From the archive


out and surveyed our associates about what they think our culture stands for, and one response kept coming back: we have a culture of people who want to win. “That means performing better than our competitors, growing faster, having more guests. There are a lot of things that are very measurable and tangible. Regardless of where you are in the world, fundamentally people want to succeed. If they feel empowered, proud of their work and committed to winning, you have the makings of a great team.” Well, if establishing yourself as the largest hotel operator on the planet virtually overnight doesn’t look like winning, then Sorenson must have some pretty demanding associates. Scale certainly brings a lot of advantages – “We’ve become more impressed by what we can accomplish by being bigger,” reveals Sorenson, when asked how his mind has changed over the course of the seven months since Starwood came on the market – but there are also industry trends and developments that one cannot predict or prepare for, regardless of size.


“I think we can sound a little optimistic,” he tells me when asked about the current sense of bonhomie within the hotel sector, “but there has never been a supply- driven downturn. Now, neither I nor anybody else can tell you what’s going to happen with demand; that’s driven by the economy writ large.


“But in the US, we’re in the sixth year of a demand- driven economic recovery – GDP hasn’t grown all that quickly, but it’s steady. I think we still have a few years left – there are more reasons to be optimistic, despite already being in year six.”


The 34-storey tall Residence Inn


Chicago Downtown/ Loop offers 381 suites.


not yet CEO, we started distributing a lot of our authority away from headquarters. I was convinced that this was the right thing to do and, if anything, am more certain now than ever. There were too many decisions coming back to headquarters – decisions we had absolutely no business making.”


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An ability to delegate responsibility seems like a pretty useful attribute for a guy who’s about to lead 30 brands. For Sorenson, empowering associates is also a fundamental of the Marriott culture. Preserving and consolidating the corporate ethos will be one of the biggest challenges. As only the third person, and first non-Marriott family member, to sit in the CEO’s chair, it is a legacy of which Sorenson is all too aware and protective. “We say, ‘take care of your associates and the associates take care of the guests’. That might sound a little soft, but it comes down to a culture of building careers for people, enabling them to take responsibility and grow in their jobs,” he explains. “But we’ve gone


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Europe is more of a mixed bag, with Marriott performing well, but the number of known unknowns a worry. Sorenson has just returned from meetings at the Brookings Institute think tank – he’s on the board of trustees – where the continent featured high on the agenda. “We had a couple of foreign policy conversations, and one argument put forward was that, for four reasons, this is the most trying time in Europe since 1945,” he begins. “You have Russia reasserting itself as a local player with some strategies reminiscent of the Cold War; there’s a marked rise in nationalism; the euro issue still hasn’t been properly resolved; and then there’s the refugee crisis. “We’ve just had our strongest year in Europe since the Great Recession, by some distance, but, unlike the US, you can’t really make sweeping generalisations; it’s a question of going market to market. On the whole, I’m optimistic but, like everyone else, also don’t know how a number of factors will play out.” We could say the same thing about this Starwood acquisition – and press trips to Chicago, for that matter. One thing is certain: it’s going to be extremely interesting finding out. ●


Hotel Management International / www.hmi-online.com


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