Marriott Helps Make It Happen for Women-Owned Businesses and Celebrates International Women's Day

BETHESDA, Md., March 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- On the eve of International Women's Day, Marriott International (NASDAQ: MAR) is proud to once again be named one of the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) Top Corporations for Women's Business Enterprises.  The annual list recognizes companies with an excellent track record for providing opportunities for women-owned businesses to compete for and secure corporate contracts.

Women-owned businesses make up Marriott's largest spend with diverse groups, accounting for 50 percent of the company's total diverse spend.  In 2014, Marriott spent $223 million with over 4,000 women-owned businesses globally.

"We are honored to once again be named as a Top Corporation by WBENC," said Dominica Groom, director, global supplier diversity at Marriott International. "2014 was an outstanding year for Marriott engaging with women-owned businesses.  In addition to the increase in spend globally, we more than doubled our engagement and outreach efforts for women business owners over the prior year."

In 2013, Marriott joined more than a dozen global corporations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in a five-year Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) commitment to expand its spend and engagement with women-owned businesses outside the United States, particularly in emerging economies. Working closely with WEConnect International and Vital Voices, two prominent NGOs that support and promote the economic potential of women, Marriott has spent more than $20 million to date with women-owned businesses outside the United States, and trained more than 150 women business owners.

In the two years since joining the CGI commitment, the company has created new business relationships with a number of women-owned businesses globally, including:

• In the Americas, the latest addition to the Marriott Hotels portfolio, the Marriott Port-au-Prince in Haiti, has contracted with a woman-owned business Ayiti Natives, Co which will now supply retail amenities for the hotel.
• In Asia, Marriott spent over $1 million with women-owned suppliers in 2014. More than twenty hotels in China now source beef from Yanbian Livestock in Jilin Province, China, a women-owned business with whom the company has been working with for four years.  
• In Europe, Marriott identified a partnership with Simpsons Tea. Through mentorship from the Marriott team, Simpsons Tea launched an innovative new tea line, which was then presented to buyers at a Marriott-sponsored event, resulting in opportunities with hotels across the region.
• The acquisition of Protea Hotels has also provided an opportunity to start engaging in discussions with women-owned business in Africa.

In 2015, Marriott's continued and increased emphasis will be placed around supplier diversity, with a collective goal to increase spend with existing diverse suppliers, including women-owned businesses.  Marriott will look to engage and contract prospective suppliers through various means, including hosting Marriott-specific events to provide a direct connection with Marriott buyers.

The company's partnerships with NGOs and CGI commitment members such as WEConnect and Vital Voices are critical to its efforts to support women-owned businesses. In January 2015, JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts debuted the "JW Voices for Women" program, a collaboration with Vital Voices that pairs JW Marriott's female leaders with local women-owned businesses in order to build a mentor/mentee relationship. The launch event, held at the JW Marriott Mexico City, brought together more than 100 women for discussions on career development, and the importance of investing in women.

In addition to developing relationships with female business owners, in 2014 Marriott also held its first Women Ownership Works (WOW) Summit designed to encourage women hotel ownership. The one day event was held in New York City and connected current female hotel owners with prospective owners who were considering hotel development as an investment opportunity. Marriott plans to have 20 percent of its existing global portfolio owned by diverse owners, including women, by 2020.

Marriott is consistently honored for being a top company for diversity and inclusion. It has been recently honored by the National Association for Female Executives as one of the top corporations for employing executive women, as well as recognized by Great Places to Work Institute® for being one of the 2014 World's Best Multinational Workplaces and "2014 Working Mother 100 Best Companies" for the 23rd year. In 2014, Marriott was named Corporation of the Year by the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. The company has also been listed as the #1 company for supplier diversity by DiversityInc, and has been honored by Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility, Black Enterprise, DiversityInc and Latina STYLE for diversity & inclusion efforts in workforce, board membership and supplier diversity.

ABOUT MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL – SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Marriott International is committed to responsible global business operations inside and beyond its hotels. For more information about our commitment to supplier diversity visit http://www.marriott.com/corporate-social-responsibility/corporate-responsibility.mi

ABOUT MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is a leading global lodging company based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, with more than 4,100 properties in 79 countries and territories and reported revenues of nearly $14 billion in fiscal year 2014. The company operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts under 18 brands, including: Marriott Hotels, The Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, Bulgari, EDITION, Renaissance, Gaylord Hotels, Autograph Collection, AC Hotels by Marriott, Moxy Hotels, Courtyard, Fairfield Inn & Suites, SpringHill Suites, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, Protea Hotels, Marriott Executive Apartments and Marriott Vacation Club. Marriott has more than 361,000 people working worldwide at managed or franchised properties and corporate offices. Marriott has been consistently recognized as a top employer and for its superior business ethics. The company also manages the award-winning guest loyalty program, Marriott Rewards® and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® program, which together surpass 49 million members. For more information or reservations, please visit our website at www.marriott.com, and for the latest company news, visit www.marriottnewscenter.com.

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SOURCE Marriott International, Inc.

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