The soft-drink stand that gave birth to a hotel empire is long gone, but as Michael Rosenwald reveals in his story in this week's issue of the Washington Post Magazine, the Marriotts still cling to the values it represents. The big question: Will the next generation keep that up?

Michael Rosenwald is a reporter for The Post's Business section.

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Michael Rosenwald: Hi everyone. Welcome to the chat about Bill Marriott. I look forward to answering as many questions as we have time for.

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Washington, D.C.: Thanks for an interesting read - the article on the Marriott family was really well done. What was the impetus or motivation behind writing on this topic now? Does it have anything to do with the rise of Mitt Romney as a presidential candidate? I am constantly surprised to hear how well-connected Romney is in the business world, and this is another example.

Michael Rosenwald: This is a perfect place to start. We decided to write this piece about 10 months ago as the company was approaching several milestones -- 50 years in hotels, 80 years as a company -- and as Bill Marriott was about to turn 75. In fact, because of Bill Marriott's place in business both nationally and locally, we weren't the only ones who had this idea. The Washingtonian Magazine had a story about the family and recently Nightline did a piece on Bill Marriott. The timing of our story had nothing to do with Mitt Romney, though that connection is there because of the strong ties between the families.

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McLean, Va: You mention that J.Willard Marriot had two sons, J.Willard Jr.(Bill) and Richard. What happen to Richard?

Michael Rosenwald: Richard is still around. He is the chairman of Host Hotels & Resorts, a company that was a spun off a while ago from Marriott. He also oversees a lot of the family's charity work and, with the rest of the family, owns a major stake in the company. But he has no formal role inside Marriott.

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Houston Tex: Didn't Apollo Investments (AINV) buy out the Marriott residence inns, which offered upscale extended stays in a deal finalized the week before this article.

Michael Rosenwald: This is a good chance to remind people how Marriott makes its money. The company largely manages hotels for developers and real estate investors who own the property. Essentially, the owners give Marriott the keys and then Marriott makes money based on how well the hotel does. With regard to the Apollo Investments deal you mentioned, this deal was with a real estate investment trust that owns some Marriott properties. I hope that clears things up.

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Washington, DC: How down to earth did you find Mr. Marriott to be?

Michael Rosenwald: I found him to be very down to earth. He really has no tolerance for business school lingo. When I was with him, he saw a room he liked and said that it had a lot of zip, a lot of pop. Another time he was reviewing designs for new hotels and he didn't like the color schemes he was being shown. He said, "Where's the beef?"

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Marriott Alum: I am a former Marriott employee and enjoyed your story on the Marriott family. I worked for Marriott at the company headquarters in Bethesda for about 10 years, progressing to a level of director/department head. For the most part working there was a fantastic experience for me and, as mentioned in the article, I very much felt like Marriott employees were well taken care of in the form of compensation, employee perqs and benefits, etc. I ultimately left the company because it became more and more political as I progressed. It got to the point where you weren't judged on how well you performed, but on how well you sold yourself, how well you protected your turf, etc. I felt like I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I focused on those things at the expense of the real work that needed to get done, and it was hurting my career prospects there, so I ultimately left. I oftened wondered what Mr. Marriott would say if he knew the extent to which politics impeded the effeciency and effectiveness of his employees. Do you have any sense of what his response would be if I were to tell him this, given the time you spent with him for our story?

Michael Rosenwald: Thanks for this observation. I'm not exactly sure what he would say, except that he would want to know about it. He maintains an open door policy and I've heard him say several times that when employees contact him directly he looks into each and every complaint. I will say this: There is a lot of concern, particularly from the unions, that as the company gets bigger it is harder and harder for it to maintain its family roots.

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Bethesda, Md: Okay, not an earth shaking question but I always wondered if Marriott takes those little soaps and shampoos home after his stay. And does he hang a do not disturb sign on his bedroom at home at night?

Michael Rosenwald: Good questions, which I neglected to ask.

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Oxford, Miss: Wait. If Bill Marriott doesn't have a pseudo-hot vapid, socialite daughter, why should I care about him?

Michael Rosenwald: Ah, the reference to Paris Hilton of the Hilton Hotels family. Funny story: Some kids once came to Marriott's house on Halloween and asked if he knew Paris Hilton. He said he didn't. They told him he should, because that is his competition.

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Alexandria VA: There was a bit of murmurring from the usual suspects that a family (and Christian) run organization such as Marriott would have pay per view pornography available at its hotels. Did you broach this subject with Mr. Marriott at all?

Michael Rosenwald: We didn't talk about pornography, but we did talk about alcohol. Bill Marriott says that if he pushed his beliefs on his guests he'd probably go out of business. With regard to alcohol, he knows he has to serve it. He tastes just about everything that gets served in his hotels, except the booze. But he could probably tell you, right off the top of his head, how many cases of wine the company goes through a year.

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Ithaca, NY: Mr. Rosenwald -

Thanks for a good article. Can you please let us in a little bit on the journalistic inner workings of putting together your article. Obviously, spending a good amount of "quality time" with the subject of your article is critical for being able to write thoughtfully about him. That said, how do you maintain objectivity when that means tagging along to a private tour of the Louvre and a fancy dinner and then a transatlantic trip on a luxurious private jet? I realize this sounds like a cynical question, and I don't mean it in that way, but the reality is that your experience was different than, say, a series of early morning breakfasts at the Hot Shoppe.

Michael Rosenwald: This is an important question: How does one maintain objectivity while spending a lot of time with a subject? It's actually quite easy, particularly with the Marriotts, who aren't exactly that comfortable with newspaper reporters. There is a very clear distance between reporter and source. Yeah, so I'm walking around the Louvre, but I'm not really looking at the Louvre at all---I am looking at Marriott and his wife and how *they* look at the Louvre. My entire focus is on them. Also, it's pretty clear that when I am with them that I am a reporter. I have my notebook and I am writing things down. And though at the Louvre I wasn't exactly asking him tough questions yet, he did realize that somewhere down the line in our talks those questions were coming.

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Adams Morgan, D.C.: What about the new partnership with Ian Schrager?

Michael Rosenwald: Good question. Marriott has been criticized for not getting into the boutique hotel business sooner. Bill Marriott had always said he wanted to get in, but he was waiting to do it right. He thinks lining up with the godfather of the boutique hotel business is the perfect way. It is important to understand that Marriott is often not first at anything -- rather, the company tries to come in later, then use its sheer size to dominate. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

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Seattle, Wash.: Thanks for doing the story about the Marriotts. AS one who has had jobs over the years that involved a lot of travel, I have to say that I HATE hotels in the Marriott chain, and for one reason: EVERYTHING has a charge. Want a drink of water? Sure. Four bucks. Want to watch a movie. Sure. Twelve bucks. Need toothpaste? You bet! Five bucks. Bagel and creamcheese for breakfast? Fifteen (!) bucks.

Seriously, for $200 a night in some places, they should GIVE you the bottle of water. Yes, other hotel chains do this to some extent, too. But not nearly like the Marriotts.

And some give value for value. And they get my money.

Michael Rosenwald: Just to prove there are differing views on the company, here's a comment from someone who doesn't like the chain...

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Maryland: Speaking as a platinum rewards member, my assessment is that while Marriotts are not necessarily the top rated hotel in any one city, they are always very very good, and they are consistent, which to this business traveler is the most important thing. The people behind the scenes are ALWAYS pleasant and helpful and "we can't" isn't a term within their collective vocabulary.

Michael Rosenwald: And now here's another comment from someone who does like the chain....

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Front Royal VA: In your description of him as a compssionate and caring employer, there seemed to be an undercurrent, unwritten, of a harsh and judgemental father who refuses to give the recognition to his children that his father gave him-- a belief perhaps that he was deserving of a chance where his children are not-- a belief that reinforces his won sense of quality, perhaps. Did you not discern a desire to hold his children down in the company business?

Michael Rosenwald: No, I did not.

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Michael Rosenwald: And that's about all the time we have to answer questions. I apologize if I didn't get to any. Thanks very much for a fun chat!!!

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