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55-713: Westin Hotels & Resorts is an American upscale hotel chain owned by Marriott International . As of June 30, 2020, the Westin Brand has 226 properties with 82,608 rooms in multiple countries in addition to 58 hotels with 15,741 rooms in the pipeline. In 1930, Severt W. Thurston and Frank Dupar of Seattle , Washington met unexpectedly during breakfast at the coffee shop of the Commercial Hotel in Yakima , Washington. The competing hotel owners decided to form

110-459: A data breach . After the disclosure, Attorney General of New York Barbara Underwood announced an investigation into the data breach. The cyberattack was found to be a part of a Chinese intelligence -gathering effort that also hacked health insurers and the security clearance files of millions more Americans. The hackers are suspected of working on behalf of the Ministry of State Security ,

165-795: A public company via an initial public offering . The company opened its first hotel, the Marriott Motor Hotel , in Arlington, Virginia , on January 16, 1957. It cost $ 9 per night, plus an extra $ 1 for every person that was in the car. Its second hotel, the Marriott Key Bridge Motor Hotel in Rosslyn, Arlington, Virginia , opened in 1959, and was Marriott International's longest continuously operating hotel until its closure in July 2021. Hot Shoppes, Inc.

220-503: A 49% interest in The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company . Marriott believed that it could increase sales and profit margins for The Ritz-Carlton, a troubled chain with many properties either losing money or barely breaking even. The cost to Marriott was estimated to have been about $ 200   million in cash and assumed debt. The next year, Marriott spent $ 331   million to acquire The Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta, and buy

275-525: A long-term licensing agreement with Sonder (company) , adding 10,500 rooms to their portfolio and allowing customers to earn or redeem Marriott Bonvoy points at Sonder properties starting in late 2024. From Marriott's founding in 1927 to 2012, the company's senior leadership was led by members of the Marriott family. In 2012, Arne Sorenson became the first non-Marriott family member to be appointed chief executive; this practice continued when Anthony Capuano

330-411: A majority interest in two properties owned by William Johnson, a real estate developer who had purchased The Ritz-Carlton, Boston in 1983 and expanded his Ritz-Carlton holdings over the next twenty years. Ritz-Carlton expanded into the timeshare market. Ritz Carlton benefited from Marriott's reservation system and buying power. In 1998, Marriott acquired majority ownership of The Ritz-Carlton. In 1997,

385-701: A management company to handle all their properties, and help deal with the crippling effects of the ongoing Great Depression . The men invited Peter and Adolph Schmidt, who operated five hotels in the Puget Sound area, to join them, and together they established Western Hotels . The chain consisted of 17 properties – 16 in Washington and one in Boise, Idaho . Western Hotels expanded to Vancouver , British Columbia and Portland , Oregon in 1931, to Alaska in 1939, and then to California in 1941, assuming management of

440-497: A new corporate headquarters directly across the street in the Westin Building , which shared a parking garage with the hotel. In 1987, UAL chairman Richard Ferris announced a plan to reorganize UAL as Allegis Corporation, a travel conglomerate based around United Airlines , Hertz Rent a Car , Hilton International Hotels , and Westin and linked by Apollo . This strategy failed, however, and Allegis sold Westin in 1988 to

495-623: Is listed at the top of the World's 15 Most Expensive Hotel Suites list compiled by CNN in 2012. Westin Seattle The Westin Seattle is an upscale highrise twin-tower hotel in downtown Seattle, Washington . Opened in 1969, it is the flagship property of the Westin Hotels & Resorts brand, owned by Marriott International . On December 28, 1966, Western International Hotels and Alcoa jointly announced

550-805: The American Hotel and Lodging Association and Ryman Hospitality Properties responded by unsuccessfully petitioning the FCC to change the rules to allow them to continue jamming client-owned networks, a position which they were forced to abandon in early 2015 in response to backlash from clients, mainstream media, major technology companies, and mobile carriers. The incident drew unfavorable publicity to Marriott's practice of charging exorbitant fees for Wi-Fi . On April 1, 2015, Marriott acquired Canadian hotel chain Delta Hotels , which operated 38 hotels at that time. On November 16, 2015, Marriott announced

605-519: The Bible . Marriott Corporation was founded by John Willard Marriott in 1927 when he and his wife, Alice Marriott, opened a root beer stand in Washington, D.C. After serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New England, Marriott traveled to Washington, D.C. where he experienced the humid summer weather of the city. Marriott was convinced that what residents of

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660-706: The Sir Francis Drake Hotel the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed. Western added properties in Utah in 1949 and Montana in 1950. Western Hotels executive Edward Carlson convinced Victor "Trader Vic" Bergeron to open his first franchised Trader Vic's location in the chain's Benjamin Franklin Hotel in Seattle in 1949. Originally a small bar named The Outrigger , it was expanded into a full restaurant in 1954 and renamed Trader Vic's in 1960. Due to

715-567: The Space Needle six years earlier, whose construction was first proposed by Carlson and whose restaurant was operated by Western International from 1962–1982. The Orpheum Theatre was demolished beginning in August 1967. The hotel originally consisted of a single 40 story tower, today's south tower, reaching a height of 121 m (397 ft). The tower was topped out in January 1969 and

770-582: The Stuttgart TV Tower , was the origin of the Space Needle. The chain managed the restaurant atop the Space Needle from its opening until 1982. Western Hotels also managed a floating hotel aboard the ocean liner QSMV  Dominion Monarch , docked in Seattle harbor during the fair. The company was renamed Western International Hotels in January 1963, to reflect its growth outside the US. In

825-584: The World Uyghur Congress at one of its properties in Prague, citing reasons of "political neutrality". In August 2022, employees began moving into the company's new 21-story, 785,000-square-foot headquarters building on Wisconsin Avenue , ahead of an official opening on September 21. The new building was constructed over four years as part of a $ 600 million downtown Bethesda campus, together with

880-548: The 53 entities that contributed the maximum of $ 250,000 to the Second inauguration of George W. Bush . On July 19, 2006, Marriott implemented a smoking ban in all buildings it operated in the United States and Canada effective September 2006. In 2007, Marriott became the first hotel chain to serve food that is completely free of trans fats at all of its North American properties. Hotels franchised or operated by

935-559: The Avendra hotel chain violated West Virginia law by contracting with vendors and receiving "sponsorship fees" from them to provide services to Town Hotels, when according to the contract, Marriott was forbidden to profit from the contract except for management fees. In 2004, the company sold its right to the Ramada brand to Cendant , acquired in 1997. In 2005, Marriott International and Marriott Vacation Club International were two of

990-655: The Japanese Aoki Corporation for $ 1.35 billion. Aoki immediately sold the Plaza Hotel to Donald Trump for $ 390 million. In 1994, Aoki agreed to sell Westin to real estate investment firm Starwood Capital Group (parent of Starwood ) and Goldman Sachs at an enormous loss, for $ 561 million, but by the time the sale closed in May 1995, the buyers had negotiated the price down to $ 537 million. In 1998, Starwood assumed full ownership of

1045-862: The Lim Company from renting the hotel to the National Health Fund for doctors' housing or contracting for advertising deals until the Lim Company would pay unwarranted bonuses to Marriott. Also in the same year, on May 1, Marriott announced that it completed the acquisition of Mexican hotelier Hoteles City Express. By this move, Marriott officially entered the affordable midscale-segment under City Express by Marriott brands. The company also launched another brand focusing on budget extended stays called StudioRes in August, and an extension to its Four Points by Sheraton brand called Four Points Express in September. In August 2024, Marriott announced

1100-660: The Sheraton Towers, as the ITT Sheraton Luxury Collection . In February 1994, ITT Sheraton Hotels and Resorts acquired a controlling interest in CIGA (Compagnia Italiana Grandi Alberghi, or Italian Grand Hotels Company), an Italian international hotel chain that owned several luxury properties in Europe. The majority of the CIGA hotels were folded into The Luxury Collection. CIGA's original logo,

1155-662: The U.S. Tax Code. Effective March 31, 2012, Bill Marriott assumed the role of executive chairman of the company and relinquished the role of chief executive officer to Arne Sorenson . In December 2012, Guinness World Records recognized the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai , a five star hotel , as the tallest hotel in the world. In 2013, the owners of the Madison 92nd Street Associates LLC, who contracted with Marriott to manage their hotel, sued Marriott for $ 400 million, alleging that Marriott had conspired with

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1210-601: The US and Canada. Western opened its first hotel in Mexico in 1961. In March of that same year, they opened the first hotel to be both constructed and owned by the chain, The Bayshore Inn in Vancouver. Edward Carlson became President of the chain in 1960 and is credited with bringing the Century 21 Exposition to Seattle in 1962. Carlson's own napkin sketch of a tower with a revolving restaurant on top, inspired by his visit to

1265-460: The acquisition of Starwood for $ 13   billion. A higher offer for Starwood at $ 14   billion from a consortium led by China's Anbang Insurance Group was announced March 3, 2016. After Marriott raised its bid to $ 13.6   billion on March 21, Starwood terminated the Anbang agreement and proceeded with the merger with Marriott. Following receipt of regulatory approvals, Marriott closed

1320-582: The adjacent Marriott Bethesda Downtown hotel. In 2023, a criminal investigation was opened against Marriott in Poland , claiming that it acted fraudulently and unethically against the Lim company, the owner of a Warsaw hotel. During the COVID-19 period, Marriott would not keep up the hotel's maintenance and shifted the costs of maintaining the empty hotel to the Lim Company. At the same time Marriott prevented

1375-555: The brand. Amongst its several most notable hotels are Hotel Alfonso XIII , Gritti Palace Hotel , IVY Hotel + Residences , Hotel Imperial , ITC Grand Chola , Marqués de Riscal Hotel , The Nines , Palace Hotel, San Francisco , The Park Tower Knightsbridge Hotel , Phoenician Resort , Hotel President Wilson , The St. Anthony Hotel , and Royal Hawaiian Hotel . The Royal Penthouse Suite at Hotel President Wilson in Geneva , part of The Luxury Collection, billed at US$ 65,000 per night,

1430-400: The breach. Australia's Information Commissioner served Marriott an 'enforceable undertaking' to improve their security. In 2019 and 2021, Marriott faced an investigation and a class action lawsuit in the US for its practice of charging resort fees that were not included in the room price, with the services included in these "resort fees" unclear. This method is prohibited in many parts of

1485-645: The chain's 25th anniversary. Western Hotels expanded to Hawaii in 1956, assuming management of the Hawaiian Village Hotel , built by Henry J. Kaiser . Early management developed each property individually. After more than two decades of rapid growth, many of its properties were merged into a single corporate structure in 1958, focusing on bringing the hotels together under a common chain identity. Also in 1958, Western Hotels assumed management of three hotels in Guatemala, its first properties outside

1540-471: The city needed was a place to get a cool drink, and so after returning to Utah and graduating from The University of Utah, Marriott purchased the rights to franchise an A&W root beer stand in Columbia Heights. The first summer saw brisk business, but as cold weather approached they realized the seasonal nature of their business and received permission from A&W to start selling food. He named

1595-552: The company acquired the Renaissance Hotels and Ramada brands from Chow Tai Fook Group and its associate company, New World Development . Marriott International also signed an agreement to manage hotels owned by New World Development. The same year the company also got into the home cleaning business by starting a new venture dubbed HomeSolutions. In 2001, the Marriott World Trade Center

1650-506: The company were affected by the 2003 Marriott Hotel bombing , the Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing in 2008, and the 2009 Jakarta bombings . On November 11, 2010, Marriott announced plans to add over 600 hotel properties by 2015, primarily in emerging markets : India, where it planned to have 100 hotel properties, China, and Southeast Asia. On January 21, 2011, Marriott said that adult movies would not be included in

1705-519: The company. In 2016, Marriott International acquired Starwood , becoming the world's largest hotel company. Westin was the first hotel chain to introduce guest credit cards (in 1946), 24-hour room service (1969), and personal voice mail in each room (1991). In 1999, Westin began selling the Heavenly Bed mattresses featured in Westin properties, and manufactured by Simmons Bedding Company , to

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1760-432: The country's Communist-controlled civilian spy agency. Initially, Marriott said that 500 million customers' personal information had been exposed. In January 2019, the company updated the number of guests affected to "less than 383 million" customers, and claimed many of the customer's payment cards had expired. The UK Information Commissioner's Office fined Marriott £18 million for breaches to GDPR law that contributed to

1815-505: The development of the $ 18 million Washington Plaza Hotel , to be built on the site of the historic Orpheum Theatre . It would be the first new large-scale hotel constructed in Seattle since the adjacent Benjamin Franklin Hotel was built in 1929. Western International President Edward E. Carlson selected the local architecture firm of John Graham & Associates to design the hotel, and the local Howard S. Wright Construction Company to build it. The two firms had also designed and constructed

1870-679: The entertainment offered at new hotels, which would use an Internet-based video on demand system. In 2011, Mitt Romney received $ 260,390 in director's fees from Marriott International, despite the fact that he had already stepped down from the board of directors to run for President of the United States . His released 2010 tax returns showed earnings in 2010 of $ 113,881 in director's fees from Marriott. In February 2012, Bloomberg News reported on Romney's years overseeing tax matters for Marriott, which had included several "scams" (quoting John McCain ) and legal actions brought against Marriott, which Marriott lost in court, over its manipulations of

1925-543: The following brands internationally. The Luxury Collection is a brand of Marriott International for luxury properties. It is notable as the first "soft brand" hotel chain. Most hotels of the brand are located in converted historic buildings, including palaces or older hotels. The brand also enlists notable designers to craft luxury travel accessories that are available exclusively on the brand's website. The Luxury Collection brand began on January 13, 1992, when ITT Sheraton designated 28 of its most expensive hotels and 33 of

1980-628: The four horses of St. Mark, was kept for The Luxury Collection brand logo until 2010; each Luxury Collection hotel now uses its own logo. In 2011, it embarked on an advertising campaign. In 2012, the brand announced a major expansion in Asia, particularly in China. Also in 2014, the brand signed Danish supermodel Helena Christensen as spokesperson. In 2015, the company launched a $ 700 million program to renovate properties. As of December 31, 2020, there were 118 hotels comprising 23,243 rooms operating under

2035-818: The general public. In 2005, Westin partnered with Nordstrom , which carried the mattresses and bedding in its stores. In 2011, Westin began selling the Heavenly mattresses and bedding at Pottery Barn stores. Marriott International Marriott International is the largest hotel company in the world by the number of available rooms. It has 36 brands with 8,785 properties containing 1,597,380 rooms in 141 countries and territories. Of these 8,785 properties 2,046 are managed but not owned by Marriott, 6,563 are owned and managed by independent hospitality companies under franchise agreements with Marriott, and 50 are both owned and managed by Marriott. The company also operates 20 hotel reservation centers. Marriott International, Inc.

2090-543: The hotel opened on June 29, 1969. Western International Hotels operated the Washington Plaza as one property with the now-connected Benjamin Franklin Hotel. Together, the hotel complex had 715 rooms. The aging Benjamin Franklin wing was demolished in July 1980 for construction of a second, nearly identical tower. While work on the second tower went on, the company was renamed Westin Hotels. The Washington Plaza

2145-403: The merger with Starwood on September 23, 2016, creating the world's largest hotel company with over 5700 properties, 1.1   million rooms, and a portfolio of 30 brands. The Starwood acquisition gave Marriott a larger non-US presence; approximately 75% of Starwood's revenues were from non-US markets. On November 30, 2018, Marriott disclosed that the former Starwood brands had been subject to

2200-552: The mid-1960s, the company became publicly-held, trading its shares on the American Stock Exchange . From November 1, 1965, to 1970, Western International had an agreement with Hotel Corporation of America (today known as Sonesta), under which all 72 hotels of the two chains were jointly marketed as HCA and Western Hotels . From 1968 to 1973, Western International had a similar joint marketing agreement with UK-based Trust House Hotels . In 1970, Western International

2255-524: The money to CTF Hotel. CTF Hotel also accused Marriott of accepting bribes from suppliers. In 2003, the company completed the corporate spin-off of its senior living properties (now part of Sunrise Senior Living ) and Marriott Distribution Services. In the same year, the owners of the Marriott-operated, Town Hotels, sued Marriott for breach of contract , breach of fiduciary duty, negligence , and fraud . They claimed that Marriott along with

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2310-409: The pandemic, global occupancy fell as low as 31%. President and CEO Arne Sorenson died on February 15, 2021, from pancreatic cancer . On February 23, 2021, Anthony Capuano was appointed to fill Sorensen's vacancy as CEO and Director, having previously served as Marriott's group president of global development, design and operations. In November 2021, the company was criticized for refusing to host

2365-533: The parent company of the Six Flags Corporation (both are now owned by Six Flags). Marriott International, Inc. was formed in 1993 when Marriott Corporation split into two companies: Marriott International, Inc., which franchises and manages properties, and Host Marriott Corporation (now Host Hotels & Resorts ), which owns properties. In 1995, Marriott was the first hotel company to offer online reservations. In April 1995, Marriott acquired

2420-460: The restaurant Hot Shoppes and watched as it grew in popularity. Always looking for new ways to improve his company, he bought the vacant lot next to one of his Hot Shoppes, removed the curb, and began offering the first drive-in service on the East Coast. This move popularized the restaurants, and by 1932, the Marriott's owned 7 Hot Shoppes in the D.C. area. In 1953, Hot Shoppes, Inc. became

2475-545: The restaurant's success, Bergeron worked with Western Hotels to open Trader Vic's locations in a number of its hotels. In 1955, Western Hotels assumed management of the landmark Olympic Hotel in Seattle. It became the chain's new flagship, and the headquarters and executive offices were moved from the New Washington Hotel to a newly-decorated suite of offices on the 12th floor of the Olympic, in celebration of

2530-830: The workers' committee. They claimed that Marriott allowed the workers to unionize at the Madison-owned hotel in exchange for not unionizing at Marriott's flagship hotels. On October 3, 2014, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fined Marriott $ 600,000 for unlawful use of a "containment" feature of a Wi-Fi monitoring system to deliberately interfere with client-owned networks in the convention space of its Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville . The scheme disrupted operation of clients' mobile phone hotspots via Wi-Fi deauthentication attacks . Marriott International, Inc.,

2585-660: The world and is known as " drip pricing ". In December 2019, the company acquired Elegant Hotels, operator of 7 hotels in Barbados . In February 2020, the company discovered a data breach that included the theft of contact information for 5.2 million customers. In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic , the company instituted additional cleanliness standards, including requiring the use of electrostatic sprayers with disinfectant , adding disinfecting wipes in all hotel rooms, and removing or re-arranging furniture in public areas to allow more space for social distancing . During

2640-562: Was acquired by UAL Corporation , with Edward Carlson becoming president and CEO of UAL, Inc and United Airlines. Western International bought New York's iconic Plaza Hotel in 1975 for $ 25 million. On January 5, 1981, the company changed its name again to Westin Hotels (a contraction of the words Western International). The chain's flagship Washington Plaza Hotel in Seattle was the first property to be rebranded, becoming The Westin Hotel on September 1, 1981. That same year, Westin opened

2695-548: Was destroyed during the September 11 attacks . In 2002, CTF Hotel Holdings Inc. , a company that owns a hotel in Hong Kong managed by Marriott, sued Marriott alleging that Marriott engaged in extortion and bribery. According to the allegations, Marriott contracted to receive audio-visual services from Molloy. Marriott paid an inflated amount to Molloy and pocketed the 1.7 million dollars above its fee. Marriott had to return

2750-503: Was formed in 1993 when Marriott Corporation split into two companies: Marriott International, Inc., which franchises and manages properties, and Host Marriott Corporation (now Host Hotels & Resorts ), which owns properties. Since the founders were missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , copies of the Book of Mormon are provided in hotel rooms in addition to

2805-524: Was formed in the February 2019 merger of its three former rewards programs: Marriott Rewards, Ritz-Carlton Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest. Starwood Preferred Guest (also known as SPG) was founded in 1999 as the first in the industry to enforce a policy of no blackout dates, no capacity controls, and online redemption. In 2012, Starwood Preferred Guest began offering lifetime status and a dedicated Starwood ambassador for loyal members. Ritz-Carlton Rewards

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2860-501: Was founded in 2010. Members were able to receive air miles instead of reward points and able to earn ten points (or two miles) for every dollar spent on any Ritz-Carlton room rates. Despite the restriction of membership to only one of the two programs, members of Ritz-Carlton Rewards were able to earn points in other Marriott hotels, while Marriott Rewards members were able to earn points at a Ritz-Carlton. As of 2024, Marriott International operates hotels, resorts and other properties under

2915-435: Was named his successor in 2021. The current practice is members of the Marriott family are named chairman while other company executives are named as chief executive. Marriott International reported Total CO2e emissions (Direct + Indirect) for the twelve months ending 31 December 2020 at 5,166 Kt (-1,643 /-24.1% y-o-y) and aims to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Marriott Bonvoy is Marriott's current loyalty program and

2970-802: Was renamed the Marriott Corporation in 1967. In 1972, the Marriott lodging division acquired the Greek-based Sun Line cruise line, which it owned until 1987. In 1976, the company opened two theme parks, each named Marriott's Great America, in California and Illinois . Marriott sold the parks in 1984, with the California park bought by the City of Santa Clara and the Illinois park bought by Bally Manufacturing , then

3025-452: Was the first property in the chain to be renamed, becoming The Westin Hotel on September 1, 1981. That same year, Westin opened a new corporate headquarters directly across the street in the Westin Building , which shared a parking garage with the hotel. The 137 m (449 ft), 47- story north tower opened in June 1982 and remains the tallest hotel in the city. The Westin Seattle is

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