Is Marriott Taking Out a Hit On The Ritz-Carlton?

August 27, 2009 at 9:39 AM | by juliana | 1 Comment

The Ritz-Carlton Marina Del Rey.

We got a tip late last night that told us things could be changing drastically at Ritz-Carlton Hotels which as you all know is a part of the Marriott Hotels. Our Hotel Deep Throat writes:

Major restructure with Marriott International underway. Most Ritz Carlton corporate roles are gone or replaced with Marriott personnel. The operational and regional structure will also be replaced by Marriott. The question will be what effect this will have on the guest experience and the famous Ritz Carlton mystique.....is this the beginning of the end for this great brand (Ritz)?

That's a great question since the Ritz seems to operate separately from Marriott which is a good thing. Usually only hotel geeks like ourselves and uber-Marriott Rewards program nuts tend to know that the Ritz is part of Marriott.

But still, we can't say that the Ritz-Carlton luxury experience tops our personal list of best hotel stays, thanks to unfriendly cancellation policies, expensive WiFi charges and an overall stuffy feel. And while club floors and rose petals on the bed are nice, you often have to pay extra to get such perks. So maybe changing up the Ritz and dropping the "mystique" could be a good thing.

Meanwhile, Ritz-Carlton's erstwhile COO, Simon F. Cooper recently tweeted about his hotel brand's career site where prospective Ritz employees can search for open positions. Just FYI: COO of Ritz-Carlton was not listed as an open position.

What have YOU heard recently about the goings ons at Ritz-Carlton and Marriott? Dish your thoughts in comments below or send us an email.

1 Comment

Return to » Is Marriott Taking Out a Hit On The Ritz-Carlton?

Ex Ritz
HotelChatter Member

It's been going on for a while
True, Marriott is changing Ritz Carlton and it's not for the better. The original culture and philosophies in place from the Horst Schultze era are being watered down. Key players in the organization have being leaving and their replacements have been mostly from the Marriott organization. It is at General Manager level in Ritz Carlton that is causing the biggest effect. Marriott GM's are coming onboard and don't have the passion or understanding that "Old School" Ritz Carlton GM's have. The 15 year Ritz Carlton Veteran becoming a GM is a thing of the past. Fast track Marriott GM's are moving into these GM and Exec positions. A key sign that things are changing was the removal of quality directors at a hotel level and replacing as many as 20 hotel based quality managers/directors in a particular region with 3-4 regional directors that don't have any real influence on quality any more. 4 seasons has gone back to number one in JD power and other indicators may come true such as hotels dropping out of the AAA 5 Diamond level. The Gold Standards and Credo, trademarks of the brand's culture are no longer enlivened as they have been in the past and I agree, it's the beginning of the end for Ritz Carlton.

August 28, 2009 at 12:17 AM

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