MARRIOTT LAMENTATIONS 190: "Is Marriott too big, out of control, or just inhospitable? Part 2

** A reader on 'View from the Wing' concludes that "Marriott is the pinnacle of how hospitality should not be". Garry Leff suggests that?"hotels have forgotten that they are in the hospitality business".....

In 2008, questioned about how he reconciles his approach to business?with his faith,?Bill Marriott?explained:?”The Bible that I love teaches me about honesty, integrity and unconditional love for all people. But beyond that, I am very careful about separating my personal faith and beliefs from how we run our business.” Hmm - an intriguing and potentially alarming response

Even so, the Marriott Corporation has always dined out on its connections to the Church of Latter Day Saints. The Book of Mormon?can be found in many of?Marriott's?hotel rooms. The Marriott family were all brought up as Mormons. Bill?Marriott was once a?bishop. Former director, Senator Mitt Romney, is a committed Mormon

** The Book of Mormon has an expansive view of hospitality, by which even?communities or institutions?are judged. How a group or individual addresses hospitality?reveals their?character. Providing?an opportunity to act as God acts toward others, with kindness and mercy,?the Book of Mormon highlights?a hospitality extended to all, that is inclusive and based on equality,?a hospitality that reminds believers of their equal dependency and holiness. It is a hospitality that can also?be?inconvenient or risky

There is?a celebratory attitude towards hospitality; the stranger is welcomed into a safe, personal, and comfortable place, a place of respect,?acceptance and friendship.?It?is not just?about?room and board, but also the?forming of 'lasting relationships' even to people who might intially appear a threat

The?sermons condemn inhospitable treatment and will not tolerate?inhumanity or arrogance.?“Turning him out” or being “turned away” describes hospitality?failure. The hostility shown by?the wealthy towards the?'powerless' is?also condemned.?Stories about inhospitality are?used to expose moral corruption and degredation

Theological equality prevents the wealthy from justifying?inhospitable behaviour. People are equal because we are all created from the "dust of the earth". In Mosiah, King Benjamin says:?“For I am no better than ye yourselves are; for I am also of the dust...? I am like as yourselves, subject to all manner of infirmities in body and mind.” Benjamin undermines?claims that people have earned wealth and privilege -?no self-deception here!?He stresses - “None shall be found blameless” - and questions -?“Are we not all beggars?”?As people engage in hospitality, they learn about each other and from each other; it is about?meeting other human beings?face to face...

Marriott directors and executives?might usefully delve into the Book of Mormon...

** A company’s values are the set of deeply held beliefs that unify and inspire its people. They?define how employees see both themselves and their employers.?Values also provide the centralising?force that holds together a company’s far-flung operations

As companies mature, however,?values can harden into rigid rules and regulations that have legitimacy simply because they’re enshrined in precedent. Like a fossilising?tree, these once-vibrant?values are slowly replaced by the formality?of dogma. As this happens, the values?no longer inspire, and their unifying power degenerates into a reactionary tendency to 'prepare the defenses' in the face of threats

When this happens, company values become a hindrance because, in reality, they stand for nothing.?If the pull of the past is strong and the vision for the future unconvincing?people become disoriented and disenfranchised

**?Since the Starwood merger, the Marriott administration?has?corrupted crucial competencies and reconfigured?the fabric of?relationships that took years to mesh; this has confused customers and employees alike. Marriott has?acted with little?consideration for long-standing commitments towards these key stakeholders and how they?would respond to the new conditions. Some?examples:?employees and guests exploited?by?a new breed of hotel owner and?manager with?minimal?support from?Marriott head office; low?remuneration, reduced staffing levels, increased working hours; significant decline?in?(guest) customer?service; attitude of indifference?to communities.?Showing a disdain for key business activities, executives?have fallen into the trap of crediting their own mind-numbing platitudes and rhetorical deception, ending up as?the only believers in town

"Our core values make us who we are. As we change and grow, the beliefs that are most important to us stay the same... take good care of your employees... if customers are treated right, they'll come back... We put people first?...Our tradition of integrity..." Today, Marriott's life-blood, associates and guests, are progressively?treated with contempt,?ignored or?retaliated against, while?communities are?forced to live alongside illegal, dangerous or unneighbourly hotels.?Where is?the integrity in that??

Hospitality and service have checked-out from?the?Marriott mindset. The late Arne Sorenson?explained that the development of the Bonvoy programme was about saving costs?for hotel owners. CEO Capuano has stated that "the SPG program was very guest-friendly. It was less owner-friendly.” Guests have been turned into?a product to sell to hotel owners,?and?used to incentivize more hotels to join the Bonvoy programme and pay franchise fees;?the Marriott footprint is now so large that executives?don’t need to make an extra effort to get or keep members, even though many loyal members of the past are walking away

** With the?focus on growth, quarterly earnings, hotel owners and technology, there is a pretence that hospitality gains from all this. It doesn't. What business does?Marriott actually think it's in these days??Who is making the key decisions? Who is actually in charge?

The current model?is unsustainable. Profit over?people can only work for so long. With its impassive and unwieldy bureaucracy, declining standards of customer service,?low?employee morale, corrupted?values and company culture, leadership incompetence, unethical practice, Marriott has turned itself into?little more than?a tyrannical reservation?engine. The Bonvoy programme is complex and inconsistent and?benefits are?constantly being watered down.?It’s not just rogue hotels that?drag?Marriott down, it’s the message from management. Top-tier travellers are deserting?by the barrel-load

So -

Is the Marriott brand?too big? Yes

Is Marriott out of?control? Yes

Is Marriott inhospitable? Yes

Yes, all of these

Worse still -?Marriott is overtly destroying the?central core, the fundamental 'heart', of what hospitality is. That is both deplorable and?sad

John Shepherd (Marriott victim and hunger striker)