel, dating back to a high-school trip Marriott took with his parents in 1948. Marriott narrates the history video on the resort's Web site and in his blog a couple of years ago, said he has spent his happiest days there. OAS_AD('ArticleFlex_1')
The trips to Phoenix coincide with Marriott's birthday, and on Wednesday he celebrated his 77th at the resort's trendy new BLT Steakhouse.
On Thursday he oversaw the grand opening of the company's 75th hotel in Arizona, the Residence Inn Phoenix Desert View at Mayo Clinic.
It was the only Mayo facility in the country without an adjacent hotel.
Marriott, who sits on Mayo's board of trustees and whose daughter had open-heart surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota years ago, called it the "finest" Residence Inn he's seen.
In a brief interview withThe Arizona Republic, he discussed the economy, the uproar in Washington over lavish corporate meetings and even did his best time-share sales pitch. Responses have been edited for space.
Question: How would you sum up the state of the hotel industry?
Answer: The biggest concern we have is the rhetoric coming out of Washington on meetings and conventions. Washington's overreacting to some of the meetings that have been held by some of the financial institutions that are receiving TARP money. It's had a major impact on meetings and conventions all over the country.
It's not a matter as much of saving money on their part because what they're doing is they're paying a big cancellation fee and then they're taking that same meeting and moving it someplace else, essentially paying for the meeting twice. It's that kind of thing that is disturbing.
We've talked to several senators and the president about the concerns we have. Washington needs to recognize the great importance of meetings in this country. Fifteen percent of travel in this country is around meetings and conventions. There are an awful lot of jobs being lost because meetings are being canceled.
We want to make sure that the people who are planning meetings don't get damaged with the collateral damage that's coming out of Washington, with the rhetoric that says it's not good for America to have meetings. We've just got to fix that.
Q: Can you quantify the damage to Marriott?
A: We've lost several hundred thousand room nights across our system and lost several thousand here in the Valley.
Q: Looking at the broader economy, what is your outlook for business this year?
A: I don't think this is going to be an easy year for anybody. This is a very, very difficult environment we've got out here. They're (consumers) saving, not spending. They're staying home. They're not eating out like they were. They're going to Walmart and McDonald's.
Q: You've been in the industry for several decades, how is this recession different?
A: It's unprecedented. It's impacted our business more than any other recession. The worst we were in 2001, after 9/11, was down 11 percent (in revenue per available room.) The first quarter of this year, it appears everybody's going to be down between 15 and 20 percent. We are being very conservative in how we manage our business. We're managing for cash as much as we can. Our balance sheet's in real good shape. We have a lot of liquidity.
Q: There have been glimmers of hope in recent economic reports, most notably on the housing front this week. Are there similar signs of hope in the travel business?
A: The leisure business is stronger than we had anticipated. That's been good. It's been good in the Caribbean. It's very strong here in the Valley right now, with good occupancy at the Camelback Inn and Desert Ridge (resorts.) There is a propensity for people to say, "Hey, I'm not going to be denied my vacation. I'm going to go." But they're shopping. They want bargains, they want a good deal. That's encouraging.
Q: Time-share sales have taken a hit at Marriott and other companies. Where do you see that business headed?
A: It'll come back. I think it's just a matter of time, as soon as people feel more comfortable that they can spend a little bit and invest. It's a good investment because you're buying a future vacation.
When they're looking where they're going to push their cash, what's the best investment I can make, there are an awful lot of them that are afraid to go back into the stock market. And you get a less than 1 percent return on government bonds. So where are you going to put your money?
I think a great investment for people going forward is a time-share. I'm buying a vacation that is guaranteed for the rest of my life.
Q: When business rebounds, what hotel trends might we see?
A: We'd like to get back to normal before I start about the next big thing.
I think you're going to continue to see a trend toward more technology. There's going to be easier access to the Internet, more technology in the rooms.
You're going to see better meeting rooms, better meeting facilities.
Everybody in the Valley now is having outdoor venues. More and more when we design a ballroom, we design as much outside space as we do inside space.