Marriott International, the largest publicly traded U.S. lodging chain, said it plans to open more hotels and add workers even as growth in its home market eases and Europe struggles with the regional debt crisis.
The Bethesda, Md.-based company plans to hire as many as 10,000 workers in the U.S. as it opens 150 hotels in the country this year, chairman Bill Marriott said. U.S. employers added the fewest workers in a year in May and the jobless rate rose.
“The employment numbers that came out last week were very disappointing,” Marriott said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Hong Kong. “If people lose faith in the economy and business confidence goes down in the U.S. because of the jobs situation, it will go very soft.”
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