Marriott International and A&W

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Marriott International is the largest hotel chain in the world. The name Marriott comes from the founder’s family name, J. Willard Marriott and Alice Marriott.

Brands

There are so many brands under the Marriott umbrella. Over the years, they’ve acquired or spun up brands, which are differentiated by target demographics.

A few common names include:

  • JW Marriott
  • Ritz-Carlton
  • W Hotel
  • Delta
  • Sheraton
  • Le Meridien
  • Westin
  • Courtyard
  • Fairfield
  • SpringHill Suites
  • Moxy

Book of Mormonism

Because the founders were Mormon missionaries, Book of Mormon copies can be found in the hotel rooms.

It All Starts With A&W

And finally, what you all came here for: how Marriott and A&W are related. Official details can be found on their website.

In 1927, the Marriotts were on a mission in Washington D.C. during the hot, muggy summer. This inspired them to open up the first A&W root beer franchise.

They quickly began to expand the menu to include hot foods, forming Hot Shoppes. This business venture was highly successfully, and within a decade there would be more locations and even catering in-flight meals. By 1953, 25 years after opening, Hot Shoppes becomes a publicly traded company.

Marriott entered the hotel business in 1957. This became a shift, as the company moved further away from the food business. The next 50 years is a typical story of continued expansion and acquisitions, as Marriott continued to grow on a global scale.

How Does This Make Sense

If we take things step by step, we can see the logical progression of evolution.

  1. The beginning was an A&W franchise, as there seem to be an underserved demand.
  2. Adding food to the menu is very common expansion, see boba shops serving snacks.
  3. As the restaurant becomes successful, there exists customer demand for more locations and catering services.
  4. They catch a contract for airline catering and begin expanding in that sector. This includes international expansions.
  5. As demand for travel increases, they open up hotels. Being in the space gives them confidence that it’s not the worst idea.
  6. While opening hotels, they use their expertise for the attached restaurants. It’s almost as if they built accommodations around a new restaurant locations.
  7. They continue expanding and develop more expertise in the hotel sector. They use the opportunity to expand in that space instead. It takes off like a rocket ship.
  8. The writing is on the wall and they complete the pivot, scaling down and deprioritizing their food division.

And this is how we go from being a root beer stand franchisee to founder of multinational hotel chain.