Marriott Plans to Move Corporate Headquarters
Jennifer Billock March 04, 2015
Marriott International plans to move its headquarters from Bethesda sometime in the next few years.
Marriott International has begun the process of looking for a new location for its headquarters. The company is currently based in Bethesda, Md. but the lease on its building expires in 2022. Any move is expected to be regional, but will not necessarily be within Maryland. Company executives have already spoken to representatives in both Virginia and Washington.
The D.C. area is something of a powerhouse for the hospitality world, housing the corporate offices of Hilton Worldwide, DiamondRock Hospitality, Choice Hotels and more. Marriott believes that the location attracts some of the best employees in the business, and one of the company’s goals is to find a location appealing to the younger generation of workforce talent.
“I think it’s essential we be accessible to Metro and that limits the options,” Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson told The Washington Post. “I think as with many other things our younger folks are more inclined to be Metro-accessible and more urban. That doesn’t necessarily mean we will move to downtown Washington, but we will move someplace.”
Sorenson did reflect on the so-so climate for business in Maryland, which could prompt a move across state lines. “Maryland has not been great for business, but it hasn’t been aggressively trying to run them out,” he said. “I think it’s more just in the last few years [the state] probably hasn’t cared about it. I don’t think it’s been against it.”
It is unclear what the move would mean for the upwards of 2,000 employees at the corporate office.
[Photo: Marriott International]
The trend is to move to Northern Virginia. That is where the younger professional crowd wants to live. Nothing really big enough in Arlington, so the choice is really Tyson's Corner or Reston. I suspect Tyson's Corner. With metro to Tyson's now open, I suspect all those car dealerships along Lee Hwy. will be displaced with higher rent places. Hilton and USA Today are HQ'ed at Tyson's. Tyson's is accessible via Beltway from Bethesda, and many Marriott Exec's live in Northern Virginia already. There was a Marriott Exec killed a few years ago on the 270 exit from the Beltway (just before Marriott exit) when a logs from a big truck fell off and rolled onto the 270 exit below. He had lived in N. Virginia.
Why not FL? No more snow!
I'm confused. Bethesda is practically in DC.
As the previous commenter noted, I saw the headline and thought "When did Marriott leave town?" Obviously they didn't. The headline for this post is just misleading. I would have said 'CEO eyes to remain in D.C. area'
Bethesda is already in the D.C. area! In fact, it border Washington DC on its southeast side. Please go look at a map. So Marriott is not contemplating a move "to" the D.C. area, they're just contemplating a move to a different location within the D.C. area! (One that's more "Metro-friendly", meaning better access to the area's MetroRail transit system. Their current location requires a bus ride to get to the closest MetroRail station. "Metro" is D.C. area shorthand for MetroRail.)