????阿恩?索倫森是有史以來第一位出任萬豪這個全球連鎖酒店掌門人的非萬豪族裔。2012年3月，他正式升任萬豪酒店（Marriott，在今年“美國最適宜工作的100家公司”排行榜上排名第64位）首席執(zhí)行官，不過此前他從1996年春開始就一直效力于這家公司。加入萬豪前，他曾是一家律師事務(wù)所的合伙人。

????對于這樣一家成功的家族企業(yè)來說，索倫森必須加倍努力證明自己。但這位54歲的高管表示，他已經(jīng)做好準(zhǔn)備迎接未來的挑戰(zhàn)了，部分原因在于萬豪已在困難時期努力留住了忠誠員工。在接受《財富》雜志（Fortune）專訪時，他談到了公司在中國的擴張、如何吸引年輕的旅行者、以及被評為“最佳雇主公司”的商業(yè)意義。

????萬豪酒店的文化據(jù)說與眾不同。你第一次切身感受到這一點是什么時候？

????我加入萬豪后的第一個夏天，公司舉辦了“萬豪卓越獎”（J.W. Marriott Awards of Excellence）的頒獎活動。這個一年一度的獎項表彰了十幾位來自全球的基層員工。

????這是最讓我有所觸動的事。獲獎員工主要是行李員、客房部經(jīng)理和預(yù)訂人員，他們多數(shù)都在萬豪效力了幾十年，而且絕大多數(shù)在來華盛頓領(lǐng)獎前從來沒坐過飛機。其他公司往往會表彰成功的高層，但在萬豪，我們更關(guān)注那些直接為客人提供服務(wù)的員工。

????經(jīng)濟形勢大好的時候，要做到對員工好不難。但是碰到不景氣的時候你們會怎么辦呢？

????可以拿我們最近經(jīng)歷的經(jīng)濟衰退為例。2009年顯然是谷底了。當(dāng)時情況糟糕透頂，全球絕大多數(shù)市場的同店入住率都降低了20%。這可真是一次大幅下降。要說它對我們沒有影響肯定是假話。實際上，那次經(jīng)濟衰退對我們所有人都影響很大，從公司最高層到眾多底層員工，概莫能外。

????但是，只要我們力所能及，就會著眼于長遠來做決策。比如，一般來說，員工必須達到一定的工作年限才能享受雇主購買的醫(yī)療保險。但2009年經(jīng)濟不振時，我們宣布，一旦符合條件的員工因為經(jīng)濟衰退工時遭到壓縮，我們會一如既往地把他們視為享受這一政策的合格對象。

????這可真了不起。

????這么做確實代價不菲。但是回顧一下大蕭條時期，就會覺得這種做法不算什么。當(dāng)時老比爾?馬里奧特專門為員工配備了一位醫(yī)生，因為他明白，大蕭條使這些員工飽受壓力之苦——那可是在80年前啊。

????在主要看重短期收益的業(yè)界，你們這么做是為了什么呢？

????Arne Sorenson is the first person of non-Marriott lineage to lead this global hotel franchise. He became CEO of Marriott (No. 64 on this year's Best Companies to Work For list) in March 2012, but had been working for the company since the spring of 1996. Before joining Marriott, he was a partner at a law firm.

????Sorenson has some big, family-owned shoes to fill. But the 54-year-old executive says he's ready to take on future challenges for the company, in part, because Marriott (MAR) has worked hard to hold on to loyal employees through tough times. He spoke with Fortune about expanding in China, appealing to young travelers, and the business case for being a Best Company to Work For.

????The culture at your hotels is supposed to be special. When was the first moment you saw it in action?

????The first summer I was here, there was an announcement that came around for the J.W. Marriott Awards of Excellence, which is an annual event where we recognize about a dozen line-level associates from around the globe.

????That was the thing that was the most powerful. The people who came in ranged from bellmen to housekeepers to reservation agents, most of whom had worked for Marriott for decades, and most of whom had never been in an airplane before flying to Washington for that event. Other places, I think, tend to celebrate the success of the senior people, but here, we put much more focus on the people who are delivering the services to the guest.

????It's easy to take care of employees when times are good. But what about when you're going through a recession?

????Look at the last recession we had; 2009 would have been the nadir, obviously. Brutal times, with same-store sales down in the lodging business by 20% in most markets around the globe. That is a massive decline. It would be wrong to say that didn't have an impact on our people. It had an impact on people throughout, from the very top of the company all the way through many associates.

????But we tried to make decisions for the long term, if we could. One example is that, typically, you would have to have a certain number of hours required to qualify for employer-paid health insurance. When we hit 2009, we basically said we're going to grandfather in those who have already qualified so that if their hours get cut because of the recession, we'll continue to treat them as if they qualified.

????That is a big deal.

????It is a big deal. But you go back to the Great Depression and Bill Marriott Sr. put a doctor on staff because he knew that his people were under severe pressure because of that depression -- that's 80 years ago.

????How do you justify choices like that in a business world that primarily rewards short-term gains?