Marriott international was recently listed in the Forbes 2017 World most Innovative Companies since innovation is always a part of its story. Over the years Marriot has come up with many ideas to help it always stand out in the market while still meeting the changing needs of its customers. Marriott has different resources that make it stand out among other hospitality companies which include:
Information Technology systems: Marriott has an automated reservation system known as the Marriott Automated Reservation Systems for Hotel Accommodation commonly known as Marsha which they have upgraded over the years to be able to handle the different kind of customers and the increased demand of internet (Cozic, 1998) . This has helped Marriott in its connection to partners from their booking companies to hotels to rental car companies and banks. The Marsha and its upgraded system have helped Marriot in cost-cutting hence increased revenue (Cozic, 1998) . The daily innovativeness in technology in Marriott is one hard thing to match up with by other companies in the same line of business who take long to advance their technology primarily because of financial constraints.
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Human Resource: Marriot has well-trained employees who are well skilled in all dimensions (Human Resource Management, 2010) . The employees are business oriented and not the only career oriented, employees in IT don't the only talk of IT terms but about the Marriott business. Marriot also has a high number of employees around an estimate of 177,000 which it gives opportunities to succeed and grow through promoting their culture which has earned it recognition and many awards (Human Resource Management, 2010) . In most companies an employee only gets to know what is happening in that specific department they are situated and not all-rounded giving Marriott an advantage over its competitors.
Corporate Culture: Marriot has issued a copy of a document named Information Resources Operating Values to each of the IT employees to help them in decision making. There is also a management book titled The Spirit to Serve that is issued to the new hires to read that contains everything about the business including everything involved in running it. Despite that following the documented rules may seem to prevent innovation, combined with the effort and resources that Marriott puts in creativity helps it focus on resourcefulness. This kind of a resource is difficult to imitate by competitors as it is one of its kind, rare to find such a culture where employees are given books to read.
Finances and Assets: Marriot International in 2017 reported having earned U.S$1.372 billion with annual revenue of US$22.894 billion which showed a 34.1% increase over the past years. It also had an estimated US$23.948 billion worth of assets in the same year (Rosen, 1986) . With the amount of revenue made and the high number of assets, the company can keep afloat.
Brands: Marriott is a global brand of luxurious hotels and resorts that offer unparalleled amenities and services. It has around 30 brands in 120 countries with each of the hotels offering a unique experience that is local to its neighbors (Rosen, 1986) . Marriott has been able to understand the needs of its customers and potential customers as per their location which is a competitive advantage.
Customer Base: As an internal player in the hotel industry, Marriott International enjoys a vast customer base. Marriott International has a portfolio of 29 brands that brings together 6,700 hotels around the globe ( Rosenthal, 2018). Marriott International (2017) has 1.3 million hotel rooms that serve its customers around the world. According to Luxury Travel Advisor (2018) website, Marriott have loyalty programs that serve around 100 million customers around the world. The large customer base will help the company to expand its products, as the company seeks to meet the ever-increasing demand for hotels.
In summary, Marriott International has a competitive advantage over other companies in the hospitality industry as a result of its finances and assets, brands, corporate culture, employees and advancing technology which have proven to be valuable and difficult to imitate from their uniqueness.
References
Cozic, C. (1998). Global resources . San Diego, Calif.: Greenhaven, Press.
Human Resource Management, S. (2010). Corporate India and HR Management . Alexandria: Society for Human Resource Management.
Luxury Travel Advisor. (2018, July 26). Marriott Will Combine its Three Loyalty Programs August 18. Retrieved November 21, 2018, from https://www.luxurytraveladvisor.com/running-your-business/marriott-will-combine-its-three-loyalty-programs-august-18
Marriott International. (2017). Marriott International, Inc. 2017 Annual Report. Retrieved November 21, 2018, from https://marriott.gcs-web.com/static-files/b82978a6-9d28-4e38-9855-fc4ae2cebe11
Rosen, R. (1986). Healthy companies . New York: American Management Association.
Rosenthal, V. (2018, August 21). Marriott International unifies loyalty programs. Retrieved November 21, 2018, from https://www.hotelmanagement.net/guest-relations/marriott-international-unifies-loyalty-programs
