Marriott Plans To Add Hotels, Workers

　　Los Angeles Marriott International, the largest publicly traded US lodging chain, said it plans to open more hotels and add workers even as growth in its home market eases and Europe struggles with the regional debt crisis.

　　The Bethesda, Maryland-based company plans to hire as many as 10,000 workers in the US as it opens 150 hotels in the country this year, chairman Bill Marriott said. US employers added the fewest workers in a year in May as the jobless rate rose.

　　“The employment numbers that came out last week were very disappointing,” Marriott said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Hong Kong. “If people lose faith in the economy and business confidence goes down in the US because of the jobs situation, it will go very soft.”

　　Marriott said the recovery of the US economy and the European crisis are his biggest concerns for his business. Treasuries rallied yesterday, driving 10-year yields below 1.50 per cent for the first time, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average erased its 2012 gain after last week’s job data. Marriott’s shares declined to a three-month low.