Marriott International has one of the largest—and happiest—workforces in the world.
The company boasts more than 800,000 associates at its hotels and resorts around the world. Notably, it has a strong culture, ranking No. 8 on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list in 2025. An impressive 90% of Marriott employees endorse the company, compared with a 57% average.
Much of the company’s success is driven by trust in leadership—including former chairman Bill Marriott, current chairman David S. Marriott, and CEO Anthony Capuano.
In an interview at the Great Place to Work For All Summit in Las Vegas with the organization’s CEO, Michael Bush, Capuano spoke about a recent crossroads—and how he responded.
The leadership event hosted thousands of executives from more than 800 companies—and many are featured on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list.
While Marriott leaders have publicly said they aspire to be a leader in the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) space in recent years, President Donald Trump’s executive orders and policies against the initiatives threw their plans into uncertainty.
The new policies could lead to changes in hiring, promotions, and training. Failure to comply could lead to cuts in federal funding to these private sector companies, although the legality of these changes is still being debated.
Marriott’s CEO speaks out
After Trump announced sweeping changes to DEI in January, many executives and companies were left reeling.
Capuano says he met with his executive leadership team in Bethesda, Md., where they decided to take a week to research and process before meeting again. The CEO then flew to Los Angeles for the Americas Lodging Investment Summit. While there, he was inundated with questions about Marriott’s approach to DEI in the future.
Rather than stay silent, Capuano recalled many conversations with his mentor and former chairman Bill Marriott, and decided to speak.
“The winds blow, but there are some fundamental truths for those 98 years,” Capuano said. “We welcome all to our hotels and we create opportunities for all—and fundamentally those will never change. The words might change, but that’s who we are as a company.”
Capuano says he went back to his hotel that night hoping he had said the right thing.
Capuano’s message was simple, but it didn’t go unnoticed by associates. He was overwhelmed by how his employees responded.
“Within 24 hours, I had 40,000 emails from Marriott associates around the world, saying ‘thank you,’” he said. Many expressed appreciation to work for a company whose values aligned with their own.
Marriott is among Fortune’s Best Companies to Work For that are sticking up for DEI policies right now. Others on the list include Delta and Cisco.
A version of this story was published on Fortune.com on April 18, 2025.
More on DEI in the workplace:
- Billionaire philanthropy’s growing divide: Mark Zuckerberg stops funding immigration reform as MacKenzie Scott doubles down on DEI
- A long-running anti-DEI lawsuit could help companies defend themselves from reverse-racism claims
- Target spotlights support for Black founders after DEI backlash
