Marriott’s Sorensen Says ‘Wave of Nationalism’ Keeps Him Awake

On both sides of the Atlantic and beyond, a wave of nationalism worries Marriott’s Arne Sorensen.

The president and CEO of Marriott International was in Berlin to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Hotel Investment Forum. Following the award, he spoke onstage with Tanya Beckett of the BBC who asked him about what worries him in his role running one of the world’s largest travel brands.

“The risk for us in the travel business,” Sorensen said, “is that even though travel is different than immigration, if people aren’t careful about the way they talk about it, they seem to be the same issue.”

In the United Kingdom, the Brexit vote and ongoing transition away from the European Union is largely seen as a referendum against legal immigration. Meanwhile, in the United States, both illegal and legal immigration have been the focus of rhetoric from the Trump Administration as well as others (and, notably, often with blurred lines).

Sorensen also directly commented on Trump’s travel ban on inbound U.S. travel from Muslim-predominant countries, calling it “not helpful.”

The executive also discussed other major issues affecting his company, including their purchase of Starwood Hotels to create the world’s largest hotel company last year as well as their ongoing direct booking campaign which recently saw them slash commissions for travel agents.

“We became convinced that the loyalty program…” Sorensen said, “the bigger we could make it, the more powerful our platform…We could create a deeper connection with them that would protect us from intermediaries, from folks offering different products; from folks trying to use their technology to get in the middle of our relationships.”