We're 30% of the way to our goal of 2,500 donations by Friday! Help us catch up ⏩ Give Now
COVID-19

Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson: “The impact to people’s lives will be profound.”

Kai Ryssdal and Sean McHenry Mar 26, 2020
HTML EMBED:
COPY
Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson announced thousands of employees would be furloughed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
COVID-19

Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson: “The impact to people’s lives will be profound.”

Kai Ryssdal and Sean McHenry Mar 26, 2020
Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson announced thousands of employees would be furloughed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
HTML EMBED:
COPY

Update, 2/16/2021: Marriott International has announced that company President and CEO Arne Sorenson unexpectedly passed away on Feb. 15, 2021.


The hotel industry has been decimated by the novel coronavirus pandemic, and Marriott chief executive Arne Sorenson has been on the front lines. The COVID-19 pandemic is said to have hurt Marriott International’s business worse than 9/11 and the Great Recession combined.

In an emotional video address released last week, the CEO of the world’s largest hotel company announced that tens of thousands of corporate employees would be furloughed and that he would not take a salary for the rest of the year.

“The impact to people’s lives will be profound,” Sorenson said in an interview with “Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal. “We’ve got to find a way to get through this together. We will, ultimately.”

Click the audio player above to hear the interview.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.