Marriott International is the largest hotel company in the world by the number of available rooms. Marriott is an American multinational company that operates, franchises, and licenses lodging brands that include hotel, residential, and timeshare properties. Marriott International owns over 30 hotel and timeshare brands with 8,785 locations and 1,597,380 rooms across its network. Marriott International is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. The company is the successor to the hospitality division of the Marriott Corporation, founded by J. Willard Marriott (1900–1985) and his wife Alice Marriott (1907–2000).