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Deborah Marriott Harrison on Marriott's culture of putting people first~\n\nAnd my grandfather started it by making a sign he put over the kitchen doors in the Hot Shops that says, "If you take care of the employee, the employee will take care of the customer and the customer will come back again and again." And we really pride ourselves in taking care of our associates.\n\nDeborah Marriott Harrison, Global Cultural Ambassador Emeritus Marriott International (r) and host Andy Ockershausen (l) in-studio interview\n\nAndy Ockershausen:\tThis is Our Town. And I'm so delighted to have in one of the most important people in representing the families and I could probably, the number one family in Washington was the Marriott family, and I'm so delighted to have Debbie Marriott Harrison on Our Town. Welcome to Our Town, Debbie. \nDeborah Marriott Harrison:\tThank you Andy. I'm delighted to be here.\nAndy Ockershausen:\tWell, our relationship, my relationship personally goes back to Marriott for many, many years before you were born, probably. Because being a big part of Our Town growing up at WMAL and Channel 7 and the Washington Star is my background, and you know what the Star was like when you were growing up in Our Town and-\nDeborah Marriott Harrison:\tYeah, my brothers used to deliver the paper.\nAndy Ockershausen:\tI say, right. It was Our Town. It was a small town. What's happened now has been an explosion. But thank you for remembering that there is a WMAL that was in Our Town and thank you for what you have done for the Marriott Corporation and particularly when you worked at ... your story was working at the Key Bridge Marriott?\nMarriott's First Two Hotels - Twin Bridges and Key Bridge Hotels - A Bit of Our Town History\nDeborah Harrison:\tYes.\nAndy Ockershausen:\tHow many years?\nDeborah Marriott Harrison:\tOh, just one summer after I had finished my freshman year.\nAndy Ockershausen:\tOh, you just did it in the summer time.\nDeborah Marriott Harrison:\tYes. I just did it for the summer and that was our second hotel and it is still our oldest hotel in our portfolio because the first hotel was the Twin Bridges Hotel.\nAndy Ockershausen:\tDo I remember that well.\nDeborah Marriott Harrison:\tYeah. Opened in 1957 near the 14th Street Bridge and we sold that in the late 80s and there's nothing on that lot right now. It's an empty lot.\nAndy Ockershausen:\tThe Windjammer Club.\nDeborah Marriott Harrison:\tYes, The Windjammer Club. And-\nAndy Ockershausen:\tIt was a bottle club I remember that well.\nDeborah Marriott Harrison:\tSirloin and Saddle, the restaurant.\nAndy Ockershausen:\tWell, the motel opened up where it used to be a national airport and before national airport there was another field there-\nDeborah Harrison:\tRight. Hoover.\nAndy Ockershausen:\tWere Marriott had a catering business.\nDeborah Marriott Harrison:\tYup. Hoover Field. And the Pentagon is, and the Pentagon is there now.\nAndy Ockershausen:\tAnd yeah. Right. And so that was the beginning of the catering business, but the hotel business, your grandfather opened that hotel, I remember it had a sign. It was the only sign I've ever seen on the 14th Street Bridge and the Washington signs, at the exit to get to the Marriott Hotel. Can you ... you were too young to know that.\nDeborah Marriott Harrison:\tI don't remember that. You're right. I don't remember. That's really neat.\nAndy Ockershausen:\tThere was some political pressure to get that done. But it was done. The only motel that was highlighted on the bridge leaving town, was the Marriott Twin Bridges. And there were twin bridges and then Marriott got into the hotel business and then opened up in Rosslyn. Was that your next big hotel?\nDeborah Marriott Harrison:\tThe next one, two years later was the one was Key Bridge in Rosslyn overlooking Georgetown and the river.\nAndy Ockershausen:\tAnd it was a real, a motor hotel. It was a small structure.\nMarriott Started Out in the Hotel Business with Motor Hotels