At Marriott, we coined the phrase “spirit to serve” as part of our people-first culture. Our associates have an incredible spirit to serve not only our guests, but each other too. There’s something special about the people who wear the Marriott nametag. They consistently go above and beyond to serve guests and associates alike.
The historic flooding in Baton Rouge has shown Marriott associates’ spirit to serve at its finest. The Marriott New Orleans Business Council has mobilized to help associates, their family members and others affected by what the American Red Cross has called one of the worst natural disasters in the U.S. since Superstorm Sandy.
I’d like to share a few stories about the Marriott spirit to serve on display in Baton Rouge:
Hogs Res-Que Team
L-R: Josh Borges, seafood vendor; Chris Guillot, Renaissance Arts Hotel; Chance Price, Renaissance Pere Marquette; Ben Sarrat
Ben Sarrat, Executive Chef at the Renaissance New Orleans Pere Marquette Hotel and the Renaissance New Orleans Arts Hotel, was joined by colleagues who loaded up a donated refrigerated truck with food supplies to drive approximately 80 miles from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. This “Hogs Res-Que” team served more than 4,000 meals to first responders from the Baton Rouge Police Department, Louisiana Air National Guard, St. George Fire Department and any other volunteers who needed a hot meal.
Stacie Lindsay, a front desk associate at the Courtyard Baton Rouge Acadian Centre, and her family experienced significant damage to their home and possessions in the flooding. Four associates from the New Orleans Downtown Marriott at the Convention Center drove to her home to help. With assistance from some of her Courtyard colleagues, they removed furniture and appliances and cut out four feet of sheetrock four feet high throughout the home to prevent mold.
The team at the Residence Inn by Marriott Towne Center at Cedar Lodge in Baton Rouge mobilized to provide food and shelter to those in need. Associates never hesitated to drive guests to emergency service centers. Anonymous Good Samaritans called to offer to pay for rooms for displaced families and past guests were calling to check on their “Residence Inn Family.”
When a disaster like this happens, I am proud to see people come together to help those in need, despite the personal cost of doing so. A sincere thanks to associates in the Baton Rouge and Greater New Orleans area for their spirit to serve in the midst of very difficult circumstances.
I’m Bill Marriott and thanks for helping me keep Marriott on the move.