There isn't a Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Maryland, but by next summer the luxury chain's headquarters will be in Montgomery County.
Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. Inc. announced yesterday that it will move to Maryland from Atlanta to be closer to its parent, Bethesda-based Marriott International Inc., bringing 140 new jobs. No state incentives were involved in the deal, state and company officials said.
Marriott, one of the state's largest employers, was given one of Maryland's most generous incentives packages - worth $44 million - in 1999 to keep its headquarters in Maryland and add jobs. The Ritz move is an indirect result of that deal, said David S. Iannucci, Maryland's secretary of business and economic development.
Marriott has fallen short of the terms of its deal since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 devastated the economy, particularly the travel industry, Iannucci said. Marriott lost two New York hotels in the attacks, although one has since reopened, and its revenue at other properties has plummeted.
The travel industry comeback has been slow, and the state has given Marriott a 12-month reprieve on the requirement that it add 700 jobs within five years to the 3,500 it employed in Bethesda at the time of the deal.
"We made what I believe was an excellent business decision to keep a Fortune 500, world-known company, Marriott International, in Maryland," Iannucci said. "We've since built a relationship. And we've worked with them during the post-Sept. 11 economic difficulties. ... We showed them support in a challenging economic time, and we're being rewarded with this positive action."
Marriott has laid off about 400 people since September, and the company reported that it had 3,358 employees at its headquarters at the end of the first quarter.
No new Marriott jobs have been announced, and Iannucci said Ritz's 140 positions will not count toward Marriott's target. It is not known how many Ritz workers will move from Atlanta to retain their jobs.
Iannucci said he thinks J.W. Marriott Jr., chairman and chief executive of Marriott International, was involved in the decision to move Ritz to Maryland.
"We are pleased to welcome the Ritz-Carlton to Montgomery County," Marriott said in a statement. "We are most grateful for the efforts of Gov. Glendening, Lt. Gov. Townsend and [Montgomery] County Executive Duncan and those of their top staffs, particularly state and county business development directors David Iannucci and David Edgerley, to build a strong business climate."
A Marriott spokesman said Ritz could become more efficient by moving closer to its parent company.
"Their proximity to each other will cut the travel time, end commuting between their headquarters and our headquarters," said Roger Conner, vice president of communications for Marriott. "And, of course, we're very aware of our commitment to Maryland, and we appreciate the extension."
In Maryland, Ritz will join not only Marriott International, but also spinoff company Host Marriott, also in Bethesda. Crestline Capital Corp., another Marriott spinoff, announced in March that it was being acquired by a Spanish company and moving from Bethesda to Virginia.
Ritz lends its name to 55 hotels, including 10 under development, in 20 countries.
A Ritz-Carlton hotel was proposed more than three years ago at the Inner Harbor, but the developer has not secured financing for the $165 million project or bought the waterfront land.
Ritz has said in the past it would manage the hotel and condominiums planned in Baltimore, and Marriott's Conner said the company still wants a property in the city.
"We have no new information," he said. "We remain very interested in a Ritz in Baltimore."
He said he could not discuss other possible hotel sites in the state that might be considered.