Company Biography

Marriott Corporation was started in 1927 by J. Willard Marriott and his wife as a root beer stand in Washington D.C. and later expanded his business into a chain of restaurants and hotels. Today Marriott International has more 3700 locations worldwide and employs more than 120,000 employees. Hotels under the Marriott brand include Renaissance, Courtyard, The Ritz-Carlton, Fairfield Inn and Suits, and many others. Marriott International also owns two amusement parks known as Marriott's Great America located in Illinois and California. 

In 1992 Marriott Corporation split into two separate entities, the Marriott Host Company and Marriott International. Marriott International purchased the Ritz-Carlton hotel company in April, 1995 believing they could take a failing chain with many locations into a success. Marriott International was also the previous owner of Ramada International Hotels until selling Ramada International to Cendant in September, 2004.

Marriott International is also known for their contributions to the Bush campaign as well as having Mitt Romney has one of their directions until 2011 when he became a Presidential candidate.