Death by Marriott and the "C" word -An open letter to the Marriott Board of Directors, CEO Sorenson and General Counsel Reiss

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Marriott Board, Mr Sorenson and Ms Reiss,

["Hypocrisy is the audacity to preach integrity from a den of corruption" - Wes Fesler]

In a series of Linkedin articles, the story of Marriott corruption and whistle-blower retaliation has now been?told. All that remains is for Marriott executives to decide on the?next move... ["As 2019 CEO of the Year, will you opt to sustain a lie, the Marriott lie, or a life? A lie or a life, Mr Sorenson... Which is it to be?" - 7th August 2019]?

We are approaching the last?page of the final?chapter of?a thirteen?year frenzy of corporate misconduct. Bruce Duncan (former Starwood Chairman, now on the Marriott Board)?was?there from the very start. It?must have been increasingly?difficult for you, Mr Duncan, to remain so shamelessly?silent?for so long... Or maybe not!?["The worst disease in the world today is corruption. And there is a cure: transparency" - Bono]

In 2011, Starwood knowingly began operating an?illegal hotel, the St Regis?in Bangkok. It was even illegal from the planning stage and Starwood needed to keep its initial lack of due diligence also under wraps. Marriott,?has taken the same "it's the responsibility of the owner" approach since. (It just so happens that the owner of this?hotel is His Majesty the King of Thailand.)?But it's not just about a single hotel.?Over time, research conducted by?community crusaders has revealed the widespread nature of corruption?within the global hotel industry (of which Marriott is the bellwether). Evidence held could even?nullify the 2016?Starwood/Marriott merger. Sadly, yet again, parochial legal and regulatory systems (in some cases also corrupt) have proved inadequate in?tackling?serious global issues of this kind. However, a?final 142-page plea?to?US and Thai regulators has?been submitted and a response is?awaited.?[“A system is corrupt when it is strictly profit-driven, not driven to serve the best interests of its people, but those of multinational corporations.” ―?Suzy Kassem]

Soon I will?be commencing (1st June, 2020) a third hunger strike in protest at?Marriott corruption and whistle-blower retaliation?unless there is an agreement, at the very least, to re-open?discussions that previously began?at Marriott Head Office in Bethesda in September 2019. When I met you, Mr Sorenson, you stated your?desire?to see this matter brought to an end?and we both agreed that a resolution should be fair to?both sides. At a later meeting in Bethesda with some of your colleagues, compromise was endorsed as the route?to a satisfactory outcome. Yet?Craig S Smith, assigned to take the matter forward, has supremely?failed in his task, despite two further meetings, one in London and another in Hong Kong.?As President and Managing Director of Marriott Asia Pacific,?having overseen?that region's desultory?due diligence procedures during the Starwood merger, Mr Smith has much to hide. Within the corporate construct of "lie, confuse and deny" he played his guises well - the hospitality specialist, the denialist, the denouncer, the censurer, the unknowing and?the wounded soldier - but?has since?gone silent and we are no further on from when?we started. Rather bizarrely, at?the London meeting, Mr Smith (not acting in good faith) declined an opportunity to review important documents that were presented following his own demand for evidence of Marriott culpability.?["Corruption can also make people’s decision-making skills distorted. It tempts people to satisfy their personal interests first before their obligations to others." Anon]

This is intended to be a hunger strike to the death. The best way to stop it is before it starts but I doubt you'll do that. Eventually, if I do pass, documents?will be found accompanying my corpse?detailing?how and why?death came about and naming Arne Sorenson, Craig S Smith and Liam Brown as the executors of my estate.??I've met some of you,?we've discussed the issues,?you know I will do what I say and the?reasons for my doing so.?["Any system that values profit over human life is a very dangerous one indeed" - Suzy Kassem]

I envision being laid to rest in?the Memorial Crypt?for Quashed Whistle-blowers located at the Cathedral of Marriott High Command?in?Bethesda MD. It is rumoured?that a?non-optional precondition of this honour?(in the manner of a "deceptive resort fee") requires all tongues, the deadly weapon of?whistle-blowers,?to be donated to the Marriott Hospitality Torture Museum. Brass plaques, reminding?associates to watch their tongues, relay?the well-known Marriott mantra: "Profit Before People at all times, or else..."?Undoubtedly, scientists in?the Marriott Underground Hotel Innovation Laboratory will want to speed?up the necessary development of its high-tech humanoid, uncomplaining and servile, whose entire belief system will centre?around?the accumulation of Marriott Bonvoy points. These humanoids (guest?and employee versions) will be the future followers of the Marriott faith, happy to worship?at the feet of?Marriott shareholders and executive millionaires, programmed to believe that Marriott integrity is a true reality, and able?to cite?from memory the entire Authorized Version (2020) of the?Marriott Bible of Rhetoric,?Hypocrisy and?Non-Compliance. Common human beings have, quite simply, become an irritation,?too much of a threat, expendable.?["As the saying goes, 'denial ain’t just a river in Egypt'.?Unfortunately, corporate denial is alive and well..." Jennifer Cross]??

Last year, John Guidi,?another UK citizen in his 60s, also a?hunger striker, protested?against?the immoral conduct?of global financial institutions. Representing "the man on the street", already ruined by corporate vice,?John and I are?a new breed of guerilla activist -?old,?wrinkled, small-scale Greta Thunbergs, no less. Sick of the brown envelope industry,?legal departments?and corrupt justice, we are willing to risk or sacrifice our lives?to draw attention to some of the worst corporate terrorists of the age. For sure, there will be more protests of this kind in the future because people are literally sick to death?of your?lawless,?contemptuous and?inhuman corporate games of greed and growth, which have gone viral and out?of control. People have had enough of your lies surrounding?human rights, sustainability and ethical business practice.?[“Those who climb the corporate ladder of lies and deception will sooner or later fall off the shaky steps” - Khang Kijarro Nguyen]

Corporations,?corruption and greed lie at the core of nearly every serious global issue. Corporations need to change. Corporations must?change. You, ladies and gentlemen, represent the biggest hotel corporation in the world. You are positioned to?radically alter?the mindset and lead the way.?However, that takes courage and vision and a deep trust in doing the right thing. The current?Marriott?business model is shallow, self-congratulatory and brutal. You?all function?within a?non-transparent Bethesda bubble and your underground corporate bunkers are too far removed from the reality of integrity and fair play.?Sadly, I see little hope for transformation?in the near-term, either from Marriott itself or from the wider business?community. The avalanche of self-serving, pretentious claptrap?emanating from Davos recently was a further demonstration of corporate disdain.?[We must design a corporate system in which all economic [and human] rights are equally protected, not only the rights of shareholders" - Marjorie Kelly]

Conclusion: Sweeping through the hotel industry, once so welcoming and alluring, now so profit-driven and greedy, is the common?C-word.?Compassion,?Consideration and?Courtesy to both?Customer and?Community are now?considered?Cornball.?Instead, my 22 articles and open letters concerning the Marriott Corporation tell a story of?Corporate?Criminality,?Cover-up and?Collusion. In today's?Corporate?Cosmos,?Conscience is for?Cowards,?Codes of?Conduct are simply meant?to?Coax and?Cozen whilst?Compliance is?to?Crow about yet treat with?Contempt. In a?Compliance Week article?on US Department of Justice enforcement priorities, Jaclyn Jaeger concluded:?“In 2020, companies must move beyond simply citing world-class programs practices and focus on whether their compliance programs work in real life.”?Cecilia Muller Torbrand:?"In a company, the focus for a compliance officer or the?head of the legal department is on legal risks;?i.e., if a company engages in corrupt behavior, this may lead to massive investigations, potential prosecution, high fines, and senior management liability."?(I do so hope you are reading this Ms Reiss.)

And, ah yes,?Corruption itself:?"Corruption is to say one thing, and do another, to think one thought and act totally different from that. That is dishonest, that is also corruption"?(Jiddu Krishnamurti).?"[Corruption is] the abuse of entrusted power for private gain"?(Transparency International)."Corruption is dishonest behavior by those in positions of power"?(Investopedia).?"Corruption is the use or abuse of the office, with particular emphasis on the subversion of the public good by private self-interest"?(Bratsis). Finally:?"We should call corporations corrupt when they exercise public power selfishly, in a way that puts their own interests over the public’s interests"?(Zephyr Teachout).

Tricky to define but?whatever?your?preferred angle,?one thing is for sure -?Corruption is a rampaging?Cancer in our midst. Marriott International Inc [MAR]?IS?CORRUPT,?riddled with?Cancer and I invite?you all to ponder?on the likely?Consequences of that...

Yours sincerely, John Shepherd

Footnote: Since publishing this open letter COVID-19 has rampaged across the world. An equally serious global virus, already with us for many years and causing harm to communities across the planet, has now been named. CO-MAR20 is a toxic bacteriophage of corporate greed,?corruption and ruthlessness. There is no known cure.?