| (1900
- 1985) |
| Inducted: |
1998 |
| Region: |
Northeast |
| Industry: |
Hospitality
|
|
J. Willard Marriott, Sr. was the founder of Marriott Corporation. In 1937, he took a risk on a new business opportunity—catering food to the airlines. Over the next several years, Marriott’s empire grew to include hotels, cruise lines and amusement parks. By 1984, the Marriott Company had 9,600 employees. Today, Marriott is the world's leading hospitality company, with more than 4,700 units serving more than four million customers a day. Marriott operates the broadest portfolio of brands of any lodging company in the world, offering more than 229,000 rooms worldwide. |
