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Marriott International is presently one of the largest hotel business chains in the world. Bill Marriott, the founder of this hotel chain, has a net worth of about $2.8 billion. However, back in the 1930s and 40s, Bill Marriott was only the son of a farmer. Bill had a lot of responsibilities as a child. It made his life hard but also made him strong and self-sufficient.
Today, Marriott International Inc. is one of the most preferred hospitality companies by customers all over the world. Bill Marriott is currently 88 years old, and his son Bill Jr. is currently the chairman of this business enterprise. The group has ownership of over 6500 estates in different parts of the world.
Here is the tale of how a 13-year old kid built a billion-dollar empire.
The Early Life Of Bill Marriott
Bill Marriot was born in 1932 to a family of farmers based in Washington D.C. From a young age, his father had been hard on him, pushing work for extended hours on the farm. Bill recalled how his father asked him to complete a task without explaining the method. Bill took on an optimistic attitude and turned this into a blessing in disguise. He used it to boost his self-confidence every time he completed a task all by himself.
When he was only 13 years old, he wanted to have an independent business. He found some acres of unused land and started growing lettuce. This small business was yielding good revenue, but he had to give it up when his father decided to send him to San Francisco abruptly to sell 3000 sheep that he had to take by train.
The Interrupted College Life
When Bill returned from San Francisco, he found that his father had lost all money. Consequently, Bill Marriott had to shoulder so many responsibilities that he could not pursue his education and had to drop out of high school, as he had no means to pay his tuition fees. So he requested his teacher to let him teach theology in college. His teacher trusted him and took a chance.
When Bill graduated from college and moved to a University, he started selling woolen underwear to lumberjacks. He used several innovative tricks to expand this business, and soon he started making handsome profits out of it. But this was not his life's plan. He was fascinated with the cold root beer selling business ever since he was a child.
Entering The Beer Business
When he met his partner, Alice Sheets, he took her on a date to an A&W root beer stand. He wanted to share with her his vision for the future. After this, he wasted no more time and pursued the owner of A&W, Roy Allen. He traveled to Sacramento on the train to get to Allen and discuss his business venture with him.
Bill knew that he could make most of the sales of cold root beers during the summers. He had learned his lesson from the kind of crowd he witnessed in A&W beer stands. But this also meant that his sales would grow during winters. Bill knew he needed something better to keep gouging. He got married to Alice Sheets, and together, they pooled their savings to open something new. They also collaborated with a friend in their new business endeavor.
The Urge To Go On
Bill Marriott's life was filled with obstacles, but he remained determined to scuttle through everything. The failure of the beer stands during winters made him give birth to Hot Shoppe, where he and Alice toiled day in and day out to make a living. This business expanded as they started opening more branches in different localities.
But at this point, Bill was struck with the horror of his life. He was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer called Hodgkin's Disease. The doctors told him that he had about a year to live and should rest more to survive longer. Bill and Alice packed for a vacation and went to the Eastern seaboard with their newborn son, Bill Jr. The family weathered a problematic phase in their lives and sought moral support from religion and the church.
What happened next was miraculous. Bill Marriott suddenly started feeling better, and when he was diagnosed again, the doctors found out that he was completely cured of this deadly disease. Bill knew that he had to make something out of his fated resurrection. He got back to work and started expanding their business all over again.
Braving More Obstacles On The Path To Success
Bill Marriott started delivering pre-boxed meals to the nearest airport to be delivered to the passengers on flights. This was when Marriott chose the motto of diversification. But there was yet another hurdle in his way. This time he was faced with his biggest competitor, McDonald's. McDonald's sold burgers at a much lower price and prepared them at a faster rate.
Bill knew that the only solution to this problem was gouging the public with his business. On the day of his company's IPO, it took hardly 2 hours to sell out all the shares. It was a day of enormous success for Bill Marriott. After this, Bill started building his chain of motels. Now he had his wife Alice and his teenage son, Bill Jr., by his side.
Together the Marriotts built a billion-dollar empire that nobody could have imagined back in the day. Bill Jr proved to be as worthy as his father, and soon he was made the president and CEO of this billion-dollar empire. One of their latest moves was owning Starwood Hotels & Resorts in 2016, which turned Marriott International into one of the largest hospitality chains worldwide. Today, Bill's vision stands as a true piece of Americana and a testament to never giving up.
Source: Hook, Grey Feature, Marriott.com, Marriott International