Does Marriott rely on immigrant labor to fill many hotel jobs?
We have huge numbers of Hispanics, Haitians and Mongolians. We have more than 30 different languages spoken in our hotels. We have many Eastern Europeans. Most of them are in housekeeping and working in the kitchens and laundries. If we didn’t have people working in our hotels from other countries, we’d be out of business. Q: Westin, your competitor, just announced a no-smoking policy.Will there come a day when you can’t light up a cigarette in a bar in a Marriott? A: We haven’t made that decision. Whatever the rules are in the cities and towns, we will follow those. We’ve had hotels which try to go all no-smoking for guest rooms. But big groups say, “Hey, 20% of our people smoke. We need to book our group.” Q: Your middle son, your possible successor at Marriott, announced he will leave the company in January. Can you comment on your succession plan? A: Not really. We have some really strong bench strength. As I’ve said earlier, the senior management of the company is in place and wel
