As a result of a major acquisition deal in 2006 that transferred ownership of 90 Marriott-branded hotels to RLJ Development, the local development firm owned by BET founder Robert L. Johnson, Marriott now has a total of 400 Marriott-branded hotels that are either owned or managed by minorities or women, the hospitality company announced Tuesday. The acquisition deal helped move Marriott one step closer to its goal of opening 500 minority- or women-owned hotels by 2010.

RLJ acquired 100 hotels from White Lodging Services Corp., 90 of which were Marriott-branded properties, for $1.7 billion, making RLJ one of the largest owners of Marriott hotels in the U.S.

The acquisition fell under Marriott’s 2005 Diversity Initiative, which in addition to the goal of 500 hotels, also included a pledge to spend $1 billion with women- and minority-owned suppliers. Marriott spent $400 million with women- and minority-owned suppliers in 2006.

While Marriott probably has one of the most visible diversity initiatives, a focus on recruiting women and minority leaders to the hospitality industry is not unique to the company, Hotel Association of Washington, D.C. President Emily Durso said.

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“Certainly who we’re seeing in terms of who the managers are in (local) hotels reflects (the trend),” she said.

According to figures from the local association, 27 percent of general managers in the Washington region are minorities and 18 percent are women. Those figures are up about 10 to 15 percent from five years ago, Durso said.

“That’s not a lot, but it’s more than it used to be,” she said. “I think our industry is very attractive to minorities. It’s very upwardly mobile ... the majority of our mid-level managers are not white guys.”