Best Workplaces, Training & Development
Here’s how No. 15 on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For Europe invests in its people.
The hospitality industry is one of the largest in Europe, yet the sector continues to face workforce gaps — as much as a 10% shortfall for some members of the EU.
The answer to the challenge? Development and recruitment.
Marriott International, No. 15 on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® Europe, makes a powerful case for a career in hospitality, investing heavily in talent programs to develop the next generation of hospitality leaders.
“What people sometimes don't realize is that we offer lots of options career-wise,” says Francisca Martinez, chief human resources officer for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Marriott. “We have pretty much every discipline that you could find in any corporate organization.”
A business built on talent
There’s a reason that the hospitality industry has traditionally developed the talent it needs. (Europe has a long tradition of hospitality schools and training programs.) The work can be demanding; hotels stay open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. People new to the industry might not understand how dynamic and demanding the environment is.
“You have to connect with people, but you also need to be resilient, to have the emotional intelligence to deal with all kinds of situations,” Martinez says. “Having a strong commercial acumen is also key because you're making decisions quickly and often under pressure.”
That’s why Marriott is so committed to training with programs like “Voyage,” a 12- to 18-month rotational graduate program available to associates globally. In Europe, there are also private-public partnerships with government agencies that offer apprenticeships and vocational training.
To specifically address talent shortfalls in Europe, Marriott launched its Youth Champion Programme in 2025 to support early-career hiring in the region. Marriot has 61 champions representing 37 countries as of March 2026, building relationships with schools, universities and NGOs to promote careers in hospitality.
Nearly eight in 10 Marriott associates in Europe say they are offered training or development to further themselves professionally, compared with just over half of employees at a typical European workplace.
Investing in frontline training
One of Marriott’s key values is a belief that anyone in the organization can develop into a future leader. “We believe we can hire anyone with zero experience, and we can teach you everything you need to know to succeed,” Martinez says.
That belief appears to carry into the employee experience. The company launched a new program, “Elevate”, to bring targeted training and 1-1 coaching to frontline associates aspiring to become managers.
Over 2,600 associates have participated in the six-month-long program, and early results show clear success. For associates who participated, retention was 2.5 times higher than non-participants. Participants were also 5.5 times more likely to be promoted.
In Europe, this training is crucial for helping frontline staff acquire the skills needed to grow into management and leadership positions, from learning English to developing tech skills and business acumen. “We teach them how to manage others, how to work in teams — things you’re going to need as a first-time manager,” Martinez says. At Marriott, 85% of associates say people are given significant responsibility, compared with 64% at a typical European workplace.
Connecting employees to opportunity
Marriott has always been a company where associates can develop new skills and grow into new roles. Many of Marriott leaders started in a frontline, on-property role before working their way into senior management.
The opportunity to change disciplines and roles is also a unique selling point, Martinez says. “To be an engineer, you need to have studied engineering,” she says, “but most jobs at the company you can learn without having deep prior training or job experience.”
Marriott makes a concerted effort to connect employees to new opportunities. Every associate has access to an internal job posting platform and new roles are constantly advertised across internal communication channels. The platform also allows Marriott to see what talent is available in the system, along with important information like skills, experience, and the aspirations an associate has.
Marriott is committed to hiring and promoting from within, too. “Internal talent is always given a preference, unless we are trying to bring in a skillset we don’t have,” Martinez says. Marriott is particularly successful in helping associates along on their career path. Seven in 10 associates say promotions go to those who best deserve them, nearly twice the proportion at a typical European workplace.
The value of care
Because of its infrastructure for training and developing people, Marriott can have a significant impact during crises.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Marriott has been able to support refugees looking to relocate and rebuild their lives. The company has had success hiring refugees and mentoring them to grow new careers with over 1,500 hired in Europe to date.
“Hotels were trying to do the right thing to support those in need, but at the same time, we uncovered a great pool of talent that to this day we're leveraging across the region,” Martinez says.
Partnering with the Tent Refugee Women Mentorship Programme, Marriott supports refugee women with practical career guidance, including navigating local labor markets, workplace culture, CV writing and interview preparation. By the end of last year, 65 Marriott associates provided more than 680 hours of mentorship, helping refugee women build confidence and job skills, as well as find opportunities for work.
Marriott’s underlying core value of care is just one of the reasons that leaders like Martinez choose to stay with Marriott year after year.
“I believe in these values,” Martinez says. “I believe in what the company does. I’m here because I feel like this is a growing, successful, value-driven organization.”
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