Marriott has been growing its participation in social media to strengthen its brand and connection with its customers. Marriott associates are also increasingly using social media in their personal lives. While this creates new opportunities to communicate with each other and with customers, it also creates new responsibilities for Marriott associates.

There is no desire to interfere with the private lives of associates or their after-work activities, including social networking. However, where such activities occur using company provided technology and/or impact the work environment in a negative manner, the company reserves the right to take whatever action appropriate, at its discretion, to protect its reputation and interests.

With the rise of new media and next generation communication tools, the channels that Marriott International associates can use to communicate internally and externally, continue to evolve and grow. These channels include social media platforms viz Facebook, MySpace, RenRen, LinkedIn, IM and TripAdvisor; photo/video-sharing websites such as YouTube and Flickr; blogs and micro blogs.

Collectively, these channels, as well as other current and future channels, constitute what we refer to as “social media.”