Top picks for 2006: Travel Weekly's Readers Choice Awards

Notable names in the world of travel came out to celebrate the Fourth Annual Travel Weekly Readers' Choice Awards, a salute to the very best in the industry. The gala event took place Dec. 14 at the Pierre Hotel in New York. Following the presentations, Travel Weekly's annual Lifetime Achievement Award was conferred on three industry pioneers: J.W. Marriott Jr., chairman and CEO of the world's largest hospitality company; Bob Dickinson, CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines, the world's largest and most profitable cruise company; and John Mullen, founder of Apple Vacations, one of the country's largest and most prominent tour operators. Presenting the awards were Travel Weekly Vice President and Publisher Bob Sullivan and Editor-In-Chief Arnie Weissmann.

Lifetime Achievement Award Winners 

The Travel Weekly Lifetime Achievement Award is given to members of the industry who have profoundly changed, for the better, not only their own company, but also the broader industry in which they work. This year, there were three recipients: Bill Marriott, John Mullen and Bob Dickinson. 

J.W. MARRIOTT JR. 

MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL 

In 1964, Bill Marriott became president of the company his father started. At the time, he had 9,600 employees and company sales of $84 million.

Since then, sales, net income, earnings per share and stock price have all grown at an annual compounded rate of 20%. The number of employees has risen to more than 200,000, making it one of the 10 largest employers in the U.S.

And although the business was born in America with the purchase of an A&W Root Beer stand franchise in Washington, it is now a truly global company, thanks in large measure to Bill Marriott.

Marriott is chairman and CEO of Marriott International. His leadership spans nearly 50 years, during which time he has taken Marriott from a family restaurant business to a $19 billion global lodging company with 2,700 properties in 70 countries.

Marriott developed a passion for the business at an early age and worked in a variety of positions in the family restaurant chain during his high school and college years. He joined the company full time in 1956 and, soon afterward, took over management of Marriott's first hotel. He was elected CEO in 1972 and chairman of the board in 1985.

Regarded as an innovator, Marriott began shifting the company in the late 1970s from hotel ownership to property management and franchising, a decision that culminated in the company's split into Marriott International, a hotel management and franchising firm that he headed, and Host Marriott International, a hotel ownership company chaired by his brother, Richard.

Bill Marriott worked to compile a family of 18 lodging brands that range from limited service to full-service luxury hotels. Today the company manages and franchises hotels and resorts under the Marriott, JW Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Courtyard, SpringHill Suites, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn and Ramada International brands.

The company also develops and operates vacation ownership resorts, executive apartments and conference centers.

Known for his hands-on management style, Marriott created a corporate culture that emphasizes the value its employees bring to the organization. Marriott International's "spirit to serve" culture is based on a business philosophy started 76 years ago by Bill Marriott's parents, J. Willard and Alice Marriott: "Take care of the associate, and they'll take care of the guest." Today, approximately 128,000 Marriott associates are servicing guests throughout the world.

Marriott International also is known for its commitment to diversity and community service. It consistently has been named to Fortune's lists of most admired companies, best places to work and top companies for minorities.

Marriott earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Utah and served as an officer in the U.S. Navy. He is an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Married to the former Donna Garff, he has four children and 12 grandchildren.

JOHN MULLEN 

APPLE VACATIONS 

When Philadelphia-born John Mullen enrolled at Temple University after having served in the U.S. Army, he began working toward a career in broadcasting. He had no idea he would one day head one of the largest and most dynamic companies in the travel industry.

Mullen worked his way through seven years of night school by loading bags and writing passenger tickets at an airport. The airline business was exploding at that time, and opportunities were beckoning, so he switched from broadcasting to business.

Mullen joined Capital Airlines in 1958, stayed through its merger with United Airlines, then in 1964 accepted an offer from Lufthansa. In 1969, he left Lufthansa to found a small travel agency in Drexel Hill, Pa.

Apple Vacations sold charter trips to Mexico, the Caribbean and Hawaii to affinity groups. When in 1978 the Civil Aeronautics Board began allowing airlines to offer charter flights to the general public, Mullen jumped on the opportunity. He opened Apple's business to the public and enlisted travel agents as his sales force.

He expanded into cruises, and in doing so broke the monopoly held by the Port of New York by offering the first regular cruise departures from the ports of Philadelphia and Baltimore to destinations like Bermuda.

In December 2001, he launched his own airline, USA 3000. Today the airline is thriving and has 12 Airbus 320 aircraft.

Also in 2001, Apple started a hotel division, AMResorts, marketing it in three brand categories: Secrets, Dreams and Sunscape. Apple's hotel division now has nine properties and by 2009 will have 18.

Married to Joan Alice Atkinson for 43 years, the Mullens have four children who all work in the business. Sons Timothy, Jeffrey and Matt are in top management spots, working in the corporate offices in Newtown Square, Pa. Daughter Janine is married to Alex Zozaya, president of AMResorts. 

BOB DICKINSON 

President and CEO 

Carnival Cruise Lines 

Bob Dickinson, 64, is not only the CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines, he is an author, he holds honorary doctorates from Johnson & Wales University and Maine Maritime Academy, and he is a connoisseur of fine wines. He and his wife, Jodi, reside in Coral Gables, Fla., and have four children and nine grandchildren. 

To learn more about the man, it is best to get the facts from the source. Travel Weekly has dug into its January 2005 archives for the column titled "Who's in Charge: Bob Dickinson" and presents it here for your illumination and entertainment: 

I joined what was the parent of Carnival, known as AITS, in February 1972. I joined AITS because my boss at RCA, a large conglomerate, became the president, and he hired me as his assistant. A year later I was vice president of operations and administration, and he was fired.

The chief financial officer and I vied to become president. He won. About four months later, I was in his managerial knickers because the company was not doing well, and his style and mine were contradictory. So he wanted to get rid of me.

And at about the same time, Ted Arison had some health issues and went to the primary shareholder of AITS, Meshulam Riklis, who asked me to come down to Miami. I didn't want to go, but, reluctantly, I went. And my job was to sell Carnival because it had lost $8 million in a year-and-a-half, and $8 million was a lot of money.

I didn't know squat about cruising. The first ship I saw was in Miami. It was the biggest ship I ever saw, and I asked, "Wow, is that the QE2?" It turned out to be a 5,000-ton slug of a ship.

I focused on the marketing. We had one ship, the Mardi Gras, at the time, 1973. Its marketing position was "the Flagship of the Golden Fleet." There was no fleet, it wasn't golden, and Fleet is a brand of personal-care products.

I saw that other cruise lines were focusing on the company name instead of the ship, with the exception of Commodore Cruises, which had the Boheme and called it "the Happy Ship."

I liked that, so we changed the marketing around and started advertising that the Mardi Gras was "the Fun Ship." In 1974, we cut our loss in half, and in December of that year, Ted Arison bought the company.

And then he fired me.

Then I spent three days getting my job back. It was very cordial: We'd meet in the morning, talk until noon; we'd go to the local Howard Johnson for lunch and talk about the Miami Dolphins.

In 1975, we made money, a first for the company. In the fall of 1975, Ted bought the Mardi Gras' sister ship and called it the Carnivale.

For Ted to buy a second ship, that was neat. Here's a guy with a marginal business that made a profit, and he spent it all on that ship. That was exciting. I knew that we had an owner who was entrepreneurial.

[As for my management style], you need a sense of humor. If we start to worry about our authority, it's very easy to get arrogant, and that shuts down communication. I don't like people calling me Mr. Dickinson. A lot of the crew will call me Bob or Mr. Bob. I'd rather have my lungs removed without the aid of anesthesia than go down the hall without acknowledging crew members.

I remember in Travel Weekly in 1975, I was quoted saying that Carnival Cruise Lines will end up with six ships, seven-day ships, all the same price, sailing from ports around the country. And people thought I was smoking my Jockey shorts.

...KEEP READING FOR MORE ON THE WINNERS...