Ritson: Marriott faces one of the toughest jobs in branding

A few months back, when Marriott International was given government approval to acquire Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, there was no question that this was the biggest deal in the history of the modern hotel business. Aside from the $13bn (£10bn) price tag, the acquisition turned Marriott into the largest hotel group in the world overnight with more than 1 million rooms worldwide. One in every 15 hotel rooms is now Marriott-operated.
When a clearly delighted Arne Sorenson annou