A Genius Observer
天才观察家，万豪酒店创始人的故事
By Nikita Jaeger
To what extent do one's ambition and tenacity translate into a successful life? Perhaps any person could become the most influential, successful, and richest individual in the world. For the son of a poor shepherd to climb the ladder to achieving his goals, it took free will, good judgment, deep vision, hard work, perfection, enthusiasm and commitment.
His story of success continues to inspire the world. He is an innate genius whose entrepreneurial skills were revealed to his family at a very young age. As a young boy, he chose his path and recognized his leadership skills. He went to sleep every day full of ideas about what he wanted to accomplish the next day.
他成功的故事激励着世界。他是一个天才，他的企业家才能在很小的时候就展示了出来。
The Hard-Working Young Boy with Inborn Talent
Born in the United States into a family of farmers, and the son of a poor shepherd, he had no means to get much education. At a very early age, he started supporting his father in farming and looking after the family. His father gave the children plenty of freedom and encouraged them to trust their own intuition, which made them self-sufficient at a very young age.
He was unstoppable, and at a the age of 13 was already striving to excel. His first business endeavour was to produce lettuce on his father’s farm, which could bring in $2,000 as profit. Thus began the very first business attempt of the world's greatest entrepreneur.
天赋异禀的小男孩
他出生于美国犹他州的Marriott Settlement，是一个贫穷的牧羊人的儿子。他小时在自己家的小农场上帮助父母种植甜菜和喂养牲口。他的经商才能似乎是天生的。在他13岁的时候就开始了自己的第一单生意。那个时候他招集来自己的兄弟姐妹在农场上一块相对贫瘠的土地上种植生菜。在夏天结束的时候，这些生菜为他带来了2000美元的收入。他把这第一笔钱全部上缴给了父亲。也因此赢得了父亲的信任。
The Early Journey of the World's Most Successful Entrepreneur
The most significant turning point of his life began when he enlisted for missionary work in the Mormon church in New England. Those two years changed his view on the world and inspired him to do something bigger, rising above his ordinary family background. He decided to pursue his studies, which he had stopped halfway. He graduated from Weber Junior College and then went to the University of Utah.
During his college days, he sold woollen underwear to lumberjacks to pay his tuition fees. He also taught theology at Weber college in exchange for tuition fees. The president of the college, who was his former high school teacher, assigned him a job on the campus after graduation, but he had already made up his mind to do something else, so he declined the offer.
外出闯荡
他对于雄伟山脉和广阔空间的向往注定他不会一辈子生活在自己家的小农场。1921年，他返回了犹他州，开始了在犹他大学的学习生活。在大学期间他开办经营各类小公司来挣取学费，他甚至曾经向伐木工人卖过毛纺的内衣。
Humble Beginnings Often Leads to Great Ventures
While thinking about a business strategy, he was clear about its success. In 1927, he saw a business opportunity in selling cold soft drinks; seeing a cart peddler making brisk sales of refreshing drinks and ice creams in Washington DC prompted him to secure the franchise of A&W Root Beer for Washington DC., and with a partner, he started a nine-stool root beer stand, which was his first business venture.
He then began to find new methods to expand his small business by engaging in several promotional activities. While the scorching summer benefited the soft drink business, winter made him think about restructuring his business. Acquiring permission from A&M, the shop began to serve food. His wife tried Mexican recipes for their customers, and as expected, it started to show results.
Soon, their focus shifted to catering, which resulted in the family restaurant franchise named Hot Shoppe, Inc. Promotion is important, and he took the initiative by doing several promotional activities to attract customers. His family restaurant chain began to expand to more locations.
瞄准商机
大学毕业以后，他来到几千英里以外的美国首都华盛顿，开始计划自己未来的生意。他走遍了华盛顿的每个角落，发现乐啤露的市场非常大。因此，他从A&W获得乐啤露的代理销售权。此后，他和合作伙伴筹集到6000美元用于购买机器设备和租赁店面。在1927年的5月20日，仅有九个座位的乐啤露小店开张了。就在小店开张的两个星期后，他又返回了犹他州完成了预示他生命中又一个重大变化的事情——与Alice Sheets结为了夫妻。
The Innovator Who Saw Possibility in Everything
A successful business mind will always be innovative, and a genius observer will see possibilities in circumstances that seem invisible to the eyes of others. Even after establishing the restaurant chain with his efforts, he aspired to do more and was always keen to experiment with new ideas.
With the wholehearted support of his wife, the business began to grow, and in 1928 they started the first drive-in restaurant in Mississippi. When the eighth Hot Shoppe opened near the Hoover National Airport, he noticed that the passengers stopped at the restaurants to grab food boxes to eat from on the plane. Recognizing an in-flight opportunity, he began to sell meal boxes to the airlines, which led to the setting up of airline catering services. Within a year, the service expanded to selling meals to 20 daily flights. Apart from in-flight catering, he offered his services to several venues, schools, and colleges.
By the time World War II broke out, he owned 24 Hot Shoppe family restaurants in several parts of the country. When the war halted the chance of growth, he found a new direction by starting cafeterias in several government buildings and factories. After the war, the restaurant chain progressed further.
The company went public in 1953, and by that time, they had a total of 56 restaurants which served millions of customers every year.
一切皆有可能的创新者
1928年，他在密西西比州开设了第一家自助餐厅。同时他开始向航空公司出售餐盒，从而建立了航空公司的餐饮服务。一年之内，该服务扩展到了每天20个航班的餐饮销售。除了提供机上餐饮外，他还为多个场馆，学校和学院提供服务。
Climbing the Ladder to Marriott International, Inc.
Continuing the success in the hotel/restaurant business, he shifted focus to the business of lodgings. In 1957, the company opened its first motel, Twin Bridges Marriott, in Virginia, and soon established two other hotels. By this time, he had become a millionaire, and the Marriott group had become the largest hotel business in the world. He changed the name of the company several times; it was Marriott Hot Shoppe Inc. in 1964, and Marriott Corporation in 1967.
The company also took over two big chains, Big Boy family restaurants in 1968, and Roy Rogers family restaurants the next year. They also ventured into the cruise ship and theme park businesses. However, the hotel business became the primary focus of the company.
创建 万豪
1957年，他在维吉尼亚州阿林顿市1号公路上开设了万豪家族的第一家酒店——双桥汽车酒店，至此万豪家族才从餐饮业进军酒店业。从犹他大学毕业并服完两年兵役后，他回到了家乡，并接手了家族刚刚建立的第一家酒店。很快他们发现做酒店远比做餐饮赚钱，于是将重心转向了酒店业。
A Caring Employer
He maintained excellent relationships with the employees and always gave priority to their requirements. He believed that if you treat your employees well, they will take care of customers well, which is the prime principle that is still followed by the company.
He even visited his employees when they were sick and provided them with the necessary help. He visited all the branches of the business four times a year and made sure everything was going well, and he continued to do this after his retirement and until his death.
Today Marriott International Inc. is at the top of the list for the most diversified employer, and is among the world's most innovative enterprises.
有爱心的雇主
作为一个亲力亲为的管理者，他喜欢造访公司旗下的每个店铺和员工一起吃饭，与他们谈心。“去关心你们的员工，你们的员工就会去关心你的顾客，”这是他经常和公司的管理人员说的一句话。这也是万豪公司一直恪守的公司文化。
The brand name Marriott International, Inc.
Marriot International, Inc. became immensely popular, and reached top position before his death. By that time, the company owned over 1,400 restaurant chains, 143 hotels and resorts worldwide, catering services for 150 airlines, and two theme parks. It had approximately 150,600 employees, and earned more than $4.5 billion in revenue annually.
In 1993, the name of the company changed to Marriott International, Inc.. The name change drew its inspiration from the motto ‘great companies are built by people who never stop thinking about ways to improve the business,’ which shaped the company as one of the most notable brand names in the hospitality and hotel industry.
Marriott International, Inc. now owns over 6,000 properties worldwide, including hotels and resorts with more than one hundred thousand employees working under them. They operate several luxury and premium hotels and resorts in over 131 countries overseas, and manage 80 golf courses.
All the descriptions and achievements mentioned above can be attributed to one man, J. Willard Marriott, who relentlessly invested his energy for six decades to mould Marriot International as one of the world's largest hospitality companies. J. Willard Marriott is an American entrepreneur and businessman, and the founder of the Marriott International group.
万豪国际集团
他就是万豪酒店的创立者J. Willard Marriott（约翰•维拉德•万豪）先生，目前，万豪国际集团发展已然成了全球最大的酒店集团之一。公司目前共拥有31个酒店品牌，在124个国家和地区拥有超过6100家酒店，旗下汇聚了JW万豪、丽思卡尔顿、喜来登、威斯汀、W酒店等多个著名酒店品牌，年营业额超过200亿美元，多次被世界著名商界杂志和媒体评为首选的酒店业内最杰出的公司。
