Arne Sorenson is a smart guy. He's CFO, EVP and head of European operations for Marriott International and likely successor to Bill Marriott, once the chairman retires. It's helpful to hear what Sorenson recently told Wall Street analysts about how Marriott plans to cope with the troubling times facing the hotel business in the coming months. His viewpoints serve as a practical roadmap for all owners and operators confused on what to do to preserve and grow their businesses.

Sorenson's bromide was easy to articulate, but difficult to execute: hold rates, build market share and cut costs. Like many hotel companies, Marriott had a tough third quarter, especially in the U.S. Occupancies and rates softened, attrition in the meetings market was on the rise, and the timeshare business fell apart. You can probably relate to these issues.

Yet, he presented a strong case of how the company intends to fight its way through the current economic and credit markets mess. Given Marriott's strong sales culture, it's no surprise that he first spoke of its marketing initiatives, which include a weekend promotion aimed at its best customers and an incentive scheme for both sales people and meeting planners to book more events.

Speaking of the group market, he said, “While demand is soft year-over-year, there is demand. It just needs to be realized.” Put in another way you can use in your operation, the coming year will be a market-share game and those hotels aggressive enough (and smart enough) to steal business will be the winners.

Increasing or even holding rates is a tougher task. Decreasing demand, a slight uptick in supply and random rate panic by some operators make it hard for even the steeliest GM, owner or sales manager to ask for higher rates. Marriott's plan is more subtle and in some cases involves shifting the mix of business. As an example, Sorenson said investment bankers and their clients were the prime customers for the Ritz-Carlton Central Park in New York City. When that business disappeared with the Wall Street meltdown, the hotel shifted its focus to serving the entertainment business and New York's diplomatic corps, two nearly recession-proof markets.

At other hotels less likely to book rooms from either Madonna or the ambassador from Albania, Sorenson suggests opening inventory to airline crews, government travelers and guests using AARP and AAA discounts. While this business is lower-rated, it enables the properties to aggressively pursue other business at higher rates.

Another Marriott initiative outlined by Sorenson is margin control. Every Marriott property has a contingency plan and “virtually all hotels have implemented those plans,” said Sorenson. The laundry list of cost-saving steps includes modifying restaurant hours and menus, reviewing room amenity programs, instituting hiring freezes and imposing mandatory time off. On a broader scale, Marriott is focusing on savings in its food procurement and by locking in cheaper energy costs during the recent oil price downswing.

These same cost-cutting moves can be made at the property-level, even if you operate a 50-room limited-service motel. As with most of life, it's paying attention to detail, an exercise that can pay huge dividends during difficult times such as these.