A concept that’s taken hold in business, and certainly at my company, is to “fail fast.” It means to try new strategies and push in new directions, but also recognize when an effort is failing - to know when to pull the plug and move on.

That’s what we at Marriott have done today. We have withdrawn our petition to the FCC on cybersecurity – an initiative we thought was the right thing to do. However, in the face of disagreement from both regulators and our customers, we see that the effort was doomed.



This issue has been a complex one, and one that has opened Marriott to much criticism – the most painful of which has been the misunderstanding of our intentions. We wanted to protect the security of Wi-Fi use for conferences at our hotels – it had nothing to do with individual guest use of Wi-Fi or personal Wi-Fi hotspots.

In fact, we have led the industry in offering millions of customers free Internet access. In October, we announced that Marriott Rewards Members – a membership that is free and open to anyone – would have free Internet when they book direct. That message has been drowned out by the noise with the FCC.

Cybersecurity is a major concern across the business world and, certainly, in our industry, where guests and conference-goers rightly expect that any hotel-provided connection be secure. We are in a pitched battle against hackers who are at work daily trying to fool consumers – sometimes by setting up a Wi-Fi network that seeks to lure conference-goers into a site intended to steal passwords or other valuable data.

At one of the Gaylord hotels that joined our system in 2012, the staff had been using an FCC-approved device that blocked rogue Wi-Fi in conference areas. They thought it would enhance cybersecurity and Wi-Fi performance for the conference attendees. The FCC disagreed and fined us, after we had taken over the hotel. We, along with an industry trade group, the American Hotel and Lodging Association, and others, asked the FCC for clarification through a petition because we thought everyone – our business, our industry and our customers -- would benefit from clear rules on how to ensure secure Wi-Fi.

The FCC disagreed again. Our customers weren’t happy with us either. Many thought our actions smacked of greed; that we were looking for a way to force customers to buy access to Wi-Fi in our hotels. Denying this and pointing out that individual guests could easily get free Wi-Fi didn’t help much. Nobody really had time to get into the details. Mostly our statements just led to more negative coverage and reaction.

Today, we concluded that our approach was the wrong one. We have heard our customers loud and clear. They want unfettered Wi-Fi access. We will do our best to warn our conference customers of the security risks of rogue hotspots. But, let’s all move on.

Related Link: Marriott International Committed to Wi-Fi Access & Security

Photo Credit: Thinkstock