Four years ago, I convinced the CEO and Chairman of Marriott International, Bill Marriott, to launch his blog, "Marriott on the Move." He was skeptical, but jumped onboard when I told him that a blog would enable him to have a very personal conversation with the millions of travelers who check into his hotels around the world. Four years later, I've decided to take the leap into blogging myself and join the global conversation. I was inspired to share my stories while on a business trip in November 2010 to India, where Marriott operates 12 hotels but plans to manage as many as 100 hotels in 5 years. I was traveling by mini-van into Pune, a city of nearly 6 million, where Marriott has recently opened three hotels. On the recommendation of Robert Goodwin from Executives Without Borders (whom I'd met over coffee), I'd arranged to visit the Mahindra Pride School, where low-income, rural youth between the ages of 18 and 25, are learning the basics of hospitality. Most of these eager young people had never glimpsed a hotel and come from the "scheduled classes" of rural Indian society, but they all aspire for a piece of the prosperity that is overtaking India. As we bumped along the pot-holed roads, I noticed a hand-painted sign at at local coffee shop that proclaimed, "You Can Do A Lot Over Coffee." I'm a confirmed cafe latte addict, so it rang true for me. When I arrived at the neat but modest three story building, I saw students intent on their studies learning basic english skills and how to set and serve a dining table. The world felt very small when the director, Raj Iyer, explained how he had Googled me and even watched some of my former TV videos on YouTube. As we sat over coffee, we discussed the opportunity for Marriott to partner with his school to train and hire students for our growing portfolio of India hotels. Thanks to the follow-up of Ranju Alex, General Manager of our Courtyard by Marriott Hinjewadi, on April 15, Marriott willwe bring the first students from the Mahindra Pride School to work in our three Pune Marriott hotels. As I drink one of my three daily "lattes," the sign on that coffee shop in Pune rings true. You can certainly do a "latte" over coffee.

3/12/11

by Kathleen Matthews

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