jerseyfinn
TUG Member
We have the good fortune of meeting Mr. Marriott when he makes a brief tour of Ocean Pointe yeserday. He is in the area on Marriott business, presumably discussing future acquisitions/construction involving new hotels and timeshare in the area.
It's a very interesting process to watch as a phone call is received that he is on his way @ 5PM. In the main lobby, housekeepers work frantically to clean the windows on the doors one last time and associates begin to make their way towards the reception building like bees returning to the hive. Resort associates gather outside in front of the reception building while a photographer paces around waiting to snap photos. The sun is setting but still shines brightly and this illuminates the brightly colored shirts of the resort employees, making for a luminescent greeting. It's a perfect time for a visit.
The minutes pass, but finally he arrives in a black rental Cadillac accompanied by a solitary assistant. The usual handshake routine ensues and Mr. Marriott proceeds to say hello to the staff and he poses in front several groups of associates, most of whom are smiling broadly.
Mr. Marriott is himself soft spoken and of small stature. The entire scene is reminiscient of something out of the old UK sitcom Are You Being Served where Mr. Marriott represents the benevolent character Mr. Grace ( but there is no Mrs. Slocum with a green wig to greet him ). Mind you, I'm not suggesting that Mr. Marriott is feeble. Rather I'm taken in by the theater of it all as a powerful, intelligent, & wealthy entrepeneur visits one of his 2000 plus properties.
He and Cheryl Moore, OP GM walk through the reception lobby on a brief tour of the property. One possibile topic of conversation is the on-going rehabilitation of the resort which takes it on the nose with Hurricane Wilma last October. In any case, Mr. Marriott walks around for about 15 minutes before returning to the reception building. He remains low key through out and does not approach the guests, most of whom don't even realize who he is.
I try to encourage my son to walk over and introduce himself to Mr. Marriott, but he is too intimidated. "Come on," I tell him, " here's your one chance to actually shake hands with a multi-millionaire businessman who we happen do business with." Our son won't budge.
My wife and I do walk over to Mr. Marriott where we identify ourselves as very satisfied owners of 7 weeks of Marriott TS and folks who stay at his hotels. I thank him for the handshake ( kind of a loose grip ) and thank him for the privilige to meet the man behind a fantastic travel product. He softly responds, " no, the privilige is mine, you're the owner." His assistant makes a quip about the Pittsburgh Steelers hat I'm wearing, telling me that I'd be OK if I was wearing a Redskins cap.
A few other owners speak to Mr. Marriott, but he is very quickly on his way into the sales building and some minutes later, he is whisked away to his next meeting.
In those brief minutes that one gets to observe the man, it's quite apparant that Mr. Marriott commands the respect and loyalty of his employees. His soft spoken demeanor and low key style of travel demonstrates that he remains well grounded after decades of running with the big boys of business and finance. It finally sinks in to me that he builds a travel empire that we, as timeshare owners, are a part of it -- and Mr. Marriott hasn't forgotten that.
I guess that we are in the right place at the right time. Just goes to show that you never know what might happen during a TS visit.
Barry
It's a very interesting process to watch as a phone call is received that he is on his way @ 5PM. In the main lobby, housekeepers work frantically to clean the windows on the doors one last time and associates begin to make their way towards the reception building like bees returning to the hive. Resort associates gather outside in front of the reception building while a photographer paces around waiting to snap photos. The sun is setting but still shines brightly and this illuminates the brightly colored shirts of the resort employees, making for a luminescent greeting. It's a perfect time for a visit.
The minutes pass, but finally he arrives in a black rental Cadillac accompanied by a solitary assistant. The usual handshake routine ensues and Mr. Marriott proceeds to say hello to the staff and he poses in front several groups of associates, most of whom are smiling broadly.
Mr. Marriott is himself soft spoken and of small stature. The entire scene is reminiscient of something out of the old UK sitcom Are You Being Served where Mr. Marriott represents the benevolent character Mr. Grace ( but there is no Mrs. Slocum with a green wig to greet him ). Mind you, I'm not suggesting that Mr. Marriott is feeble. Rather I'm taken in by the theater of it all as a powerful, intelligent, & wealthy entrepeneur visits one of his 2000 plus properties.
He and Cheryl Moore, OP GM walk through the reception lobby on a brief tour of the property. One possibile topic of conversation is the on-going rehabilitation of the resort which takes it on the nose with Hurricane Wilma last October. In any case, Mr. Marriott walks around for about 15 minutes before returning to the reception building. He remains low key through out and does not approach the guests, most of whom don't even realize who he is.
I try to encourage my son to walk over and introduce himself to Mr. Marriott, but he is too intimidated. "Come on," I tell him, " here's your one chance to actually shake hands with a multi-millionaire businessman who we happen do business with." Our son won't budge.
My wife and I do walk over to Mr. Marriott where we identify ourselves as very satisfied owners of 7 weeks of Marriott TS and folks who stay at his hotels. I thank him for the handshake ( kind of a loose grip ) and thank him for the privilige to meet the man behind a fantastic travel product. He softly responds, " no, the privilige is mine, you're the owner." His assistant makes a quip about the Pittsburgh Steelers hat I'm wearing, telling me that I'd be OK if I was wearing a Redskins cap.
A few other owners speak to Mr. Marriott, but he is very quickly on his way into the sales building and some minutes later, he is whisked away to his next meeting.
In those brief minutes that one gets to observe the man, it's quite apparant that Mr. Marriott commands the respect and loyalty of his employees. His soft spoken demeanor and low key style of travel demonstrates that he remains well grounded after decades of running with the big boys of business and finance. It finally sinks in to me that he builds a travel empire that we, as timeshare owners, are a part of it -- and Mr. Marriott hasn't forgotten that.
I guess that we are in the right place at the right time. Just goes to show that you never know what might happen during a TS visit.
Barry
