Marriott chief heads out of Fort Lauderdale

Bill Marriott’s annual winter vacation in Fort Lauderdale is drawing to a close, and for the 20th straight year, the Marriott International chief executive, is flying the flag for his eponymous brand and for Fort Lauderdale itself, even choosing the 650-room Harbor Beach Marriott over the company’s ultra-luxury Ritz-Carlton. His four-week break mixed work and leisure, as it has since he started the tradition of escaping from his Bethesda, Md., headquarters for a few weeks of warmer weather. This year, in addition to visits to 42 hotels — 38 of them run by Marriott and four by competitors, as well as a daily routine of conference calls, Marriott also concentrated some energy to Haitian quake relief, arranging a $500,000 donation through his family foundation. [Miami Herald]

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