At MVW, we believe we are Better Together and challenge each other to learn and grow. We celebrate our collective achievements while winning as a team and having fun. Whether we collaborate in person or with the help of technology, we learn from each other. For example, our marketing and sales teams across the globe regularly share best practices via virtual meetings. We are in the business of bringing people together to make vacation memories that will last a lifetime, and every one of us understands we play an important role in delighting our Owners, members, and guests.
Our culture and values are at the heart of everything we do as we strive to deliver on our cultural foundation of “Life, fulfilled” by creating exceptional vacation experiences. We achieve this through our brands: Marriott Vacation Club, Sheraton Vacation Club, Westin Vacation Club, Grand Residences by Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton Club, St. Regis Residence Club, and Hyatt Residence Club. We welcomed ILG to the fold in 2018 and Welk Resorts in 2021 as part of our ambition to be the world’s leading travel and vacation experience company. We also continue to innovate through investments in technology and digital.
Our annual Associate Engagement Survey provides feedback and helps us find opportunities to improve. In 2021, 91% of our associates participated, and our engagement score earned us a Kincentric Best Employer designation. We addressed our top areas of opportunity with action plans. For example, 25% of corporate survey comments described flexible work as important, and we incorporated that feedback in our Adaptable Work Model to include both in-office and remote work in corporate locations. We also expanded the diversity of our executive committee and board of directors and formed an Executive Inclusion Council to champion inclusion and diversity.
We cultivate a learning-rich environment where associates are encouraged to create individual development plans, grow their careers, and succeed professionally and personally while serving our Owners, members, and guests. The Company also conducts succession planning and offers a Leadership Development Program to provide associates with the tools, resources, and practice necessary to be successful leaders. In 2021, 1,682 associates around the globe were promoted, including 1,513 in the United States. We also offer a College Internship Program in summer and fall, after which many interns are hired into permanent positions, bringing new perspectives and fresh ideas to our business.
Our values of Caring Culture, Integrity First, Excellence Always, Customer Obsessed, and Better Together provide the framework for living fulfilling lives, which starts with an inclusive, diverse workplace where we support development of our associates. Women make up 54% of our global workforce. In the United States, 45% of management positions are held by women and 43% by people of color. Our Caring Culture extends to our communities, exemplified by our annual Harvest for Hunger global food drive, and our concern about the health of the planet. MVW won a 2021 Leadership in Greener Purchasing Award from Office Depot.
Celebrating our associates through Associate Appreciation Week (AAW) is a beloved tradition dating to the Company’s inception in 1984. The annual, global celebration honors associates and their contributions to the Company with events focused on camaraderie, recognition, team building, and serving the community together. For AAW last year, we collected and shared stories from our associates that painted an extraordinary picture of our Caring Culture – stories of teamwork, caring for each other, and going above and beyond for our customers. Those posts drew 5,159 total social media impressions on all platforms, with engagement rates ranging from 2.26% to 17.9%.
Steve Weisz, who has dedicated his 50-year career to building the Company into a global industry leader, is passionate about our associates, Owners, members, and guests. An exceptional model of our Core Values, he empowers our associates to give back and guides our support of groups helping people facing health challenges. Thanks to his leadership, we recently partnered with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. In 2019, the American Resort Development Association gave Steve the ACE Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2021, he was honored with the Charles Andrews Memorial Hospitality Award for Community Leadership by the Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association.
As a leading global vacation company, we offer generous discounts on exciting travel experiences and stays at our global resorts for our associates and their families and friends. We implemented an Adaptable Work Model to provide more flexibility for where and when associates work. We offer fertility, adoption, and transgender benefits as part of our comprehensive health and wellness plans, plus immediate enrollment in our 401(k) retirement plan, an employee stock purchase program, an employee assistance counseling program, financial counseling, and tuition reimbursement. These benefits help our associates around the world live more fulfilling lives every day.
To support our associates throughout the pandemic, we prioritized the health and safety of our associates and customers. We established a cross-functional team to help our resorts respond to the demands of the pandemic with enhanced cleaning procedures. We partnered with a health care system to host live and virtual Town Hall sessions about staying healthy and the importance of getting vaccinated. We developed a Pandemic Sick Time Off policy that provided paid sick leave for associates who needed time off to recover, or care for loved ones recovering, from COVID-19. We also provided employee assistance and financial wellness resources.
MVW is a leading global vacation company offering vacation ownership, exchange, rental, and resort and property management. Its mission is to create the most successful, expansive, and immersive world of vacation and leisure experiences so our customers and associates can live more fulfilling lives, and in doing so, continuously deliver value for our shareholders. The Company has about 120 vacation ownership resorts and 700,000 owner families in a diverse portfolio that includes seven iconic vacation ownership brands. It also operates exchange networks and membership programs in more than 90 countries and provides management services to other resorts.
9002 San Marco Court
Orlando, Florida 32819
United States
Hotel/Hospitality/Travel
Stephen P. Weisz
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