Interesting.

Clearly, Marriott International is doing a good job getting hotel owners to build new properties flying Marriott flags and to re-brand existing non-Marriott properties to bring them under the Marriott umbrella.

People on this forum seldom complain about the Marriott footprint. Also, we are happy when we stay at well-run, well-maintained hotels that do a good job providing the published elite benefits. And, when there's a problem to be resolved by phone or online, we're happy when we reach a knowledgeable Marriott Bonvoy customer service agent who understands the problem, knows how to fix it, and does so quickly.

People on this forum are unhappy when a hotel ignores the published Marriott Bonvoy terms & conditions. Some hotels don't care if they anger (or even drive away) loyal Marriott Bonvoy members just to save $10 in operating costs. It gets worse when some Marriott Bonvoy customer service agents don't know the published Marriott Bonvoy terms & conditions and assume the guest is always wrong.

A big part of what Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano and the executives who report to him are offering to hotel owners is the huge base of satisfied Marriott Bonvoy members -- especially elite members who take their business to Marriott's brands, even where other hotels have better locations or lower prices for the same class of hotel.

All we want from Capuano is to set the direction from the top that happy hotel guests, including (or especially) happy elite members, are essential to the long-term success of Marriott International and all the owners of the 7,300+ Marriott Bonvoy hotels worldwide.

It means getting the details right. It means making sure that every general manager is onboard with the program. It means that training must be seen as vitally important at hotels, call centers, and all other locations that interact with guests. It means having no tolerance for hotels that fail to comply with standards. It means fixing IT to spare guests from IT-related problems. It means having excellent, speedy service recovery in the rare cases when something still goes wrong.

Adding new locations all over world in all segments ranging from basic to luxury is good news for Marriott Bonvoy members and Marriott International shareholders -- but Marriott must not lose sight of that fact that it's all built on a foundation of satisfied guests.