Marriott reached historic benchmarks in its companywide diversity initiatives over the past year, the company said today. These include:

• $400 million spent with women and minority-owned businesses;
• 400 hotels opened, or in the pipeline, owned or managed by minorities or women; and
• an all-time high in diverse appointments to management positions.

In announcing the milestones, Marriott's Committee for Excellence, appointed by the company's board of directors and comprised of senior management and directors, said Marriott has substantive efforts underway to develop and enhance relationships with women and diverse groups.

"We are committed to diversity across our business," said Marriott International Chairman and Chief Executive Officer J.W. Marriott, Jr. "Our company and industry are made up of diverse people and backgrounds… from our associates and customers to business partners.   We want to reflect that diversity on every level and in all facets of our business."

Additional 2006 diversity highlights include:

• Over 30 percent of new college hires were minority graduates recruited from 43 universities, including nine Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU).
• RLJ Development, LLC, a wholly-owned, African-American hotel ownership company and an example of Marriott's Diversity Ownership Initiative, became one of the company's largest owners with the acquisition of 90 Marriott International-branded hotels.
• Spending with Hispanic-owned companies reached more than $50 million.
• Sed de Saber™ ("thirst for knowledge"), a portable electronic device to teach English to Spanish-speaking associates, was piloted in 10 U.S. cities and resulted in 85 percent improvement in English proficiency among participants. The tool is now available at hotels in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
• A $100,000 grant to the Hispanic Hotel Ownership Association (HHOA) to become a corporate founding partner and build relationships with Hispanic hotel owners and businesses.

Marriott established the Committee for Excellence in 2003 to monitor the ongoing progress of diversity across the company.   As part of the committee's establishment and the company's diversity commitment, Marriott pledged to spend $1 billion with women and diverse suppliers and to have 500 hotels owned or managed by women and diverse groups as a part of Marriott's Diversity Ownership Initiative by 2010.

Marriott has received broad recognition for its diversity initiatives.  Recent recognition includes: "Top 10 Companies for Women Executives" by the National Association of Female Executives (NAFE); "Top 50 Companies for Black MBAs To Work" by MBA Magazine; and the highest ranking among any global lodging company for the seventh consecutive year by the NAACP.