The U.S. Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) ranked Marriott the highest of any global lodging company for the seventh time.In its annual lodging industry report card. Marriott received a B- grade on the organization’s Economic Reciprocity Initiative (ERI) industry report card, which focuses on employment, vendor relations, property ownership, advertising/marketing and charitable giving within the African-American community.

J.W. Marriott, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of Marriott International, said, “As we have set our sights on becoming the lodging industry’s diversity leader, we’re very gratified to know our efforts have received this important recognition.”

The NAACP announcement comes as Marriott continues to solidify its position at the forefront of the industry in several diversity areas, including franchising, supplier diversity, and the attraction, development and retention of talent.

In fact, Marriott is on track to meet and exceed the supplier diversity and minority ownership goals it set for itself in 2005. Of the $1 billion the company plans to spend with diverse suppliers by 2010, $347 million has already been spent in 2005. Additionally, the 2010 goal to have 500 minority- and women-owned Marriott hotels is well on its way to being met with over 400 minority- and women-owned hotels currently in the Marriott system.

Additionally, Marriott’s longstanding commitment to diversity is demonstrated by its highly diverse workforce. Of the new managers hired in 2005, 26 percent were minorities and 48 percent were women. Marriott also recently achieved its highest ever number of minority college recruits—more than 30 percent were minorities and 16 percent were African-American.
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