We stand at the edge of a new era.

Decades ago, when the Marriott hotel chain was still a fledgeling company, founder John Willard Marriott was thinking about how to grow the company at a faster pace.

Buying another building to house another hotel is a very capital intensive endeavour and it would have taken too long for the current hotels to make enough profits to fund the next property.

JW Marriott understood that his company was known for hospitality. Not for ownership of properties.

Who cared anyway?

So he reached out to building owners who were interested in converting their building to a hotel. Marriott offered the hospitality brand and management expertise while the other party provided the location and space.

The result?

Marriott now runs hotels all over the world. In Singapore, the iconic pagoda Marriott Hotel is right in the heart of Orchard Road and is in