3rd generation in line to run Marriott empire

WASHINGTON — As John W. Marriott III wound his way through the cavernous kitchen of the Wardman Park Marriott hotel here, he reached out to shake hands with every employee and to exchange some banter.

The workers, preparing an evening reception for 700 people attending a conference, put aside the salmon hors d'oeuvres and cheese platters and greeted Marriott, the third generation of the Marriott International hotel business, and perhaps the empire's future boss.

Succession speculation at the company was stoked in January, when it promoted Marriott, the son of the company's current chairman and chief executive, J.W. Marriott Jr.

John Marriott, as the son is known, is now in charge of global sales and marketing, as well as managing Marriott's nine hotel brands and its North American lodging operations. The day his new duties were announced, the company, based in Bethesda, Md., also expanded the job of the chief financial officer, Arne M. Sorenson, to include hotel operations in Continental Europe.

The promotions fanned conjecture over who will eventually run Marriott, one of the world's largest hotel companies. It operates eight hotel chains on behalf of various owners, including the Marriott, Ritz-Carlton and Renaissance hotels, offering different levels of service and prices. The company reported $19 billion in overall sales last year from managing 2,500 hotels in 65 countries.

With his gold-plated name, his all-American good looks and a quarter-century in the family business, Marriott, 41, would seem to be a perfect fit for his father's shoes.

Not so fast, though, says his father, who is known as Bill. At 70, Bill Marriott keeps a vigorous pace, visiting 200 hotels a year. Interviewed recently in his office, he said he had no plans to step down. "I'm still having fun," he said, and he emphasized that there was no shoo-in for leading the company in the future.

"I will be able to say who I think is best," he said. "But the board will have to approve it. This is a big, complex company, and we've got to have the best talent."

Like other hotel companies, Marriott is struggling with tumbling occupancy rates, a result of the fragile economy and travel anxieties from terrorism and the war in Iraq. In the fourth quarter last year, Marriott lost $37 million, an improvement from a $116 million loss in the same period of 2001; the company's numbers had been hurt by the effects of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. For all of 2002, the company had net income of $277 million, up $41 million from 2001; revenue rose to $8.44 billion from $7.79 billion.