苏安励 “万豪”不只是传奇
撰文/冯倩雯 Written by Samantha
人物档案/ Profile苏安励
万豪国际集团总裁兼首席执行官
Arne Sorenson
President & CEO at Marriott International
“酒店业无疑是一个多元化产业，我们需要准备好迎接新一代的旅行者。”
“Hospitality is by definition a diverse industry, we need to be prepared to welcome this next generation of travellers.”
——苏安励/ Arne Sorenson
从大萧条时期路边兜售根啤汽水的小店，到上世纪50年代转型开设的第一家酒店，再到凭借轻资产和并购战略、一跃成为全球公认最大的酒店业巨头……万豪，见证了时代的改变，也在改变着这个时代。而这个酒店帝国的统治者，比尔·马里奥特用他非凡的毅力成就了家族的盛名，却选择在鼎盛时期退居幕后，将毕生打造的“权杖”传给非家族成员的接班人——苏安励，继而陪伴万豪历尽世界。按照苏安励的说法，万豪与马里奥特同为传奇，但他们绝非只是传奇。
全球最大的酒店集团诞生
2016年9月23日，喜达屋酒店及度假村正式加入万豪国际集团，持续一年多的“联姻”风云终于尘埃落定。至此，万豪旗下汇聚30个领先酒店品牌，成为全球最大的酒店集团。而随着并购的完成，万豪在亚洲、中东及非洲地区的市场规模持续扩大。据统计，其已在全球约122个国家和地区，拥有6000多家酒店物业，2016财年录得收入逾170亿美元。
关于并购，此前参与并努力推进此事的万豪国际集团总裁兼首席执行官——苏安励，发表了他的看法。他认为，这是具有“革命意义”的一步，但并不意味着到此结束。他们依然在倾听，倾听员工和客人们的声音。因为合并意味着将整合更多的人——他们来自原来两家优秀的酒店管理公司，或是共事多年的员工、或是忠于原有品牌的客人、或是共同进退的合作伙伴，他们的声音正是推动万豪不断改进的动力。苏安励希望，能够在这些人的推动下，成为不只是“全球最大”，而且是“全球最好”的酒店集团。
万豪也由此拥有了品类最全的酒店品牌组合。其中，丽思卡尔顿酒店、瑞吉酒店、宝格丽酒店及度假村、JW万豪、豪华精选、W酒店和艾迪逊酒店开启了奢华旅行的新纪元。威斯汀、万丽酒店及傲途格精选酒店等生活时尚品牌则为该品类增添全新活力。“以前我们都在想方设法提高客人对某类品牌的忠诚度，但如今消费者实际想要更多的选择。当一个公司可以给他们提供世界各地多种品牌的选择时，他们的忠诚度也会随之提高，”苏安励称，“而这次，强有力地促进了品牌多样化扩展的目标。”
为何最终成功的会是万豪？因为——万豪。这个答案也许听起来有些别扭，但在苏安励看来，万豪自身被赋予了丰富的涵义，它是马里奥特家族用近一个世纪的心血凝结而成，秘诀也自在其中。转述比尔·马里奥特的话，万豪（MARRIOTT）的名称中，M就是More，要为员工创造更多机会、让顾客更加满意、为业主提供更高的回报；A就是Ask，要善于发问、勤于学习；R为Respect，要心怀敬意，尊重他人；另一个R则为Recognition，要给予团队充分认可；I是Innovation，它位于中间位置，也是万豪的核心，它代表着创新品牌、设计、技术乃至人才；O意味着Opportunity，不仅要抓住机会，而且要创造机会；最后的两个T，一为Time，不要虚度光阴，二为Tenacity，要坚持到底，“成功永无止境”。
首位非马里奥特姓氏接班人
苏安励于1996年加入万豪，曾担任执行副总裁、财务总监兼欧洲大陆住宿事业部总裁和首席运营官等多个角色，2011年当选为万豪董事会成员，并于次年成为公司历史上第三位首席执行官，也是首位非马里奥特家族成员的首席执行官。
这位年近六十却魅力依然的接班人十分低调，或许加之被马里奥特的光芒所掩盖，因此关于他的公开介绍相当简略。直到并购一事沸沸扬扬，我们才真正重新注意到这位兢兢业业的功臣绅士。但我们又不禁诧异，为何继承“王位”的会是他？根据现任董事主席比尔·马里奥特的分析，他的家族继承人也就是他的四个孩子当中，大女儿常年相夫教子，不涉商务；长子身患重疾；小儿子年纪尚轻，仍在学习阶段；而二儿子约翰是天生的创业者、实践经验丰富，但并不具备经营今日之规模的万豪所需特质，也不喜欢被束缚在乏味的办公室里。经过综合考量，马里奥特决定唯才是举，在耄耋之年将首席运营官的职位交由苏安励担任。“他对人非常有耐心，总能思虑周全，是很好的倾听者，并将这些品质与自身坚定有力的领导风格结合到一起，”马里奥特如此评价。
马里奥特与他的初次认识是在1993年，当时苏安励担任万豪的代表律师，其聪慧过人，说话深入浅出、极富条理，让马里奥特印象深刻。三年后苏安励初任万豪并购团队的负责人，随后在各岗位上均表现出色，并得到了一线员工的尊敬与爱戴：“在那些年里，他做过最重要的事就是提升人际交往能力，而万豪的企业文化正专注于人，这也是万豪的立基之本。”翻看苏安励的博客，我们可以知道他曾就读路德学院，父亲是一名传教士。路德学院强调信仰、领导和服务，以创造更大的世界，这对他影响很深。而他刚去世的母亲倾尽半生教书育人，教会他无畏与乐观。所以我们也不奇怪，他具备经营万豪的珍贵品质。
在他写给新任美国总统的信中，除了提出对旅游业发展的建议，他也提到：“投票中尽管有支持者与反对者，但在之后的日子中，请都要带领他们一同前行，因为‘领导’是一门关乎‘聆听’进而让人信服的学问。”领袖风范可见一斑。
创新与扩张，永不止步
为何“万豪”不只是传奇？因为在万豪人的字典中还有一组词，叫“拥抱创新”。在这个多变的互联网时代，酒店业面临着来自OTA、共享经济还有多变的客户需求等各方面的冲击，尤其在并购之后，万豪更需要审视形势，稳中求进，葆有王者姿势。
众所周知，利用新技术和提高客户体验是当前酒店业的关键。万豪最近推出一个名为“TestBED”的孵化计划，试图挖掘有价值的技术初创公司。据苏安励称，万豪在欧洲两家酒店分别进行了两个试验项目：一个是利用室内声控传感，另一个是基于网络和定位的移动平台。他本人比较喜欢的一个是万豪位于北卡罗莱的项目，他们对食品饮料、客房设计、会议会务等都设计了反馈机制，可实时抓取客人的反馈，第一时间采取相应措施。“我们在品牌层面也抱有同样的心态，例如在Element这个品牌上，我们尝试新的客房设计——我们在客房中间设置了一个公共空间，让旅客可以体验共用的厨房、餐厅和休息区。很多大学生派对和社团活动都可以在这里举行，也刚好满足了共享空间的理念，”他补充道。
预计2017年，万豪酒店集团将达到每15小时开设一家新酒店的目标。“现在的规模让我们可以给客户提供更多回馈、提高更多来自直接预订的收益，并拥有更多的就业机会来吸引人才，因此也就有了更多与OTA谈判的筹码，”苏安励说道。他希望喜达屋旗下品牌的扩张速度能与收购前保持一致，同时他十分看好其新兴酒店品牌“雅乐轩（Aloft）”，认为这些新品牌的扩张速度将会比收购前要快很多。
苏安励认为，尽管受欧洲和美国局势发展的影响，近期会面临少许问题，但总体来说旅游依然是人们可支配收入里面占比最高的，2017年将会是万豪国际集团稳健发展的一年。“在万豪，我们依旧会关注如何秉承好客之道，为客人们提供难忘体验，同时提供更安全、更智慧、更便捷的环游世界的方式。旅游业曾经受过考验，是具有弹性的。我们曾经面临过最坏的时代，但我们也还是恢复过来了，这个行业是可以经受住考验的。”他的话如同展翅的雄鹰，斗破苍穹。也让我们明白了，为何万豪的血统里，传奇不止，辉煌不息。
为何“万豪”不只是传奇？因为在万豪人的字典中还有一组词，叫“拥抱创新”。在这个多变的互联网时代，酒店业面临着来自OTA、共享经济还有多变的客户需求等各方面的冲击，尤其在并购之后，万豪更需要审视形势，稳中求进，葆有王者姿势。
众所周知，利用新技术和提高客户体验是当前酒店业的关键。万豪最近推出一个名为“TestBED”的孵化计划，试图挖掘有价值的技术初创公司。据苏安励称，万豪在欧洲两家酒店分别进行了两个试验项目：一个是利用室内声控传感，另一个是基于网络和定位的移动平台。他本人比较喜欢的一个是万豪位于北卡罗莱的项目，他们对食品饮料、客房设计、会议会务等都设计了反馈机制，可实时抓取客人的反馈，第一时间采取相应措施。“我们在品牌层面也抱有同样的心态，例如在Element这个品牌上，我们尝试新的客房设计——我们在客房中间设置了一个公共空间，让旅客可以体验共用的厨房、餐厅和休息区。很多大学生派对和社团活动都可以在这里举行，也刚好满足了共享空间的理念，”他补充道。
预计2017年，万豪酒店集团将达到每15小时开设一家新酒店的目标。“现在的规模让我们可以给客户提供更多回馈、提高更多来自直接预订的收益，并拥有更多的就业机会来吸引人才，因此也就有了更多与OTA谈判的筹码，”苏安励说道。他希望喜达屋旗下品牌的扩张速度能与收购前保持一致，同时他十分看好其新兴酒店品牌“雅乐轩（Aloft）”，认为这些新品牌的扩张速度将会比收购前要快很多。
苏安励认为，尽管受欧洲和美国局势发展的影响，近期会面临少许问题，但总体来说旅游依然是人们可支配收入里面占比最高的，2017年将会是万豪国际集团稳健发展的一年。“在万豪，我们依旧会关注如何秉承好客之道，为客人们提供难忘体验，同时提供更安全、更智慧、更便捷的环游世界的方式。旅游业曾经受过考验，是具有弹性的。我们曾经面临过最坏的时代，但我们也还是恢复过来了，这个行业是可以经受住考验的。”他的话如同展翅的雄鹰，斗破苍穹。也让我们明白了，为何万豪的血统里，传奇不止，辉煌不息。
0s, then becoming the acknowledged world’s biggest hotel giant by asset-light & acquisition strategies…Marriott, has seen the times change and is also changing the times. Bill Marriott, contributed all his life to make Marriott – his family business renowned without reservation, while pass it to a non-family executive – Arne Sorenson, choosing another way to see Marriott develop. As what Sorenson said, “Marriott” is a legend, but not just a legend.
The Biggest Hotel Group of the World
On September 23rd, 2016, Starwood formally joined Marriott International. After that, Marriott becomes the world’s largest hotel group with 30 brands, more than 6,000 properties in 122 countries and territories, reporting revenues of $17 billion in fiscal year 2016.
Sorenson considers it’s a big step but is not over. “We’re still listening. Merging these two great companies means bringing together the people inside them and the people served by them. That adds up to many people, many voices and many opinions. We want to keep hearing them all because they help us become not just the largest, but the best hotel company in the word.”
Hence Marriott has the most comprehensive hotel brands series, including the luxury brands such as The Ritz-Carlton, W Hotel and the life-style brands such as Westin and Renaissance. “In the past, many thought the way to attract consumer loyalty was to concentrate on a small collection of brands. But consumers actually want more options. When one company can give them a comprehensive portfolio of brands all over the world, that will create loyalty,” he said, “And in an impactful way, this merger accelerated the goal of expanding our portfolio.”
Why the winner is Marriott? It’s because of “Marriott”. It seems ridiculous but in Sorenson’s eyes, it’s a truth. Accordingly, the key to success lies on the name of Marriott itself: M is for More, that means to create more opportunities for staff, make consumers more satisfactory and bring more revenues to owners; A is for Ask – never stop learning; the first R means Respect; and the second means Recognition giving to your team. I is in the midst of the letter thus is also the core of Marriott; O means Opportunity and double T is respectively for Time and Tenacity.
The CEO without Marriott Surname
Sorenson joined Marriott in 1996. Prior to that, he served as Marriott’s President and Chief Operating Officer. He has held a number of positions, including Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and President of Continental European Lodging. He was elected to Marriott’s Board of Directors in 2011 and next year, became the third CEO in the company’s history – and the first without the Marriott surname.
Now Sorenson is almost 60 while keeps passionate. He is humble that it’s hard to find any bilingual biography of him. Not until the Merger did he catch our eyes. But we still wonder how he finally became the leader of Marriott. According to Bill Marriott, he has four children but no one seems mature or suitable enough for the CEO position, “After a long and thoughtful observation, I find Sorenson is the right person. He is patient and considerable, and combines all these into his powerful leadership,” he said.
They first met in 1993 when Sorenson was a representative lawyer of Marriott. He was so smart and convincing that left great impression on Mr. Marriott. Three years later he was in charge of the acquisition team. He behaved well and got respect from many front-line staff. Reviewing Sorenson’s blog, we know he is a graduate of Luther College which stresses belief, leadership and serving people, to hold a bigger world. This impresses him a lot. His parents had also impacts him and his mother set an example for him of fearless optimism.
In his letter to President-elect Trump, he said: “Leadership is about listening and then convincing.” Exactly that’s what we see from Sorenson, and that’s why he is capable for Marriott’s leader.
Marriott’s Success Is Never Final
If you look at the history of Marriott, it’s clear that they’ve always – literally from the very start – embraced innovation.
Marriott recently launched an incubator program called TestBED to find and accelerate tech start-ups. One is an in-room voice activated personal assistant that uses a combination of artificial intelligence and human ingenuity. The other is a location-based mobile platform that enables professionals to connect and network. “We are applying the same mindset at the brand level as well. For instance, our Element brand is piloting a new guestroom design with a communal room in the center of four guest rooms, providing more collaborative space for groups who would like to spend time together in a more private setting,” he added.
It is estimated that this year, Marriott International will reach the goal of opening a new hotel in every 15 hours. “Our scale now allows us to offer more rewards to customers, more benefits for booking direct, more opportunities to attract the best talent and better negotiating leverage for contracts with OTAs,” said Sorenson. He hopes Starwood’s brands keep the expanding pace as before, and he is also confident about the young brand – Aloft.
He thinks, though influenced by the situations in Europe and America, Marriott will keep stably growing since travel is still among the top things people with disposable income want to do. “At Marriott, we will continue to focus on welcoming our guests and providing unforgettable experiences while also supporting safer, smarter, more accessible travel around the world. The travel industry has been tested before; it is resilient. We’ve faced bad times in the past and we’ve recovered.
The industry is up for the test.” Sorenson’s powerful words tell us why Marriott is not just a legend, and why its success is never final.
Why the winner is Marriott? It’s because of “Marriott”. It seems ridiculous but in Sorenson’s eyes, it’s a truth. Accordingly, the key to success lies on the name of Marriott itself: M is for More, that means to create more opportunities for staff, make consumers more satisfactory and bring more revenues to owners; A is for Ask – never stop learning; the first R means Respect; and the second means Recognition giving to your team. I is in the midst of the letter thus is also the core of Marriott; O means Opportunity and double T is respectively for Time and Tenacity.
The CEO without Marriott Surname
Sorenson joined Marriott in 1996. Prior to that, he served as Marriott’s President and Chief Operating Officer. He has held a number of positions, including Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and President of Continental European Lodging. He was elected to Marriott’s Board of Directors in 2011 and next year, became the third CEO in the company’s history – and the first without the Marriott surname.
Now Sorenson is almost 60 while keeps passionate. He is humble that it’s hard to find any bilingual biography of him. Not until the Merger did he catch our eyes. But we still wonder how he finally became the leader of Marriott. According to Bill Marriott, he has four children but no one seems mature or suitable enough for the CEO position, “After a long and thoughtful observation, I find Sorenson is the right person. He is patient and considerable, and combines all these into his powerful leadership,” he said.
They first met in 1993 when Sorenson was a representative lawyer of Marriott. He was so smart and convincing that left great impression on Mr. Marriott. Three years later he was in charge of the acquisition team. He behaved well and got respect from many front-line staff. Reviewing Sorenson’s blog, we know he is a graduate of Luther College which stresses belief, leadership and serving people, to hold a bigger world. This impresses him a lot. His parents had also impacts him and his mother set an example for him of fearless optimism.
In his letter to President-elect Trump, he said: “Leadership is about listening and then convincing.” Exactly that’s what we see from Sorenson, and that’s why he is capable for Marriott’s leader.
Marriott’s Success Is Never Final
If you look at the history of Marriott, it’s clear that they’ve always – literally from the very start – embraced innovation.
Marriott recently launched an incubator program called TestBED to find and accelerate tech start-ups. One is an in-room voice activated personal assistant that uses a combination of artificial intelligence and human ingenuity. The other is a location-based mobile platform that enables professionals to connect and network. “We are applying the same mindset at the brand level as well. For instance, our Element brand is piloting a new guestroom design with a communal room in the center of four guest rooms, providing more collaborative space for groups who would like to spend time together in a more private setting,” he added.
It is estimated that this year, Marriott International will reach the goal of opening a new hotel in every 15 hours. “Our scale now allows us to offer more rewards to customers, more benefits for booking direct, more opportunities to attract the best talent and better negotiating leverage for contracts with OTAs,” said Sorenson. He hopes Starwood’s brands keep the expanding pace as before, and he is also confident about the young brand – Aloft.
He thinks, though influenced by the situations in Europe and America, Marriott will keep stably growing since travel is still among the top things people with disposable income want to do. “At Marriott, we will continue to focus on welcoming our guests and providing unforgettable experiences while also supporting safer, smarter, more accessible travel around the world. The travel industry has been tested before; it is resilient. We’ve faced bad times in the past and we’ve recovered.
The industry is up for the test.” Sorenson’s powerful words tell us why Marriott is not just a legend, and why its success is never final.
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