Chances are good that you've slept in a hotel room run by J. Willard Marriott Jr.

"Bill" to his friends, Marriott is chairman and chief executive of Marriott International (nyse: MAR - news - people ), the giant Washington, D.C., lodging company. The company was started as a root beer stand by his father in 1927 and opened its first hotel in 1957. Today, the Marriott family still owns 20% of it, which makes Marriott, 73, No. 413 on Forbes' 2005 list of the World's Richest People, with a net worth of $1.6 billion last year. The rest of the stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange, and, after pricing power improved last year, it is trading near its 52-week high of $68.

Marriott predicts the company's revenue per available room will be up 6% to 8% this year, with two-thirds of the increase due to price increases and the remaining from volume. "Business is better, but it is pretty much concentrated on the two coasts," Marriott said.

Marriott International franchises and operates 2,700 hotels under the Ritz-Carlton, Bulgari, JW Marriott, Marriott, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Courtyard, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn and SpringHill Suites names, and develops and runs vacation resorts and corporate housing. The company is headquartered in Washington, D.C., has 133,000 employees and reported sales from continuing operations of $10 billion last year.

Forbes.com caught up with Marriott and his wife, Donna Marriott, at the World Travel & Tourism Council summit held April 8 and 9 in New Delhi, India, and asked him to reflect on his years at the helm.

What five words would you use to describe yourself?

Work, and my wife says I'm driven. Then there's speed--both automobiles and boats, and speed to market, and family and church.

What was the first job you had after college?

I worked during college in the Hot Shoppe in Salt Lake City. My dad and mom opened a root beer stand in 1927, and it turned into the Hot Shoppe chain. I was a fry cook and a fountain jerk. They don't have those any more, just "fountain attendants."

What do you consider your greatest personal accomplishment?

My family. We've got great kids. We've got four children and 13 grandchildren, and we all get along. Everybody's grandchildren are the best, but mine are even better.

What do you consider your greatest professional accomplishment?

The role I've played in developing the hotel side of the business. We started with one, and now we have 2,700.

What was the greatest challenge you faced in your personal life?

When our first child, our daughter, was 5 years old, she had open-heart surgery. She almost died. But she came through, and she's great. She's got five kids.

What was the greatest challenge you faced in your professional life?

Dealing with my father. He wanted to develop hotels, but he didn't want to have any debt.

What motivates you to succeed?

I love the business, and it's fun. It's a great thrill to visit the hotels and see the people, and a great thrill to do a deal and see a new hotel built and opened. It is my avocation and my vocation.

What is your favorite activity outside of the office?

My wife Donna better answer that.

Donna Marriott: One day, when our son, David, was in kindergarten, he was asked to draw a picture of his dad working, and David drew a picture of Bill behind his desk. Then he was asked to draw a picture of his dad playing, and he drew a picture of Bill behind his desk.

What is your greatest indulgence?

I like old sports cars and old wooden boats. I get to drive the boats on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire.

What was the last book you read?

I read Armageddon: The Battle for Germany, by Max Hastings, about World War II. It was fascinating. Everybody criticized the Americans for stopping at the Elbe, but 500,000 Russian soldiers were killed trying to take Berlin from the other side, and the author concludes we would've lost 200,000 to 300,000 if we had tried to take it. The thing I really liked about it was that it had a lot of short stories about people, lots of little vignettes.

What was the last movie you liked?

I loved Million Dollar Baby. It's a great movie.

What is your favorite work of art?

We have a Bierstadt at home of the Swiss Alps. That's my favorite. I like the majesty of it. It is peaceful, restful and awe-inspiring. I love the scenes of mountains because I went to school in Utah and my wife Donna is from there.

What is your favorite form of exercise?

The treadmill. I love to watch movies on the treadmill.

If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go?

Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire

What is the best thing about being a CEO?

The first day and the last day. It is just fun to work with people and get things done and see things built. It is very challenging. It is very lonesome and very stimulating.

What is the worst thing about being a CEO?

The record is playing all the time. You don't have a lot of friends. You're by yourself a lot. You have family. But you've gotta take your own counsel. You can't just go around saying, "What am I going to do here?"

What would you most like to be remembered for?

Developing a successful business based on human values. My father and mother coined the phrase, "Take good care of your employees, and they'll take good care of your customers." We've got 78 years of a culture of caring for people that nobody can catch up to us on.

� 2005 Forbes.com Inc.�

I got married in that first hotel they opened up in 1957 just last January...Of course, it looks different now and the name has changed slightly, but it was still kind of a cool thing.

Congratulations your a part of hospitality history too

Well, it looks different now because it's a different property on a different site.

Twin Bridges Marriott was Marriott's first lodging property. It no longer exists and the land upon which it existed is currently undeveloped.

You're probably referring to the Key Bridge Marriott which, while nearby, is a different property from the old Twin Bridges property.

Maybe anyone could post before/after pictures of that site? Before being when it was a hotel, after being the land which is currently undeveloped.

Thx in advance

Please don't read this wrong....I had always been told the original hotel was long gone and assumed it meant it was bulldozed....what is it today?

I know the oldest still in the system is Key Bridge

Edited to add...guess I should have read alittle lower