Stephanie Linnartz

President, Marriott International

I think of Marriott as a company that really believes in servant leadership and humility. I believe it's possible to be really self-confident and strong and believe in yourself and your company and at the same time be humble.

Summary

In this episode of Leadership Matters, Alan is joined by President of Marriott International Stephanie Linnartz to discuss her upbringing in the hospitality industry, her thoughts on leadership and mentorship, and the pandemic-induced challenges faced by the world’s largest hotelier.

Stephanie assumed her position in a difficult moment for Marriott — soon after the death of the company’s longtime executive, Arne Sorenson, and just before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. In their conversation, Stephanie explained how she is honoring Arne’s legacy as well as the steps the company has taken to bounce back after the coronavirus lockdowns. She is excited for Marriott’s future and sees the company continuing its rapid international growth and its adoption of new technologies to improve the customer experience. Stephanie also explained to Alan the importance of good mentors, especially women, in helping her to get where she is today.

Mentions & Resources in this Episode

• The Dubliner Irish Pub

• Marriott Bonvoy

• Marriott’s anti-trafficking program

• Arne Sorenson on Leadership Matters

Guest Bio

Stephanie Linnartz is the president of Marriott International, Inc., the world’s largest hospitality company with roughly 7,900 properties across 138 countries and territories and 30 brands. Marriott also has the travel industry’s largest customer-loyalty program, Marriott Bonvoy, which has more than 157 million members, and some of the most iconic brands in travel, including The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis Hotels & Resorts, The Luxury Collection, Marriott Hotels, Sheraton, W Hotels Worldwide, Courtyard, Residence Inn, Westin, Renaissance Hotels, and Le Méridien.

Before her appointment as president in February 2021, Linnartz was Group President Consumer Operations, Technology and Emerging Businesses. Linnartz joined Marriott in 1997 as a financial analyst. Over the years, she worked in various roles within operations, finance, revenue management, sales, marketing, brand management, distribution, technology and digital. Under her leadership, the company launched a new premium and luxury home rental offering, Homes & Villas by Marriott International, and has expanded its consumer offerings to include travel categories beyond hotels, such as the Ritz-Carlton Yacht collection, tours and activities, dining, transportation, and travel insurance.

Linnartz has been recognized for her industry leadership. She was named to the Forbes CEO Next 2021 list of up-and-coming leaders set to revolutionize American business. Hotel Management named her one of the 30 Influential Women in Hospitality in 2017. She was honored by Brand Innovators as one of 2018’s Top 100 Women in Brand Marketing. In 2019, she joined Fast Company’s Impact Council and was profiled as one of CNN’s 2019 Risk Takers. In 2021, she joined the Fortune CEO Initiative, a forum of global corporate leaders committed to addressing major social problems as part of their core business strategies. She has been a speaker at the World Economic Forum and is a sought-after conference panelist at global industry events.

Linnartz is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross, holds an MBA from William & Mary, and has completed additional graduate studies at the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Development. She sits on the Marriott Board of Director’s Social Impact and Inclusion Committee and the company’s ESG Executive Council and also serves on the Board of Directors for The Home Depot Inc., the world’s largest home improvement retailer; the Board of Trustees for the College of the Holy Cross; and, as an Advisory Board member of both Fair Chance and the Teach the World Foundation. Stephanie travels the world extensively, is passionate about fitness and wellness, and resides in the Washington, D.C. area with her husband and two children.

Clips from this Episode

• On Arne Sorenson, Marriott's former CEO & President, who passed away in February 2021

• On Stephanie’s transition to Marriott’s presidency during the coronavirus pandemic

• On staying engaged with customers during the pandemic-induced shutdown

• On Marriott’s efforts to help the hospitality industry combat human trafficking

• On the importance of technology to Marriott's business

Episode Transcription

Alan Fleischmann  

You're listening to Leadership Matters on SiriusXM. I'm your host, Alan Fleischmann. My guest today has played a major role in guiding her company through challenging times. The current president of Marriott International, Stephanie Linnartz took up her position at the world's largest hotel chain at a tumultuous time in its near 100-year history. Last February, Marriott was still reeling from the havoc wreaked by the covid-19 pandemic on the whole hospitality industry when its extraordinary, longtime CEO — a former guest of this show and a very dear friend — Arne Sorensen, unexpectedly passed away after struggling with cancer.

Where some might have balked at the prospect of resuscitating a hotel chain with an iconic name from a global pandemic, Stephanie went right to work. As she, along with her colleagues, approach the second year of her presidency, she can look back fondly on an impressive recovery that Marriott has experienced under this leadership, as they optimistically move towards the road ahead. In spite of recent covid concerns and new variants, Stephanie and Marriott’s shareholders to remain confident in the hospitality giant’s ability to weather any storm. As President, Stephanie has continued the company's growth trajectory and sought to diversify its lines of business. So I'm sure, Stephanie, that you're bullish about Marriott’s future, and I know you and your colleagues have a track record to show for it.

I just thought it'd be great to get you on the show today. You are, to me, the quintessential humble leader. I know you're going to be talking about your colleagues and the extraordinary network of people in the Marriott family — literally and figuratively. But I wanted to make sure that we had a moment to talk about you.

As we get into that journey of where you are with Marriott, let's talk a little bit about your background. But first of all, welcome. 

Stephanie Linnartz 

Well, Alan, thank you for having me. It is it's so great to spend some time with you today.

Alan Fleischmann  

And I consider you a friend, I must say that as well. This space is even more wonderful for me. I'm a big admirer of yours, as you know. And I love the way you lead. So this is going to be extra special and extra fun for me today.

Stephanie Linnartz 

Likewise, right back at you.

Alan Fleischmann  

Thank you. For a key leader of the of the world's largest hotel chain, you actually have a great story. I’ve met some members of your family here in Washington, DC, where I'm based. I know a bit of that history, that your parents owned an independent hotel and you've had several restaurants in your world. Some of them are legendary. Tell us a little bit about that. Was it that that kind of led you into this idea that you wanted to be in the world of hospitality?

Stephanie Linnartz 

Absolutely. I was born and raised in this business, as I like to say. My family owned and operated a small independent hotel on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, and had a number of restaurants over the years in in the Washington area. The most famous of which is the Dubliner Irish Restaurant and Pub, which has been a DC institution for close to 50 years and has really been an integral part of the Capitol Hill scene through many different timeframes.

I grew up in the business: I have five younger siblings, and we all grew up working at the hotel, checking people in, cleaning rooms, waiting tables in the restaurant, cleaning dishes. In a hotel and a restaurant, you name it, I've done it, along with my brothers and sisters. So from a very young age, I loved the hospitality business, broadly speaking. It's really it's a great business, and again, similar to the Marriott's, on a smaller scale of course. But it's in my blood and born — I was born and raised in this space.

Alan Fleischmann  

Well, that’s right about Marriott, they started with a restaurant, right?

Stephanie Linnartz 

Yes! A nine-stool Root Beer stand in Washington, DC.

Alan Fleischmann  

I can imagine you working there—and you're the oldest, which probably meant that you were the boss of the siblings, but you're also the first one to actually work or be recruited to do some of the substantial work. Was it ever in your mom and dad's mind that you were going to take over and be part of the family business? And one of your brothers is, right?

Stephanie Linnartz 

Right, one of my siblings has taken over the business. You know, it is funny: I am the oldest, and I was often the “manager” of my siblings. So that's always that's always a lot of fun, particularly when they're in high school and not always behaving their best at work or college. But I had a lot of fun with that. I think my parents you know, were happy as long as someone took over their business and my younger brother is doing a terrific job. They're very blessed to have him in that role. It all worked out. Growing up in the DC area, Marriott is a homegrown company, right. Really, it started in Washington, DC, the Marriott family, born and raised here. And so working for Marriott really always was on my bucket list of companies to work for.

Alan Fleischmann  

That's very clever. I’m dating myself a little bit, but there was that show many years ago, Murphy Brown—they had this wonderful restaurant that was always in every scene. And every episode, I always thought that may have been The Dubliner was it? Or was it just the idea that it was a local restaurant that people just came into that was right down the hill?

Stephanie Linnartz 

Yeah, people have asked that before, I don't know, maybe that's where the writers of that show got the inspiration. But The Dubliner really is an institution in DC where people would come in, particularly from Capitol Hill. And over the years, that was one of the great things about growing up in the business, and particularly on Capitol Hill. Lots of interesting people came into my family's business, a lot of politicians, of course, but my parents and my dad, in particular, tell some great stories of people who, over the years, that were actually on very different sides of the aisle politically, would come in after work and have a pint of Guinness. They may have been “enemies” on a political issue, but they were able to be friends and treat each other with great dignity and respect on a personal level after work. I think there were some real friendships that stretched across the aisle. I think we need to get back to that in Washington DC, to tell you the truth. But I have fond memories of just lots of interesting guests coming through the doors of my family's business.

Alan Fleischmann  

You call yourself a “beltway baby.” You’re global with everything you do now, but you’re right that the Marriott story is headquartered here and started here. Do you think that Washington is a part of your story?

Stephanie Linnartz 

I do. Marriott International has 8,000 hotels and 30 brands in 139 different countries. I spend a ton of time traveling all around the world. But there’s something about my company, Marriott International, this DC-root part of it. And I very much resonate with that, personally, because my family's business started in DC. And I think that, again, Washington, DC is a wonderful city. And I'm looking forward to a time when people come together a little more collaboratively in this town like they used to. And I'm hopeful that we'll get there again.

Alan Fleischmann  

Yeah, I think that's right and that we need it more than ever. And I think, hopefully, that'll be one of the things that we can see coming out of the pandemic, whatever that means. But people are starting to come together, which is exciting. So, you went to Holy Cross, if I’m not mistaken?

Stephanie Linnartz 

I did.

Alan Fleischmann  

What did you study there? Did that reaffirm what you wanted to do in hospitality? Were you already set out that you wanted to do that? Because you went to Hilton for a little bit.

Stephanie Linnartz 

So I went to the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, and I studied political science, funny enough, since we're talking about Washington, DC. Because there was always a small part of me, again, back to being a beltway baby, that thought maybe I'd be interested, honestly, in going into politics. I will say I did an internship on Capitol Hill one summer and, as wonderful as that field of work is, it wasn't for me. And that’s just why internships are good, right? They give you a little taste of something. And I decided that business and hotels and travel was actually where my true love was. But I studied political science at Holy Cross and it really was a wonderful, wonderful place. I'm on the Board of Trustees now and I really enjoyed my time there. But yeah, political science. I had a brief stint working in that space and got back to serving burgers and pints to the politicians instead of working on Capitol Hill.

Alan Fleischmann  

Which sounds like you found your passion. Did you go right to Hilton after that?

Stephanie Linnartz 

I did. I worked for Hilton for a couple of years after undergraduate then I went to business school. As I mentioned, I really always wanted to work for Marriott because of the connections to DC and just the incredible reputation of the company. So out of business school, I went to work in finance at Marriott. Hard to believe this summer I'll celebrate my 25th year with the company. It's been an amazing run, I met my husband there and was lucky enough to have some wonderful children. And so it's been a great ride. But once I came to Marriott I never looked back.

Alan Fleischmann  

That's amazing. And you've had some pretty amazing positions along the way. Did you deliberately choose them? Or does it work at Marriott that they see something in you and say, “we want to give you the next position? 

Stephanie Linnartz 

I started in finance, and I started on the new real estate development side of the business. And that was a great place to really learn an important aspect of how our company grows, which is through. not surprisingly, building and opening new hotels and partnering with our ownership community. Many people don't know that Marriott International does not own the real estate, we partner with third party owners, and sometimes we manage for them, sometimes we franchise, but I think at close to 8,000 hotels, maybe we own 15. And they're all for sale, if you want to buy a hotel, Alan. So I got into that side of the business. And then something that's been really terrific about Marriott is that the company truly does let you move around. If you show a propensity to want to move to a different department, or to try a different area, there was a lot of support for that. I was very lucky to have some great mentors and champions and friends along the way that helped me. But the company just has an openness to doing that and to growing careers for people. It's worth noting, Alan, whether it's at corporate headquarters, or in at the hotel level, Marriott's a place where you don't just come for a job: you come for a career. And I love the statistic that 50% of our general managers and our hotels started out as hourly workers. So part of our message around employment marketing is, “come to Marriott. It's not a job. It can become a true career.” So that's what it turned into for me—a wonderful career with some incredible things I've been able to experience over the years.

Alan Fleischmann  

Tell us a little bit about your mentors along the way. Did you deliberately seek out the mentors? Or did people just see something in you? When you think back to Holy Cross, are there people that stand out as real influencers in your life?

Stephanie Linnartz 

From a Marriott perspective, I had a number of people that helped me along the way. Some maybe you put more in that category of mentor, some just confidant someone to chat with and get some advice on a maybe less frequent basis than you would for a mentor. But early in my career, there was a woman who was my boss, actually, who went on to be the president of Europe for the company. She's since retired. But she was truly a mentor in that sense of having my back, giving me challenging job opportunities,. She was pretty tough on me, to be honest, but she would always say, to me, “I'm the toughest on you because you can take it, and I want you to grow in a good way.” She was tough on me. I really appreciated having a female mentor. I think men can and should be mentors to women, and I am a mentor to men. So it doesn't always have to be a woman mentoring another woman. But I do think that as women, we need to help each other. And we need to, you know, help keep improving the situation for women in business. And she was really terrific. And probably my earliest and truest mentor, if you want to use that word, at Marriott. And then, if I fast forward towards the latter part of my career, Arne Sorenson, I would say, was a mentor. He was a friend, and he was my biggest champion. And of course, I know, you knew Arnie so well, Alan. He was not only a great CEO, he was just a great person. And he was particularly passionate about diversity and inclusion, in making sure there was more diversity at the top levels of the company and throughout the company. So he would be another person that I would consider a mentor and a champion. And then I've had mentors that are more junior than me and younger than me, because they may know more about technology. So I'm a big believer in some people call reverse mentorship, right? Where the more junior younger person mentors the older person because they actually know more than the older person about something. So I've tried to particularly in the space of technology, and digital, and social media, and all these things, I've looked at some people that know a lot more than me in this space to be my mentors, even if they may be younger in their careers than me.

Alan Fleischmann  

I love that, actually, that's a concept I hadn't thought about. But the idea that, when you think about it, the influencers are like the mentors who can actually be people that are younger, or people who have worked with or your team. Because they know you, and they are rooting for you. And when you make a decision that may be not the best one for yourself, because they know you so well and they care about you, they may be the first ones to step up and say, “No, you got to do it, you got to go for it.” And that's interesting, there must be a new word we can come up with that tells us that. Because when you think of mentors, you think of those who guide you from experience ahead of you. But if we actually had a word for that, that would be one we might want to, we might want to brand, Stephanie, I like that.

Stephanie Linnartz 

Yeah, absolutely.

Alan Fleischmann  

I love what you said about Arne Sorenson and we'll get to him in a little bit. But I will say that one of the things that I loved as I sat in Davos one year, there was a session on when women thrive. And he was speaking on a panel of CEOs. And I remember sitting next to a women who said, “Why is a man on that panel talking about when women thrive?” And when it was over, she looked at me and she said, “Now I know why.” Because she really heard him talking about how one has to be that advocate, that mentor. And I know knew him well. And I’ve been a big admirer of his and great friend. But I will say that he was an enormous admirer of yours, and just spoke of you in ways that give me a chill. He really believed in your leadership, and he also believed in letting you fly. He knew not to micromanage. I remember when you would travel with him, he’d be like: “No, you go.”

Stephanie Linnartz 

He was great about that. He really was. He was a tremendous, tremendous leader. And a big advocate, again. He walked the talk when it came to diversity and inclusion. I should note that, under his leadership, 50% of the C-Suite was women, which is not very common in terms of the statistic across all of corporate America. So again, he really lived what he would preach about diversity and inclusion. And not just in terms of women, but diversity in terms of race, or thought, or sexual orientation. You name it: the full spectrum of diversity is something that he was passionate about. It's something I'm very passionate about. And something that we shared in common, not just that it was the right thing to do—and it is—but it's also great for business. You get great business results when you really believe that a diverse team is going to drive the kind of performance that you need.

Alan Fleischmann  

Yeah, and also I think being the leader of a global company, you have to have global perspectives. You have to speak multiple languages, in many ways. Not just literally, but also you need to culturally and have respect for them. I imagine that's one of the greatest parts of your job is the global footprint in which you get to work every day.

Stephanie Linnartz 

It really is. I mentioned we're in 139 countries, I've probably been close to 80 countries myself, I’ve got to keep getting out there. But we entered 22 new countries in 2021. We'll enter at least two more this year because I know of hotels that are opening. But so we are growing around the world. And the United States is still our largest market, but our second largest market is China. We're adding something like a new hotel in China every week, even keeping up roughly with that pace throughout the pandemic. A lot of hotels throughout Southeast Asia, throughout Europe, Mexico, Central America. Our international growth has been tremendous. In 2021, we signed 599 deals for new hotels, 92,000 rooms. On over 50% of those new hotel deals that we signed are outside the United States. So underscoring your point, Alan, that our growth is very much in the international space, we still have runway to grow here in the US. But of course we have many more hotels here in the US than we do in other parts of the world. So a lot of our growth is outside the US and I love. I love the global aspect of the business. And it's also not just that our hotels are global, but our guests come globally, right? China is not only a big market for China, it's a source market of guests for the world. Pre-pandemic, something like over 100 million Chinese traveled outbound to our hotels around the world. Of course, that's not the case right now. But I'm sure we'll get back there when this terrible pandemic is behind us in the hopefully not too distant future. But our guests are people traveling around the world. And it's been wonderful to just have the opportunity to see so many cultures and to meet so many people. And my biggest takeaway from all the countries I've been to is there's so much that makes cultures different and special and unique. But there's way more that makes us the same, right? In terms of everywhere I go, people want to be healthy and happy and have clean water and safe environments and food. So there's a lot more that connects us, I think, in the world than separates us.

Alan Fleischmann  

That's amazing. When did you pivot from finance to operational side or marketing and getting involved in the external, the development side.

Stephanie Linnartz 

Probably I'd say about maybe four or five years into my career at Marriott I started getting into other departments. And I pretty much worked across every department that we have at corporate headquarters. So over the 25 years, I went from finance into sales and marketing into brand management into technology and operations. Now I'm leading global real estate development, our global design—interior design department—and our global operations services team. So I've really been blessed to move around the company. And part of that is, again, having had great mentors and champions. I always say that getting ahead is about working really, really hard. There's also an element of luck and being at the right place at the right time. But most importantly, for me, and I tell young people at Marriott this all the time, it's about taking risk. And I would always raise my hand for the project and the job that nobody else wanted. Because I figured, well, if I nail it, I'm going to be a hero. Even if I don't, I'm going to stand out because I raised my hand and I tried, right? And so I got rewarded over the years for taking on the big, thorny, hairy projects that other people didn't want to do. And I will say, as a woman, that not as many women do that, and I push more women to do it, I push everybody to do it. But I really say to women, you know, take on that tough project that no one else wants. And, again, nine times out of 10, it's going to work out for you. And I've been blessed that it has at Marriott.

Alan Fleischmann  

I love that. The toughest challenges are the ones where people probably have the lowest expectations for success. So you're actually taking risk, for sure. But they're not going to blame you if it doesn't go well. But they  are going to salute you if it does because they realize you took that risk.

Stephanie Linnartz 

Well once in a while you might get blamed, though. You can't have too many fail. But in any event, yes. I agree with you.

Alan Fleischmann  

But I bet the idea of that, “Yeah, this is tough for me, I can't do it. I don't want to fail.” And the willingness to actually manage the expectations and jump in and say, “We can do this,” does propel you.

Stephanie Linnartz 

For sure. And I will say that the challenges I took on, I always believed we could do it, right? I always had faith that whatever the thorny project was, or the tough thing was that with enough hard work and the right team—and it's always about the right team, it's really truly is never about one person—with the right team against the right business challenge and the right set of expectations, you can do it

Alan Fleischmann  

And there are other people that have been with you for many of the 25 years?

Stephanie Linnartz 

There are. There's a lot of tenure at Marriott International, there's colleagues that I work with today that I've known the entire time I've worked at Marriott or at least 20 years. And then we've also been focused on bringing in new talent. There's something that's terrific about all the longevity of people at Marriott, it's great. But you want new blood and new talent, too. So I've been really focused on making sure my team has a mix of people that are newer to the company and come from other industries. Because they have a whole new lens on things, right, than people like myself and others who have been with the company for a long time. And if you get that that mix right, it's magical. And it gets to this point about diversity. Diversity isn't just about gender or race. It's also about diversity of thought and experience. And so I'm really focused on a team that's has different thinking than me and maybe just sees the world totally different than me. You know, that can be hard, right? Because sometimes people say they like diversity but they really want everyone who doesn’t necessarily look like them but thinks like them. And to me, I really think it's important that I surround myself, and that we all do, with people that see the world differently than us, or have been cut from a different cloth. Because it can be frustrating sometimes, right? But it's worth it, because that's how you get the best results and come up with the most creative solutions. And I can tell you, Alan, that during this pandemic, which has been our darkest hour by far in my 25 years, and if you talk to Bill Marriott he will say the darkest hours of this company in 95 years, it was that diversity of thought and thinking and creativity that helped us get through.

Alan Fleischmann  

I can only imagine. Because if it hit anything, it hit all your roots, actually, in the hospitality world: restaurants and hotels were certainly hit the hardest. People can't travel, they can't go anywhere. You know, culture matters, too. And I guess that's where you get to see people and how do they handle adversity. But I think of the Marriott culture and it probably goes back to Mr. Marriott and the family. But I think it was humility and empathy as well. Your company has been out there on the frontlines and sometimes in a lonely place, when it came to fighting for diversity. You're not afraid to speak up and speak out when it comes to equality issues. But there's a humility as well, right? There seems to be like a confidence about the company. It certainly has to be confidence to be the biggest and have had the acquisitions and the mergers that it's had along the way. But there has been a consistent culture too, right?

Stephanie Linnartz 

There absolutely has been, and that does go back to the roots of the company, I think of Marriott as a company that really believes in servant leadership and humility. I believe it's possible to be really self-confident and strong and believe in yourself and your company and at the same time be humble. To say, “We don't know everything.” We should have healthy paranoia for certain competitors and all that good stuff. But it does go back to the roots of the company. The founder said the simple concept: “Take care of the associates, the associates will take care of the customers, and the customers will come back again and again.” And this idea of putting people first in a people-oriented business is the heart of Marriott. And that still bleeds through today. You know, I travel all around the world, and some people are like, “Oh, you've gotten so big? How can that still be around that family feeling that culture of People First?” It resonates everywhere in the world. I can tell you, everywhere I go, the culture is alive. And it's honestly not just a catchphrase. And it's not just something I'm saying. It's true. And I believe it. And again, you know, we're a people business, the way we get to our customers is through people, right? Of course, technology is critical to us. And maybe we'll chat about that a bit. But at the end of the day, people are how we connect with people—our customers, that is. The pandemic was terrible. Just as some context, Alan, and you know these figures, but our business was down 90%, in the spring of 2020. 25% of our hotels were completely shuttered. Of our 750,000 associates globally who were the name badge, 80%-plus were either furloughed or laid off or on reduced work weeks. The company, the industry, and the sector have never seen anything like this. It was devastating. And, again, to dig out of that hole, to live through it, and to come out on the other side—I think even stronger—goes back to a company having an amazing culture. And that's what saw us through those dark days.

Alan Fleischmann  

And you assumed Marriott's presidency during that period, too. So tell us a little bit about that. Obviously you're a veteran of Marriott and you've been there for 20 some odd years. So that's the good part. But the hard part was it was probably very personal as well. But how did you actually come up with the wherewithal to lead?

Stephanie Linnartz 

Arne Sorenson was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2019. Incidentally, our best year ever. As a company, just record performance for Marriott International, record performance for the industry—spectacular year. And then remember, because we have such a big business in China, we started hearing about and feeling some of the early news on what was happening in that part of the world. But who would have ever dreamed of 2020? So Arnie led us through 2020, the pandemic and the worst days. He was sick and dying. But he, we never knew how sick he was. He was incredible. He didn't miss work. He was fearless. He was open, he was honest. He was emotional, as he should have been, because it was so traumatic, as I mentioned, the impact to our people. And then we all thought he was going to make it. And then in 2021, he sadly passed away. Tony became the CEO. I became the president. Tony and I have been friends and colleagues also for over the whole 25 years I've been at Marriott. We've been friends and colleagues. And I think that Tony says this well, and I agree with him, it would be daunting to think about running Marriott International and having this job if it was just me by myself. But it's not. I'm obviously supporting Tony in his role and the rest of the C-Suite and the executive team. And most importantly, all the people that work in our hotels, they're the amazing ones who make it happen every day. So when you think about it that way, it's not as daunting. And one thing that I love the way about Arnie leadership, particularly during the dark days of the pandemic: he was always honest about how bad things were, but he was also super hopeful. We'll get through this travel, we'll come back. Travel is super resilient. People love to travel. And of course, he was right, travel is coming back. 2021 was so much better than 2020. This year is looking brighter every day, every week, every month, despite the variants that are popping up with this terrible pandemic. So I'm super, super bullish about the road ahead for Marriott. 

Alan Fleischmann  

Which is a different place than where you probably were during the 2008, 2009 financial crisis, where you knew that would be a longer haul. This one sounds like they already are getting back to travel.

Stephanie Linnartz 

Yeah, I mean, this is going to be a longer haul in that sense, just to give you the numbers. So after 9/11, which was a bad travel event, our worst quarter was probably down 15% in terms of same store sales. In 2008/2009, the financial crisis that you are referring to, our RevPAR (Revenue per Available Room), which is what our equivalent is to same store sales, was down 25%. This time: down 90%. Our worst quarters down 85, because the first part of March wasn't as bad in 2020. So 2008, 2009 was the worst before this. But just as context, that's negative 25 versus this time negative 85 being our worst quarter. So it was bad. But this this was much worse.

Alan Fleischmann  

How do you communicate with the best of the employees or partners? And how do you communicate with associates? And how do you communicate with the longtime guests who actually are the most loyal?

Stephanie Linnartz 

Well, our most important guests are the backbone of our customer strategy and our consumer base. They are the 160 million members of Marriott Bonvoy, our loyalty program.

Alan Fleischmann  

I am one.

Stephanie Linnartz 

Thank you very much. I know you are and I know that you're an elite, too. So thank you for your business. But the Marriott Bonvoy members are so important to us, right? They really just have great loyalty to our brands. And one of the challenges during the pandemic is how do you stay engaged with your customers when nobody's traveling? Right? And by the way, for a lot of people travel isn't a daily thing anyways, right? It's a relatively low frequency thing for many people. And I'm not talking about business travelers who maybe travel all the time. So, how do you stay engaged with your consumers when no one is doing what you sell, travel? And what I think we did a really good job of being super creative with, has been engaging with our customers even when they were at home. So, for example, we spun up some new partnerships. We did an interesting partnership with Uber and Uber Eats. Because people may not have been traveling, but they were ordering Uber Eats. So you could earn your Bonvoy points that way. A lot of people have our Marriott Bonvoy credit card, and we said 10-times points for groceries or gas, so we engaged with our customers that way. We did a lot of online virtual travel, dreaming things for our members. So we did some cool stuff to stay engaged with them. Opportunities for them to donate their points to causes related to the pandemic. So we found a way to stay connected to those customers, even though they weren't traveling. And then when they started traveling again, which they did pretty quickly for leisure, I should note—leisure travel came back pretty quickly. We were right there to welcome them in our hotels as quickly as we can.

Alan Fleischmann  

That's great. What I have been most impressed about is that, during these most dark days of the pandemic, there's been that confidence in communicating from Marriott that we're in this together, and that has gotten us through it.

Stephanie Linnartz 

Well I'm glad to hear that because I really do think that companies are defined by how they manage through a crisis. You can just hunker down and try to survive. Or you can keep investing, keep pushing forward. Keep believing in the future. And that's what we did. So we actually launched and invested in new businesses during the pandemic. We launched homes and villas—our home rental platform—we launched it in 2019, right before the pandemic. But we invested in it, and we grew it during the pandemic. Because, as you know, home rentals were quite popular during the pandemic. They're quite popular, period, but particularly during the pandemic when people wanted more space and a whole home for leisure. So we grew that business from 2000 homes right before the pandemic hit. We're close to 50,000 homes right now. And we're still growing it. And it's complimentary to our core hotel business. Premium and luxury homes all have strict brand standards and are all professionally managed. And the best part about that new business that we launched and invested in heavily during the pandemic is that you can earn and you can redeem your Marriott Bonvoy points. So for someone like you, Allen, who travels extensively, we have 30 brands, any price point, any location—Ritz Carlton, St. Regis, W, don't worry, I won't name them all—that you can stay for maybe a special, romantic getaway with your fabulous wife, to different hotels that might be better for your kids sports tournaments. And again, all around the world. The idea being give us all your hotel business, because we've got a hotel for you everywhere in every segment. And then you can take those points that you've earned, and redeem them for a villa in Tuscany. Or Ritz Carlton yachts, which we also are launching now, in May of this year. Another business, again, in the middle of the worst pandemic ever. And we're launching and investing in new businesses. I think that shows our confidence for the future and travel. So you can also take those points and redeem them for a Ritz Carlton yacht, which will sail in this coming spring. Our first ship will sail from Lisbon to Barcelona.

Alan Fleischmann  

Big yachts, yes?

Stephanie Linnartz 

149 suites, so only about 300 guests, so relatively small, but a Ritz Carlton yacht.

Alan Fleischmann  

That sounds pretty magical, actually, I’ll want to check that out. That sounds like a perfect way to go on a voyage. And I think that's amazing, too. One of the things I had the pleasure of being near Arne Sorenson for was when the Starwood moment happened. And I remember thinking, “Gosh, what a bold thing for you also do, to add so many and to grow by acquisition and partnership.” And to bring so many of those brands, and hearing you talk about these iconic brands, it's true: you probably have something for everybody.

Stephanie Linnartz 

We got 11 new brands with the Starwood acquisition. That was in 2016. And I do think it was really a strategic, brilliant move by Arne to make that decision. Because we got 11 Terrific brands, great loyalty platform was one of the strongest—I would often call SPG the crown jewel of the Starwood company, or one of them, at least. And so I think it was a great move. And the biggest deal that our industry has ever seen has been Starwood and Marriott coming together in a very complex integration. In many ways, far more complex and hairy and early than even two airlines coming together. Because we don't own the real estate, we're in so many countries, etc. Very, very challenging putting the two companies together, but very worthwhile.

Alan Fleischmann  

I mean, we talk about many different kinds of cultures that we’re thinking about. And talking about a minute ago, about the Marriott culture of humility and confidence. Has that transcended across the new brands that are now part of the Marriott family as well?

Stephanie Linnartz 

You know, I think so. I think that when any two companies come together, I think back to this idea of humility. I love Marriott, that's where I grew up, right? But, you know, Marriott had things to learn from the Starwood team, right? That Starwood was really good at some things that Marriott wasn't as strong at, and Marriott was very strong  at things that perhaps the Starwood organization wasn't as strong with. And so I really do believe that the merger, with Marriott acquiring Starwood, that it was a one plus one equals three situation. The companies were very similar in many ways. I mean, we're all in the hotel business, right? But there were some differences and different strengths and weaknesses. And I think we went into it eyes wide open about how to take the best of both. And I'm not saying it was easy. I'm not saying we did it perfectly. And again, we certainly had our stumbles along the way, but I think at the end of the day that it's been great. If anything, too, going through a pandemic together brings people together. And we had come together as a company well before the pandemic, but going through something like this as a global leadership team and every level—if this doesn't bond you together, I don't know what will.

Alan Fleischmann  

I think that probably makes a lot of sense to me. Again, you think of one seamless company it's amazing because each one of those brands who have are singular. You've created many of them just organically, not through acquisition.

Stephanie Linnartz 

No you’re right. Some of our brands we acquired, and some we started, obviously Marriott being the first one, but courtyard back in the day being quite a new concept—this kind of select service—and, of course, we acquired Ritz Carlton in the mid-90s. That was an acquisition of an iconic brand. Other brands: Moxie—we've started Moxie Addition, again. So we have a combination of brands that we both started on our own, or that we acquired, and it's been a mix. But it is really an important point you're drawing out though, Alan. With a company like ours, and there are many companies have many brands, each brand needs to be distinct and have a value proposition and a target customer and stand for something. And so Marriott Bonvoy, I think about, is our umbrella brand or our vessel that holds all 30 of our brands. And our Marriott home rental business and the Marriott Ritz Carlton yacht collection, and we have other businesses—we actually have quite a big retail business—but each of the brands needs to stand on its own and resonate with consumers on its own. So, really, without strong brands, we have nothing.

Alan Fleischmann  

That's amazing. Best practices, I imagine as the president and as a leader, must be a great fun part of your job. Because you might learn something from the team at any one of your brands. And then what do you do with it? I imagine some of that is distinct, but then some of it can be applied across the whole company? Is that a big part of your job? And is that something you look forward to doing, when you find a great idea, and you realize it can catch fire elsewhere?

Stephanie Linnartz 

Yeah, I think that's a great point, I think there's things that are very distinct to a brand, right? Or a segment of our 30 brands. We have seven luxury brands. So there might be best practices or things you can do that are appropriate for a segment, and even within a segment there are things that are very distinctly Ritz Carlton. The club, lounge, and club level are very distinct Ritz Carlton offerings that aren’t even offered at our other luxury brands in the same way. So I think there's things that are distinctive brands and to segments. And then, of course, an advantage of our company having such size and scale is back of the house stuff: procurement, accounting, tech. You can leverage our size and scale and invest in the backbone of the company that can be leveraged across our all our businesses. And so one thing that Arne and I spoke a lot about before the Starwood acquisition is that there's many reasons to do the deal. But size and scale does matter in a day and age when you need to invest a lot in technology. And some of your competitors can be in the tech space and have a lot of money and resources. So I do think the size and scale of the company does help us leverage some things—best practices, if you want to call them that—but just systems and processes that the customer may never see but that can really give a lot of efficiencies to our company, and ultimately to our owners and franchisees. Because, again, they are our customers too, right? We sell to the people who sleep in our hotel beds, but we also sell our brands to our real estate partners. And so they need to see the benefit of size and scale, too.

Alan Fleischmann  

I'm curious, how important is to the day-to-day, ESG. And this idea of conserving our environment? We talked a little bit about social equity and diversity? How important is that part of your day to day? Explain that a little bit. Because I know the answer is “Yes, it is important,” because I've heard you talk about it. But I think it would be really interesting for our listeners to hear about that.

 Stephanie Linnartz 

It is top of the list in terms of importance to the company. Serving our world is one of the five core pillars of our culture. What that means, and it has many aspects to it, but it relates to taking care of the environment. It's a tremendously important focus area for Tony, for me, and for the whole company. You know, the hotel business is a big footprint, right, it’s a big physical footprint. We create a lot of carbon and waste and that kind of thing. So we have to be a big part of the solution. The company just signed up for the Race to Zero, to get to net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner—I think we all need to push for sooner. We are very committed to building LEED certified hotels, to doing renovations that are thoughtful of reducing our environmental footprint. This is an interesting statistic that some people may not know, but 50% of the garbage in a hotel is food waste. Well, food waste is a major contributor to greenhouse gases. So we have big programs underway, using data and analytics amongst other things, to reduce food waste. I'll give you another real-life example, I always like real life examples. We, every year, put something like 500 million tiny bottles into landfills, just our company, from little shampoos and amenities. We're getting rid of those, and we're going to residential size amenities for all our brands, we were going to do a pre-pandemic, and then we had to take a little pause, but we're back at it now. And committed to you know, going again, stop not putting all that plastic, right, although there's many, many examples, but the most important, I think, is the commitment to get to that target by 2050 or sooner. So that means working with our owners and franchisees, because we need to do it in a way that understands the cost involved. But I could not be a bigger believer that not only can you get cost savings, if you do it the right way and build hotels the right way with renewable energy. I believe that drives the top line, because I am passionate about this idea that consumers care about this. And they're going to care more and more. I have teenage kids, I know you do, too. Lots of people care about this, but I can tell you: my children are passionate about this and are the consumers of tomorrow. They’re passionate about all of us doing our part to save the earth. And so this is a topic that I'm passionate about, our company is passionate about, and I think consumers will be too. So I think it's going to drive the top line, as well as being the right thing to do, and in many cases be more efficient and have cost savings.

Alan Fleischmann  

Now if people have choices where they want to stay where they want to spend their money, they're going to want to do where the values proposition is as important as the value proposition. You’re right, our daughters—your son and your daughter—they care. They want to make sure that they're joining, and certainly that’s a big part of their lives, but that they're enjoying for purpose.

Stephanie Linnartz 

1,000%. And then attracting employees, too, not just consumers. As we attract the next generation, there's a war on for talent, as we all know. And I think part of attracting the best talent is, I think, that the employees of the future care about companies that care about these issues, right, diversity and inclusion, the environment, and other issues. Another big thing we're passionate about is stopping human trafficking. Sadly, a lot of human trafficking happens in hotels. A couple years ago, we wrote a whole training program: see something, say something, , stopping it all. And we not only rolled it out to all of our hotels, we shared it with the hotel industry so that other hotel companies could implement it as well. This is where we want to lift all boats. So that's another way that we believe we're serving our world is through things like that. And I think all these things collectively resonate with employees, customers, shareholders, I truly believe they're important today. And I think they're just going to keep getting more and more important.

Alan Fleischmann  

It's such an important part. You mentioned technology. And I guess technology is part of the answer, right? How you're actually going to manage to become more environmental and how you actually deal with understanding what your employees want and what your customers want. I really imagine that technology has a big role there.

Stephanie Linnartz 

Yeah, I mean, technology is so important to our business on just many, many levels. Yes, technological tools will help us with our ESG goals. For sure. I mentioned that a big part of reducing food waste is using data and analytics to figure out what's selling and what's not. Think about those big giant buffets that hotels have all around the world. How can you make sure that you don't waste food there? Data and analytics plays a big role in our efforts on that particular dimension. But investing in technology is a big focus for us. Our website, our app, and our mobile web. That's a major way we connect with consumers. Before the pandemic Marriott.com probably did close to $26 billion in gross sales. That makes it one of the largest retail websites in the world. A lot of travel is bought online, right. But it makes it bigger than some of the big names that you know. So investing in our website and our app is important.  And it's also becoming a major tool for how people engage at our properties. So, for example, mobile check-in and mobile checkout really exploded during the pandemic. Because people didn't want to go to the front desk as much. Or they used our mobile app for room service. So mobile, in particular, and the Marriott Bonvoy app, is becoming not only an important way people shop and book hotels, but then, when they're on the property, how they actually then interact on property using mobile. So we're investing a lot of money in that space as well.

Alan Fleischmann  

You’re listening to Leadership Matters on Sirius XM. I'm your host, Alex Fleischmann. I'm here with my friend, the president of Marriott International, Stephanie Linnartz, who is really an extraordinary leader, I'd love to spend the next couple minutes talking about what you admire in leadership. You've been a great mentor to many and you've been, you said, the lucky person who's had great mentors. But what are the qualities of leadership that you most admire? And even when you're talking to your kids, what are the qualities that you most admire in people?

Stephanie Linnartz 

Well I think there's many words that come to mind. It's funny: I was talking to my kids about this the other day. “Why? Why do you like what you do so much, Mom? Why do you do it?” We were talking a little bit about this, so it's funny to mention my kids. But when I think about great leadership and what I aspire to do every day, I really think it's about being hard working. I know that sounds so basic, but you can't replace hard work and dedication. And I think, tied to that, it's like being passionate and loving what you do. Because if you want to be a great leader, I think you need to be motivating to people and you need to be visionary at times. In many situations, you need to be quite visionary. And if you're not passionate about what you do, it's kind of hard to pull that off authentically. Think you need to be authentic and your real self. I really think, as a leader, you need to be a good listener, I always tell my kids, “God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason.” So you need to be a good listener. I think that's important. It was particularly important during the pandemic. I think you have to be empathetic. I do think that leaders have to be willing to make decisions, right? Sometimes the worst decision is not making a decision at all. And I can tell you, during the pandemic, we often did not have perfect data. We like data and analysis at Marriott, but sometimes you just have got to go for it with the best information you have at the time. And you know what? If you made a mistake, you adjust later. But you can't just sit on the fence forever. So I think decision making ability is really important for leaders. And sometimes you need to do it with suboptimal information. We've talked about being humble. I think the most important thing to me, about being a leader, is you genuinely have to care about other people and care about them doing well too, and not just about yourself. Because people can smell out if that's real or not. Like if you genuinely care about your team, and them doing well and them moving up in their career and them winning, too. They're going to know if that's real or not. So a genuine care for others, I think is important to be a good leader. There's so many different things. And maybe you have to dial some things up more during certain times like crisis. But I think these are all just the makings of great leaders, all these things. Put them all in the bucket.

Alan Fleischmann  

I love what you're saying. I also think it's really true that, for a while there, there was a little bit of the push that everything had to be around technology. Which it still is—we need to be technology adapted and be innovators. But I think there's been a real pushback in the last few months here, maybe even more, around the importance of not just the IQ around technology but the EQ around humanity and the “people person: type. And I think, you know, you're in the hospitality industry, where there is EQ at the very core.

Stephanie Linnartz 

That is our business, after all!

Alan Fleischmann  

It is, it’s EQ at its core. But for you, as a leader, because I know the style of leading that you do, it must be also very gratifying that there's that swing back where people are understanding. That it's the EQ that matters as much as anything else. We can always learn or adapt on so many levels, and we need experts in those areas. But if you don't know, with whom, and you don't know how, you can't get it done.

Stephanie Linnartz 

Yeah, I couldn't agree with you more. I always say in our business, it's high tech and high touch, right? It's high tech and high touch. And that the human element will always be part of the hotel, restaurant, and hospitality business, no matter how much technology there is in the world. And so I keep  a keen eye on that, the importance of EQ, not just IQ, not just tack, but the human side of our business is always going to be critical.

Alan Fleischmann  

How do you juggle everything? I know, it's always that great question that people get, expectations and all that. But I know you, as being a really family focused person, being the eldest of those siblings, having parents who care deeply about the community that you're from. Obviously, I met your wonderful husband, and I know that you're a great mom. And then you're really involved with friends. How do you do that? And then travel and be president of a huge company. Do you have any secrets, do you take a certain day off? Are you a certain amount of hours off, little tricks of the trade, do you sleep a certain amount of hours? Any tricks you’d like to share?

Stephanie Linnartz 

For me, personally, exercise is an important tool for me to reduce stress and have “me time.” I don't believe, that expression, “You can have it all, but you can't have it all at the same time.” My life has ebbed and flowed over the years in terms of what I've been able to focus on. But throughout it all, I believe strongly—and I say this to my team all the time—if you don't take care of yourself, if you don't eat well, if you don't exercise—I'm not a terribly good sleeper, but I'm trying to work on it—and you don't sleep. And if you can't be there for yourself and be healthy and strong, then you can't be there for your family or your team at Marriott. I think taking my brain away from Marriott, sometimes it's important. I'm on the board of several nonprofits. And, in addition, the Board of Trustees at the Holy Cross. I think getting out of my world and space in corporate America is really important. I’m on the board of the advisory board for a nonprofit here in DC focused on the terrible poverty here in the district and children living in poverty here. And then I’m working with a former colleague at Marriott, who started a nonprofit teaching preschoolers on how to read, write, and do arithmetic through gamification, starting in Pakistan and a couple countries in Africa. So it's important for me to have that aspect of my life. I've also been really blessed the past few years to be on the board of the Home Depot company, and I love that company. I'm not the handiest person around the home, but I love that company. And, of course, they've had the opposite experience in terms of business performance during the pandemic. They've just crushed it. And I'll tell you, it's hard to scale up that quickly, too. Of course, I'd rather be on that side of the equation in the pandemic. So it sounds like I'm doing a ton of things, and I am, but I think doing those other things—being on the board of Home Depot, nonprofits, I like to run and I love my peloton—that actually makes me a better executive and Marriott employee. Because it actually gives me perspective. So I've really been encouraging my team: take your vacation, take your time off, you need to recharge. Am I always great about doing that? No. If I'm honest, I'm trying to be better. But I'm certainly encourage other people to do it. Because, again, this idea of self-care on and health and wellness. If this pandemic has taught us anything, first and foremost, it was a health crisis, right? We should never forget that. As sad as all the economic devastation was, people died, millions of people died of COVID. Seeing what Arnie went through: health is wealth, right? Seeing Arne die of cancer, seeing the pandemic devastate lives over the past few years. So I think that's how I try to manage it all. It’s having other things in my life besides Marriott.

Alan Fleischmann  

It gives you the balance, and also, frankly, the things that you've learned along the way that you can help others with is also very gratifying outside of the day-to-day that you get to do. I know that one of the thing that you and I benefited from during this period of sadness and difficulty that the pandemic has brought to so many lives is that we get to spend so much more time with our kids after traveling so much. It is true, too, I think you probably share it, that teenage kids don't always want you around as much as they would have wanted you around a few years earlier. But it's been wonderful for me and I know it probably has been for you, to be present in a way and also for the family. And that's something we'll always remember I think.

Stephanie Linnartz 

For sure. I was teasing my kids throughout this thing. I had more dinners with my husband and kids in 2020 than I did in the 20 years before that. So that was nice, but of course I constantly was reminded of all the tough things happening to the people in my company during that timeframe. So that was always weighing on my mind. But, you know, there's always silver linings that come out of any crisis, not to take away from how horrific this crisis was. But, resiliency. I like the saying, “tough times don't last, but tough people do.” And so there's been some good that's come out of this. And I hope, back to how we started our conversation at my family restaurant with Democrats and Republicans actually treating each other with civility and coming in and having a drink and a burger after work and treating each other well. Hopefully something will come out of this about what makes us more the same and brings us together as a society. I'm hopeful there's some element that comes out of this crisis that brings us together more as a human race.

Alan Fleischmann  

I think that's brilliant and wonderful. And I think having humanity realize that there are no borders, and there are no gates that can keep us from harm's way when it comes to a health crisis like this one. And that the only way we're going to be able to solve these things is by doing it together. You're a great, wonderful role model of that EQ. And it goes back to the core of how you grew up, certainly, but you're doing it on an enormous scale every day as president of Marriott International. So on behalf of this wonderful, wonderful listenership team and all the folks that come together to listen to Leadership Matters, I just want to say thank you, Stephanie, for all that you're doing every day. When you're on the road, that means that all is better. And we're looking forward to being on the road in all of the various, wonderful places that you get to create for us every day. So thank you so much.

Stephanie Linnartz 

Well, thank you, Alan. And we can't wait to welcome you and all of your fabulous listeners back to our hotels. So when you're ready and they're ready, which I hope is soon if you haven't been out there already, we’re ready to welcome you and can't wait.

Alan Fleischmann  

Perfect, thank you so much.