MARRIOTT LAMENTATIONS 169: "Marriott?inhumane, retaliatory, waning?standards; the true state of the Marriott" brand [Part 3/5] "Brand Integrity"

Introduction: One of the most valuable assets a company can have is a strong brand, creating positive?customer perceptions of quality, service, and all those?'intangible' associations that come to mind when the brand name is seen or heard

However, even the strongest brand foundations will crumble if the brand fails to attract its intended audiences. Brand compliance is not a one-time activity; standards can easily slip?

Brand standard negligence can?confuse?customers and jeopardise trust, damage?a company's reputation, and ultimately have a negative impact on profits

Brand image is the way a customer thinks or feels about a?brand based on the experience, good or bad, they may have had with that?brand. Brand image influences?reputation

How?customers perceive a company??–?brand image – should?align?with how a company wants?to be perceived – brand identity. In other words, brand is what you say about yourself, while reputation is what other people say about you

A company?personality may be promoted publicly as friendly and inviting, but?a negative encounter?can drive a?customer away, and others too in the process

Genuine?(as opposed to fake) empathy towards customer matters, how hotel guests are spoken to and treated, helps them?decide whether that company truly values their loyalty and repeat business. One bad experience can very quickly have a negative, irreversible impact on brand

Customers are the reason companies?exist in the first place. Compromising?the customer experience for short term financial gain can be a recipe for disaster. Sometimes the temptation to cut corners, minimize costs,?maximize immediate returns can?prove?too strong to resist. A bit shaved off here and there - and before executives can even cash in their bonuses, customers are leaving in their droves. It's a completely?unsustainable approach

"A strong brand requires a strong brand identity, brand image, brand culture, and brand personality. Implementing a successful brand strategy that develops all four of these components increases brand trust, loyalty, and awareness" (Dan Gartlan)

Management mediocrity, corporate arrogance and greed, moral blindness, 'cohesion deficit', and a toxic global culture are causing Marriott to fall?into every possible trap; yet directors and executives remains indifferent to the emergent issues. Though profit and growth remain?buoyant for the moment, worldwide reputation is already plummeting

MARRIOTT MOMENTS 47: "Marriott Virus Alert?[MARvid-21]"?

The Marriott brand is in bad, bad shape. It exists on a lie, a lie that beholds the brand as virtuous and all-powerful

Viral diagnosis:

Stage 1: Marriott increases?asset-light strategy; disposes of?tangibles to earn?a quick buck

Stage 2: Asset-light and obsessed with rapid growth, Marriott begins the process of "selling out" to hotel owners

Stage 3: Owner-investors hijack?the brand; the era of owner-dictatorship and piracy is born

Intangible assets?account for over 70% of the Marriott Corporation. In effect, Marriott is simply "the brand". In reality, having?lost control of the brand, Marriott?has?little?left to "sell" except?a corrupt operating system centered solely?around?profit and growth

With?franchise agreements, the hotel owner generally receives permission to use the brand name, trademarks, logos, as well as access to the brand's loyalty program, distribution channels, and central reservation system. Although the overall management of the hotel remains with the franchisee,?the enforcement of brand standards is?intended to benefit?the franchisor and its franchisees alike. But this is not what is happening at Marriott

Hotel management agreements?were originally?intended to ensure that?owners adopt a hands-off approach to operational concerns;?to align the interests of both owner and operator as far as?possible; to allow Marriott GMs?to manage?as they see fit (including?the maintenance of?brand standards and legal compliance).?However, dubious?operating contracts,?management ineptitude/negligence,?and lax?due diligence are now?a key symptom?of the "MARvid" infection. What hotel owners actually do is often very different to what they are supposed to do; what may be?on paper is not what is in practice and?corruption has?now firmly entered the arena

Marriott is operating?some of its managed hotels fraudulently -?on a system of corrupted contracts,?bogus government operating permits or simply by?turning?a blind eye to irregularites enforced by?unscrupulous hotels?owners. This new, unrecorded?defiance of?regulatory modus operandi?not only favours hotel owners but?Marriott too. In today's asset-light format, rapid growth is imperative and?Marriott needs to?cut corners. For example, it's simple?to scrub "Know Your Client" due diligence -?in fact, to scrub due diligence?entirely. It's even easier just?to?give clients what they?want, few questions asked.?Play it their?way:?allow unprincipled?owners?to dictate?hotels?operations; sanction?GMs to become nothing more than cowardly figureheads; or let the owners appoint their?own senior staff / cronies (who?wear the Marriott badge yet fail to uphold?the Marriott brand); condone?owners?who?sack loyal Marriott-appointed staff or punish whistle-blowers and those attempting to uphold?the?Marriott Codes of Practice...

Marriott has no?control whatsoever over its hotel owners; former CEO Arne Sorenson informed me of this?during a meeting in Sept 2019.?At the same time, he brushed aside the need for?hotel audits and other?due diligence processes,?claiming that?owner-clients are entrusted by Marriott to?provide?(of their own accord)?safe, accredited?buildings. In a volatile piece of correspondence, Bancroft Gordon (ex Vice President, Assistant General Counsel & Corporate Secretary) referred?to hotel owners as "third parties?over whom we have?no control". Craig S Smith (ex Group President, International Division) advised?that unaudited government?operating permits alone are?good enough for Marriott, even in corrupt countries.?If Marriott opts to forfeit?control - to fuel the wiles of unscrupulous hotel owners, irrespective of?the legal status?of?buildings and?other operational niceties -?then it opts to forfeit?control of?its entire brand?which is therefore doomed

Marriott is no longer a company of integrity, no longer a legally compliant hospitality corporation?with a concern?for its employees, customers,?communities and the planet.?The directors are overseeing?brand destruction, a?breach of?their?fiduciary duties.?Marriott's?current team?of well-rewarded, largely "insider" executives?is?impotent, lacking vision. Hotel owners are increasingly?dictating?operations and causing widespread suffering as a result

Other Marriott stakeholders?are being scammed. The "MARvid" virus has consumed the entire organization. Greed, corruption, self-interest and incompetence have sourced the hollowing?out of both the Marriott brand and the Marriott soul. Though unlikely, a?probe should be deemed?essential?and, following that, a new body?of?strong, capable, visionary and ethical leaders appointed

[Originally published: 8/9/2021]

MARRIOTT LAMENTATIONS 94: "Marriott Washes Its Hands Of Marriott"?

There is much chitter-chatter in the online media about Marriott International, much?of it detrimental (except when authored?by the Marriott spin unit). This selection of recent captions focuses on a single issue (of which there are many others):

*?Marriott Hotel Inflates The Bill By Additional 20%

*?Another Marriott Scam In Greece

*?Marriott Hotels In Brazil Using Fake Exchange Rate For Room Rate Conversions

*?“Forced” Dynamic Currency Conversion & Clueless Front Desk Clerks At JW Marriott Delhi AeroCity

* WARNING: JW Marriott Rio De Janeiro Currency Conversion Scam

*?Currency Conversion Fraud At Ritz-Carlton Jakarta Mega Kuningan

* Marriott.com currency rip off on pre-paid rates

* Courtyard by Marriott/Rome Airport Hotel - a word of warning

On LoyaltyLobby, John Ollila points out that Marriott washes its hands of all responsibility.?"While we give guidance, it is up to franchisees to establish their own protocols regarding currency conversions [et al]"

Nowdays, Marriott doesn't accept?responsibility for anything. And why should it?for goodness sake? After all, Marriott has given away all?responsibility for its brand to hotel owners; brand standards no longer exist. Additionally, Marriott has?outsourced much of its business processes making this once respected?family hospitality corporation?little more than a money-guzzling search and reservation engine. So excessively hollowed out, Marriott is no longer in control of Marriott;?it has nothing to be responsible for

"While it’s easy to look at a name on the outside of a hotel and think that the company that owns that brand has control over the design, construction, zoning or other land title [and operational] issues in connection with that property – that is simply not how this business works" (Craig S Smith, former Marriott Group President, International)

But that's the whole point, Mr Smith. Your company brand name IS on the outside of a?hotel and people ARE?paying heavily for the?assurance that is meant?to provide. They expect a Marriott?hotel to be legal, safe and professionally managed from the very start.?Marriott's responsibility to protect its brand (and therefore the welfare of its guests, communities and associates) begins at the very point of design and?construction and continues until the logo?is withdrawn from the building. Its called KYC;?its called due diligence; it's called hotel?auditing (alongside?the certified?report filed with the SEC); its called corporate governance, compliance, risk management and accountability.?This is standard regulatory procedure, Mr Smith - procedure that Marriott has opted to ditch in favour of rapid growth and massive reward

“From Enron to Wirecard, elaborate scams can remain undetected long after the warning signs appear. What are investors missing?" (Why We Trust Fraudsters - Dan McCrum, FT)

Yes, Marriott is now an elaborate scam. The warning signs were conspicuous as far back as?the Starwood merger years.?Apparently, investors remain?oblivious (or supportive?) of?what is going on

But when the realisation falls into place -?what then? When investors come to realise?the extent to which Marriott is just an "empty raincoat", what of its?intangible assets (currently standing at a reported $18 billion)??$18 billion based on what? A brand that has been handed over to/hijacked by third parties, a brand that is being abused, that Marriott no longer controls??These figures are fake,?sustained by expansive fabrication, a?criminal mindset and?a fraudulent operating system that is?"maintained" and "accounted for" by?EY, Marriott's independent auditor since 2002 (and Starwood's too up to the merger).?[From the above-mentioned FT article:?"... These are reputable people, EY is a good auditor, why should they be lying?"?What a howler!]

Fraud exploits human response. “When you’re invested in the success of something, you want to see it be the best it can be, you don’t pay attention to the finer details that are inconsistent”, says Martina Dove, author of The Psychology of Fraud, Persuasion and Scam Techniques

In reality, Marriott is junk; all that remains is scam and scum

MARRIOTT: little more than a MAR-red operation and?a RIOT(T)?of corruption, greed?and irresponsible behaviour

[Originally published: 6/24/2022]

FOOTNOTE:?

* This article?is the 15th (part 3 of 4) in a collection?of articles under the heading - "The Bespoke Collection". The?Bespoke Collection?contains previously published short articles (some now edited) which, with clarity and brevity in mind,?offer?a snapshot?of how the St Regis Bangkok fraud was engineered and continues to be sustained alongside other related issues regarding?Marriott, Minor, EY and hotel industry corruption?

The St Regis Bangkok?conspiracy defines?the amoral and perilous?state of today's global brand-driven hotel industry, and how?multinational hospitality corporations, bent?on world domination, behave?within?a seemingly unregulated industry. Marriott, an industry bellwether, continues to?hide?behind the security of local corruption, expanding its?global footprint with ease, maligning communities and individuals in the process

*?The?Marriott Board?and senior executives?continue?to receive correspondence on a weekly basis but rigidly maintain?their?silence

John Shepherd (Marriott victim)