John Marriott Research Paper

John Willard Marriott
September 17, 1900 – August 13, 1985

Born on September 17, 1900 in Marriott Settlement, Utah, as the eldest son of a poor farmer, J.W. Marriott was said to have learned to ride a horse before he could walk. Early in his upbringing, Marriott was held to a very strict and high standard of conduct from his father. His father also gave him responsibility at an early age making him a sheepherder on the farm to help his family. At the age of 19, he preached the gospel as a Mormon missionary around the New England area. Once Marriott completed his mission, he traveled through Washington D.C. on his way back to Utah and thought how great of an opportunity it would be to sell A&W root beer there during the hot summer days. Unfortunately, at this time he had to put this idea on hold, as the country was under the Great Depression and all the money the family had was needed to pay off loans to the banks. Marriott experienced poverty throughout his childhood and vowed to go back to school and create a better living. Although, Marriott did not
He worked so much doctors diagnosed him with an incurable cancer and gave him just a year to live. But as a man strong in his religion, Marriott went for prayer and had amazingly been fully cured of the cancer. Marriott was not the first to develop groundbreaking ideas in the restaurant business, but he learned from others attempt at several ideas. Once again, Marriott filled the needs of consumers by making boxed lunches for airplane travelers in the basement of his restaurant near the airport. This venture was also a major hit and was received very well by the airline industry. Marriott was a perfectionist and was never satisfied with anything, continuously raising the bar for himself and his family. He exuded a “high benchmark of excellence.” “No person can get far in this world, working 40 hours a week” (J.W.