00:00Marriott stopped owning its hotels entirely and became one of the biggest hotel company on earth.
00:051957, J. Willard Marriott opens his first hotel, Washington, D.C. Twin Bridges Motor Hotel.
00:12365 rooms. He owns it, manages it, controls everything. The model works, he expands.
00:18Buying, building, owning. By 1980s, Marriott owns hundreds of hotels.
00:23But there's a massive problem. Real estate costs billions, tying up capital, limiting growth.
00:28Debt is crushing. The company's stuck, can't expand fast enough. Competitors are passing them, all growing faster.
00:34Then, 1993, CEO Bill Marriott has a radical idea.
00:39What if we stop owning hotels? Completely. His board is shocked.
00:43That's our business. We're a hotel company. How do we make money? Bill explains.
00:47We franchise the brand. Property owners build the hotels. We manage them.
00:51Take a percentage. No real estate risk. Infinite scale. It's the ultimate asset light model.
00:56Marriott starts selling. Every property. Hundreds of hotels. Billions in real estate. Gone.
01:02They keep the brand. The management contracts. The loyalty program. That's it.
01:07Property owners pay Marriott. To use the name. To access systems. To get customers.
01:11Marriott collects fees. Without owning anything.
01:142000s. The model explodes. Marriott signs deals. Everywhere.
01:19US, Europe, Asia, Latin America.
01:21Developers build hotels. Marriott manages them. Zero capital required.
01:26Growth becomes exponential.
01:282016. Marriott buys Starwood.
01:30$13 billion. Combines brands.
01:3330 hotel brands.
01:34One company. Ritz-Carlton. W Hotels.
01:38Sheraton. Weston.
01:39St. Regis. All under Marriott.
01:41Today, Marriott has 8,500 properties.
01:44In 139 countries.
01:46They own almost none of it.
01:47Worth $70 billion.
01:48All because Bill sold everything.
01:51The lesson?
01:52Own the brand.
01:52Not the assets.
01:53Control the customer.
01:55That's how you scale infinitely.
01:56Follow for more innovations history.
Comments