The Marriott is the world’s
largest hotel chain. Before it became a living example
of the American dream, it was a failing A&W root beer stand. It all started when a sheepherder
was forced to take on the burden of his father’s bankruptcy. In 1900, Bill Marriott was
born in Marriott, Utah — a town founded by his great-grandfather. His parents were poor sheepherders
who raised Bill and his seven siblings on their tiny farm. When Bill was just eight-years-old,
he started to help his parents raise their flock. The experience quickly taught him to
work hard and take responsibility. “My father gave me the
responsibility of a man. He would tell me what he wanted done,
but never said much about how to do it. It was up to me to find out for myself.” By the time he was 13-years-old,
he felt confident enough to start his own business. He found a few acres of unused
land and planted lettuce. While the business was profitable, he
had to call it quits after just one year. Bill’s father asked him to take 3,000
sheep and travel by rail to San Francisco. There, Bill was tasked with the
responsibility of completing a major sale. From then on, Bill took on so
many responsibilities that he was forced to drop out of high school. Afterwards, he travelled east to
complete a missionary service. On his way back home, he
stopped by Washington. There, he discovered a new popular
hangout spot: root beer stands. Many would wait in lines around the
block for a cold glass of root beer. Bill was inspired by what he saw. But like his first venture,
his plans would have to wait. Pause for a few extra seconds here When he returned home, he discovered
that his father had gone bankrupt. The economic downturn caused
the price of sheep to plummet. The devastating news was
a wake-up call to Bill. He became more eager to build a better
future and further his education. He started by completing the work
needed to graduate high school and asked his seventh-grade teacher for help. Later, his teacher became the
president of Weber State College. Bill was keen on attending
but had no money for tuition. So he asked his teacher if he could
teach theology to cover his tuition. Fortunately, his teacher agreed. Two years later, Bill transferred
to the University of Utah. To cover tuition, he sold
woolen underwear to lumberjacks. While they were expensive, Bill came
up with a genius selling strategy. He would ask two of the
meanest-looking lumberjacks he could find and challenge them. “Each of you take a leg
of this pair of underwear. If you can pull it apart,
I’ll give you a free pair. If you can’t, you have to buy it.” The lumberjacks would have a tug-of-war
but could never tear the underwear apart. It helped Bill make a huge profit and
become the best salesman in the company. While Bill faced many hardships early
in life, it encouraged him to create opportunities for himself and later
turn a failing business into an empire. In Bill’s final year of college, he fell
for another student named Alice Sheets. For their first date, he took
Alice to an A&W root beer stand. He was surprised to discover so
many people line up around the block as he saw in Washington. Not long after, Bill decided
to jump on the opportunity and hopped on a train to Sacramento. There, he tracked down the
owner of A&W: Roy Allen. Bill managed to convince Roy to
give him a license to sell A&W root beer in the Washington area. He knew summers were considered
hot and miserable and that the product would be in-demand. After returning to Utah and graduating
from college, Bill married Alice. They pooled their savings together and
partnered with an old friend, Hugh Colton, to open their first root beer stand. Together, they found a small spot on
14th Street that could fit nine-stools. In May 1927, their root beer stand
was officially open for business. Locals were hooked, and
the business did well. But as winter approached, sales fell flat. Nobody wanted ice-cold root
beer when it was cold and rainy. “You better get something hot in
here to eat, or you’re going to be out of business,” customers warned. Fortunately, Alice came
up with a brilliant idea. She walked to the nearby Mexican embassy
and asked the chef if he could teach her how to make a few hot dishes. He not only said yes but gave
Alice his secret recipes. Aftwards, Bill got permission
from A&W to serve hot food. Alice would cook chilli and hot
tamales in their tiny apartment and then carry them over. Later, they expanded the menu by adding
hamburgers and hot dogs and changed the business name to “Hot Shoppe.” Only one year later, Bill, Alice,
and Hugh opened two more Hot Shoppes. For their third location, Bill
betted on the future of the industry. With more Americans driving
automobiles, he recognized the need for a drive-in restaurant. So he bought a vacant lot, removed
the curb, and offered the first drive-in service on the East Coast. By then, Hugh realized the business
wasn’t big enough to support two families and sold his half. Afterwards, Bill and Alice had
no choice but to work late at the restaurant — often until 2 a.m. It was then that he had
another wakeup call. This time it led to discovering a
simple key to success that expanded his future empire internationally. One day, Bill’s cook never
showed up for their shift. Bill realized that hiring supervisors
alone wasn't enough to retain employees. So he made more of an effort
to get to know each one and started a health care program. "Take care of your people, and
they will take care of your customers," he often said. A few years later, Bill’s new focus
helped to open eight more restaurants. He and his family would decide on new
locations by staking out intersections and counting each passing car. Bill had finally built a better future
for himself as he hoped for as a teen. But just one year later, he
was forced to take a step back. He was diagnosed with a blood
cancer called Hodgkin's disease. “How long do I have?”
Bill asked his doctor. “Six months — a year at most.” Bill’s doctor warned that he needed
to take a break from the business and suggested a long vacation. “You might be able to live longer.” Bill took his advice and went
on a road trip with Alice and his newborn son, Bill Jr. They managed to make it all the
way up to the Eastern seaboard. When they returned home, Bill
felt a strong need to seek guidance from his church. So he invited two members to his
home and asked for a blessing. A few weeks later, the
unimaginable happened. Bill’s lymphatic swellings went down
and then slowly vanished altogether. Months later, Bill’s doctors
delivered surprising news. They couldn’t find the faintest
trace of Hodgkin's disease. Later, Bill returned to work. And just a few years later, he
discovered a new opportunity that gave him a lucky break. One of his managers shared
that people were bringing their meals onto their flights. So Bill made takeout boxes for them
and then took it a step further. He met with several airline companies and
pitched the idea of delivering pre-boxed meals — a first for the industry. The airlines agreed without hesitation. Within a year, Hot Shoppes was
servicing 20 daily flights for the Washington-Hoover airport. And by the early 1940s, Bill and Alice
were juggling 24 Hot Shoppe restaurants. Many Americans considered it a big
deal to take their family to one. Business continued to grow — up until
America prepared for the Second World War. Instead of being discouraged, Bill
pivoted by managing cafeterias in government office buildings
and war-production factories. When the war ended,
business returned to normal. But not long after, it was threatened
by its biggest competitor: McDonald's. McDonald’s could make a hamburger
in two minutes for 15 cents. Meanwhile, it took Hot Shoppe
15 minutes and cost 50 cents. It was around then that Bill decided to
raise money by taking the company public. On the day of the company’s IPO, its
stock sold out in just two hours. Afterwards, Bill decided it was time to
gamble on a new venture — one that would make or break his career and legacy. In the early 1950s,
travel was on the rise. Experts predicted that passenger
jets would be flying in and out of the Washington National Airport. It was obvious to Bill that travellers
would want to stay somewhere close by. And he had just the
perfect location in mind. Just a stone's throw away from the
airport was eight acres of land that he bought three years earlier. While risky, Bill believed now was
the time to build his first motel. He considered it a logical extension of
Hot Shoppe's care for families on the go. Since Bill, Alice, and their son
knew nothing about the industry, they often stayed up all night,
redecorating and repainting the motel as it was being built. In 1957, the motel was
officially open for business. It was called the Twin Bridges. With over 300 beds, it was the
largest motel in the world. The business did well. But just like Bill's root beer stand,
it went downhill as winter approached. It became so bad that Bill could only
afford to keep one elevator running. "I don't know what to do with this
motel," Bill said to his son, Bill. Jr. "Why don't you let me
run it, and I'll learn?" "You don't know anything
about the motel business." "Well, neither does
anybody else around there." "Fine, go ahead." Equipped with a degree in
finance and banking, Bill Jr. was eager to succeed. He started working for the family business
when he was 14-years-old and didn't hesitate to take up any task — including
cooking burgers and mopping floors. Under Bill Jr.'s management, the
motel became more profitable by introducing competitive services. These services included a reservation
system, restaurant, meeting rooms, and even an ice-skating rink. Two years later, Bill Jr. opened a second motel
called the Key Bridge. Later, his father changed the
business name to Marriott. Proud of his son's
progress, he made Bill Jr. the president and later the CEO. While Bill was nervous and admitted he
was scared to death, he forged ahead with transforming the family business. He started by pivoting towards hotels and
then property management and franchising. Today, the Marriott is a billion-dollar,
international empire that owns dozens of luxury brands — including
the Ritz-Carlton, W Hotels, St. Regis, Sheraton, and many more. In an interview, Bill shared
his definition of success and what it takes to build a legacy. "Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they never quit." This is the story of how a sheepherder
and his son pivoted their business during uncertain times and built
the world’s largest hotel chain. For more inspiring stories and advice
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