Marriott International is undertaking a corporate restructure that will see it split into four autonomous divisions whilst bringing the formerly stand-alone Ritz-Carlton brand into its corporate offices.

Marriott President Arne Sorenson said that details of the plan still need to be finalised but confirmed that “the number of jobs lost will not be very large”.

He said there would be four continental offices, each of which will have its own president and resources to operate independently, including separate sales and marketing, revenue management and finance.

The idea is to decentralize power so that the regional presidents “have the resources necessary to make decisions and so those decisions can be faster, more efficient, more local,” Sorenson said.

However, he emphasized that the change “will be entirely invisible to the guest”, and focussed on the back-of-the-house, rather than the front of the house Ritz-Carlton brand experience.”

Marriott is currently split into four divisions: Ritz-Carlton; global timeshare; international lodging group; and U.S. and Canadian operations.

It will be reorganized into four divisions, Sorenson said: the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Only the timeshare business will function outside the new regional structure, Sorenson said.

The reorganization will be completed by 2011. But Sorenson said the new presidents for Europe and the Americas had already been appointed.