David Marriott, chairman of the board of Marriott International, settled a decades-old pronunciation debate this week during an event with loyalty members at the company’s headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland. The third-generation hospitality executive revealed the correct way to say his family’s name—and it’s probably not the way you’ve been pronouncing it.
Speaking to a group of 75 loyalty members, in a moment that’s been widely shared on TikTok, Marriott explained that the hotel chain’s name should be pronounced “marry-et,” not “marry-ott.” The pronunciation rhymes with “chariot,” emphasizing the final sound as “et” rather than “ott.”
To illustrate his point, Marriott shared a personal story involving his wife, a former English teacher who taught at East High School in Utah—the same school where “High School Musical” was filmed. Marriott said his wife had a student, named Elliot, who kept addressing her as “Mrs. Marriott,” using the incorrect pronunciation.
“She finally sat Elliot down one day, and she said, Elliot, how do you pronounce your name? He said, Elliot. He said, that’s right. It’s not Elli-AHT. It’s Elliot. It’s the same way with Marriott,” Marriott said on stage.
The Marriott empire traces back to 1927, when David’s grandfather, J. Willard Marriott, opened a nine-stool A&W root beer stand in Washington, D.C., with his wife Alice and business partner Hugh Colton, according to the company’s website. The small operation, which opened on May 20, 1927—the same day Charles Lindbergh began his historic transatlantic flight—eventually evolved into today’s global hospitality giant.
David Marriott represents the third generation to lead the company, following his grandfather J. Willard Marriott and father Bill Marriott. He assumed the role of chairman of the board in May 2022, making him only the third chairman in the company’s nearly century-long history. Today, Marriott International operates more than 8,600 properties across 139 countries and territories under more than 30 brands, making it the world’s largest hospitality company.
The pronunciation revelation has sparked discussion on social media, with some viewers expressing surprise at the correct pronunciation while others indicated they would continue using the familiar “marry-ott” version. As one commenter noted, “Hilton is easier to pronounce.”
You can watch the minute-long clip of Marriott explaining the pronunciation of his family’s last name below:
For this story, Fortune used generative AI to help with an initial draft. An editor verified the accuracy of the information before publishing.
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