Marriott International today announced that the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP) ranked the company at the top of the lodging
industry for the sixth time in its annual lodging industry report card.
Marriott received a “B” grade on the report card, which focuses on
employment, vendor relations, property ownership, advertising/marketing
and charitable giving within the African-American community.The NAACP acknowledgement comes as Marriott continues to solidify its
position at the forefront of the industry in several diversity-related
areas, including franchising, supplier diversity, and the hiring,
retention and promotion of minorities.

“We are pleased that the NAACP has ranked Marriott at the top of its
report. With our goal of being the lodging industry’s diversity leader, we
recognize that diversity needs to be a part of our everyday operations,
and we continue to strengthen our efforts,” said J.W. Marriott, Jr.,
chairman and chief executive officer of Marriott International.

Marriott’s commitment to diversity encompasses the company’s business
operations, and comprises both managed and franchised hotels:

* The Marriott International Franchise Network included 220 minority-owned
franchised properties in 2003 and has more than doubled the number of
women- and minority-owned franchises in the past five years. * Marriott’s
Supplier Diversity Initiative was the first program in the industry to
institute minority- and women-owned business outreach. * In 2003, Marriott
spent $150 million with minority- and women-owned businesses. * Marriott
also requires national vendors it does business with to work with
minority- and women-owned businesses, which resulted in an additional $50
million going to such firms in 2003.

This year, Marriott International was named by Hispanic Magazine as one of
the publication’s “Hispanic Corporate 100.” J.W. Marriott, Jr. also
received the Jackie Robinson Foundation’s 2004 ROBIE Award for Achievement
in Industry for his company’s commitment to diversity. The foundation
recognized Marriott for the company’s success in employment and supplier
diversity.

Marriott was also named this year by ESSENCE magazine as one of the
publication’s “Best Companies for Black Women.” In recent years, the
company has received recognition for its diversity efforts from a range of
media organizations, including DiversityInc, Working Mother, FORTUNE and
Black Meetings & Tourism magazines.
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