ORLANDO, FLA.—Last week more than 2,000 hotel general managers representing Courtyard by Marriott, Residence Inn by Marriott, SpringHill Suites by Marriott, TownePlace Suites by Marriott and Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott convened at the Orlando Marriott World Center. In addition to receiving training and going through team building exercises, all participants volunteered for service projects that have been adopted by each brand. On June 1, the conference keynote speaker was former President Bill Clinton, whose Clinton Global Initiative tackles many of the same global issues addressed by the Marriott brands.
“Marriott has a decades-long commitment to serve our world,” said Brian King, global brand officer—Marriott Endorsed Brands. “Our hotel associates demonstrate their ‘spirit to serve’ throughout the year as they volunteer in local communities around the world. Each brand has a unique personality and purpose which comes through in their signature global cause partnerships. This conference demonstrates how our hotels can improve people’s lives and the state of the world through everyday acts of service.”
On May 31, more than 600 Residence Inn general managers received emergency preparedness training as part of the brand’s new alliance with the American Red Cross as the first hotel partner in the Disaster Responder Program. The participants completed a Citizen CPR training program and experienced an immersion training where they learned to build a shelter and understand the needs of disaster victims through role plays. As an extended stay brand, Residence Inn hotels help people year round who are displaced from their homes by fire and flooding or natural disasters such as Hurricanes Sandy and Katrina. Throughout the remainder of the year, Residence Inn hotels can participate locally in the Ready Rating Program, host a blood drive, participate in the Holiday Mail for Heroes program, and support the needs of their local American Red Cross Chapter.
General Managers Lend Painting Hand
The same day general managers representing the Fairfield Inn and Suites brand of nearly 700 hotels painted homes in the Orlando area as part of the brand’s long-standing partnership with Habitat for Humanity to help provide decent, affordable housing for families in need. Since 1995, Fairfield Inn associates have helped build countless homes in the United States and Canada. Through the Fairfield Inn and Suites Hospitality at Home program, thousands of associates have provided volunteer service, donated products from hotel renovations, provided financial contributions and have volunteered countless hours at their local Habitat ReStores, as a part of the brand’s Commitment to Serve our Communities.
Furthermore, on May 31, 200 general managers from the TownePlace Suites brand made colorful, comforting blankets for children being cared for at the Orlando-area children’s hospital. The “warm hugs” from TownePlace will be going to all patients at the 158-bed Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children. Every winter for the past four years, more than 200 TownePlace Suites hotels have donated more than 10,000 handmade blankets to hundreds of hospitals across the United States and Canada.
On June 1, managers representing more than 900 Courtyard hotels around the world assembled nearly 200 bicycles for the local Orlando Boys & Girls club. This effort helped enable children from disadvantaged circumstances to realize their full potential. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Courtyard dedicates itself to ensuring the success of youth. As a testament, two Courtyard managers demonstrated this commitment prior to the conference by biking 1,000 miles in one week to Orlando from their hotels in Ohio to raise money against childhood obesity for their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital program.
Art Horses Assembled
Finally, hundreds of general managers representing SpringHill Suites, a brand focused on style and design, assembled art horses for the Ivey Lane Elementary School in Orlando. The art horses are sturdy design seats for aspiring young artists to straddle while creating their masterpieces. In addition, the general managers representing more than 300 hotels also crafted hand-made cards with messages of inspiration and encouragement to the students. Known for its ArtNight events that feature local artists at its hotels throughout the country, SpringHill Suites’ activity is an extension of the brand’s commitment to promoting discovery through art appreciation.
Marriott’s “Spirit To Serve Our Communities” initiative was formally developed in 1998 and built on a decades-long tradition of community service for the 86-year-old company. In 2012, contributions from operations worldwide totaled $33.5 million (a nearly $1.2M increase over 2011,) according to the company’s Sustainability Report. Cash contributions totaled $7.2M; in-kind contributions were $16M; volunteer time value was $10.2M, (a 10 percent increase vs. 2011.) The Independent Sector’s current valuation for a volunteer hour is $22.14.
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