Today, on World Refugee Day, Marriott International announced it has committed to hiring more than 1,500 refugees throughout its European region by 2026. This follows Marriott’s commitment to hire over 1,500 refugees by 2025 in the United States. Marriott President and CEO Anthony Capuano announced Marriott’s hiring commitment during the Tent Partnership for Refugees European Business Summit this week.
“At Marriott International, we believe in being a force for good and making a positive and sustainable impact in the communities where we do business,” said Capuano. “Across Europe, this has included support for refugees from Ukraine since the start of the war. Our focus on creating job opportunities has already led to over 970 refugees hired across dozens of our hotels in the European region. Marriott’s goal to hire an additional 1,500 refugees in Europe builds on the work we’re doing to promote opportunities for refugees in the U.S. and highlights our steadfast commitment to put people first and provide economic opportunity for refugees and underrepresented populations.”
For over 96 years, Marriott has created a culture of welcoming all who walk through its doors—guests and associates from around the world. The company has a long history of providing skills development and training for jobs in the hospitality industry, empowering refugees to create a positive future for themselves, their families, and their communities. Some Marriott hotels are providing recently resettled refugee employees with resources and tailored support, such as on-site translators, prayer rooms, and assistance with navigating public transportation. Building on its hiring commitment, Marriott launched a careers site to showcase opportunities for refugees looking to apply for positions in the U.S.
Marriott recently highlighted the incredible journey of cousins Ehsanullah Safi and Shah Faisal Safi and their families. The Safis left Afghanistan in August of 2021 and are now proud associates at the Marriott Bethesda Downtown at Marriott HQ. Marriott also shared Lidia Tomshivska’s story, a native of Ukraine who fled to Germany and began working at the Leipzig Marriott Hotel. In just over a year, she has become nearly fluent in German and is enrolling in hospitality school.
Marriott continues its longstanding efforts with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), to train and hire refugees. Since 2016, Marriott’s support has helped the IRC train nearly 1,000 refugees in the U.S. in hospitality and workforce skills through its Hospitality Link program and other initiatives. This year, Marriott is supporting IRC’s Hospitality Link program in Tucson, AZ, and Denver, CO, and will also support increased training for IRC economic empowerment staff, helping them develop high quality and impactful job readiness programs for their refugee clients.
In recognition of World Refugee Day, Marriott and Welcome.US – a U.S. initiative to inspire, mobilize, and empower Americans to welcome and support those seeking refuge in the U.S. – will collaborate on a #LoveTravels activation at the WaWa Welcome America Festival in Philadelphia, PA, June 19 – July 4, 2023. #LoveTravels represents Marriott’s commitment to advance inclusion, equality, and create positive and sustainable impact wherever it does business. Marriott will highlight its commitment to refugee hiring through its #BeAWelcomer lightbox display at the festival.
To learn more about the work Marriott is doing to empower through opportunity visit https://serve360.marriott.com/empower/.
