A room with a pew: New Marriotts get Bible, Book of Mormon

Sheraton, Westin and other Starwood hotels are finding their religion.

Marriott International, which bought Starwood two years ago, has begun putting copies of the Bible and the Book of Mormon in the recently-acquired hotels. By year's end, it expects to place the books in 300,000 rooms.

Marriott, whose namesake founding family is active in the Mormon church, has been putting both the Bible and the Book of Mormon in its rooms since opening its first hotel in the late 1950s. Like most major chains, Marriott doesn't own the majority of its hotels. However, it stands out from the other companies by requiring — in franchise or licensing agreements — its 6,500 properties to have the books in each room.

The Book of Mormon is shown Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018, Salt Lake City. Sheraton, Westin and other Starwood hotels are finding their religion. Marriott International, which bought Starwood two years ago, has begun putting copies of the Bible and the Book of Mormon in Sheratons, Westins and other hotels in the Starwood family. (AP PhotoRick Bowmer)

It's not a policy Marriott relishes discussing. The company declined to make an executive available to comment, but issued a statement to The Associated Press: "There are many guests who are not digitally connected who appreciate having one or both of these books available. It's a tradition appreciated by many, objected to by few."

Judging from lively internet discussions, however, travelers are divided on the issue. Some say they're not bothered by seeing a Bible or a Book of Mormon in the room, and note that they're usually tucked away in a drawer. But others say they have complained to managers and asked for the books to be removed.

John Ollila, a frequent Starwood and Marriott traveler and the founder of the travel blog LoyaltyLobby, said he thinks publicly traded companies should remain secular.

FILE - This Feb. 1, 2010, file photo, shows the Westin Philadelphia hotel in Philadelphia. Marriott International, which bought Starwood two years ago, has begun putting copies of the Bible and the Book of Mormon in Sheratons, Westins and other hotels in the Starwood family. Marriott says it expects to place the books in 300,000 rooms by the end of this year. (AP PhotoMatt Rourke, File)

"Why wouldn't they want to target the widest possible market?" he said.

Marriott gets the Bibles for free from Gideons International, a group that donates Bibles to prisons, hospitals, hotels and other public places. The costs for the Books of Mormon are shared by the Marriott Foundation and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Marriott is alone among big hotel chains in requiring religious materials in its rooms. Hilton and IHG, which owns Holiday Inn and other brands, say they let local hotel managers decide whether to offer Bibles. Hyatt has no official policy, but says it will obtain religious texts if guests ask for them.

In this Aug. 10, 2018, photo provided by Tommy Danielsen boxes of Bibles sit in a cart at Sheraton Rockville Hotel in Rockville, Md. Marriott International, which bought Starwood two years ago, has begun putting copies of the Bible and the Book of Mormon in Sheratons, Westins and other hotels in the Starwood family. Marriott says it expects to place the books in 300,000 rooms by the end of this year. (Tommy Danielsen via AP)

According to STR, a hotel data firm, the number of U.S. hotels that offer religious materials in their rooms has dropped over the last decade, to 79 percent in 2016 from 95 percent in 2006. Luxury hotels were the least likely to offer them, with just 51 percent saying they did. And urban and resort hotels were less likely to offer them than hotels in suburbs or along interstates.

The change at some of the 1,300 former Starwood hotels could come as a surprise to some guests; Marriott says those rooms haven't had religious materials in them until now. Starwood — which was founded by Jewish businessman Barry Sternlicht in 1991 — also includes nearly a dozen brands such as the St. Regis, Le Meridien, Aloft and Four Points.

Some brands, however, are holier than others. Starwood's 50 W hotels — one of the first chains to sell "intimacy kits" that include condoms — won't get the books. Neither will the 140 independently owned Design Hotels, most of which are in Europe. Marriott's youth-focused Moxy brand and its luxury Edition brand also don't have the books in their rooms.

In this Aug. 10, 2018, photo provided by Tommy Danielsen boxes of Bibles sit in a cart at Sheraton Rockville Hotel in Rockville, Md. Marriott International, which bought Starwood two years ago, has begun putting copies of the Bible and the Book of Mormon in Sheratons, Westins and other hotels in the Starwood family. Marriott says it expects to place the books in 300,000 rooms by the end of this year. (Tommy Danielsen via AP)

Marriott says there's no single reason why religious materials are excluded from some properties.

"With any of our brands, there are hundreds of decisions made about the look and feel of the brand, how a room will be outfitted, what amenities it will have," the company said in its emailed statement.

Hotels in certain locations — such as Vietnam and Indonesia — also don't have a Bible or a Book of Mormon because it might be considered inappropriate, Marriott said. In those places, hotels have the option to provide a card in the room that tells guests to call the front desk if they would like religious materials.

Jennifer Moody, a management consultant and co-author of the travel blog "From Home and Back," says she has no issue with any religious books in her hotel rooms. Moody, a Methodist from Fort Worth, Texas, said she thumbed through the Bible in her hotel room on Sept. 11, 2001, and she once took home a Book of Mormon because she was curious to read it.

"Finding something familiar and reassuring to turn to can provide comfort," Moody said. "If the presence of those books can be a comfort to others, then their placement is well-served."

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate by Wednesday evening, according to a U.S. official and the Gulf country, as President Donald Trump has warned of possible action after a deadly crackdown on protesters in Iran.

The decision came as a senior official in Tehran brought up the country's retaliatory attack in June at Al Udeid Air Base outside Doha, Qatar.

The U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive plans, described the move at the base as precautionary and said such measures also were being taken across the region. The official, citing the need for operational security, would not go into further detail, including whether the evacuation was optional or mandatory, whether it affected troops or civilian personnel, or how many people were advised to leave.

The U.S. Embassy in Qatar issued a notice early Thursday saying it had “advised its personnel to exercise increased caution and limit non-essential travel” to Al Udeid Air Base. “We recommend U.S. citizens in Qatar do the same,” it added. In Kuwait, the U.S. embassy ordered a “temporary halt” to its personnel going to multiple military bases in the small Gulf Arab country amid heightened tensions. Kuwait is home to U.S. Army Central, the service’s Mideast command.

The anti-government demonstrations in nearby Iran began in late December, and Trump has said he is willing to conduct military operations against Iran if the Tehran government continues to kill and arrest protesters.

A day after Trump said that he believes the killing is “significant ” and that his administration would “act accordingly," the president told reporters that he had been told that targeting protesters and plans for executions in Iran have stopped, without providing many details.

The vague statements made it unclear as of Wednesday night what U.S. action, if any, would take place against Iran.

Qatar said the measures at Al Udeid were being “undertaken in response to the current regional tensions.”

“The State of Qatar continues to implement all necessary measures to safeguard the security and safety of its citizens and residents as a top priority, including actions related to the protection of critical infrastructure and military facilities,” Qatar’s international media office said on the social platform X.

The base, which hosts thousands of American service members, was targeted by Iran in June in retaliation for U.S. strikes on its nuclear facilities.

Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wrote on X that “the #US President, who repeatedly talks about the futile aggression against #Iran’s nuclear facilities, would do well to also mention the destruction of the US base in #Al-Udeid by Iranian missiles.”

“It would certainly help create a real understanding of Iran’s will and ability to respond to any aggression,” he added.

The U.S. military maintains a variety of troops in the region, including at Al Udeid, but the Trump administration shifted some resources from the Middle East to the Caribbean Sea as part of a pressure campaign on former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, was ordered in October to sail from the Mediterranean Sea to the Caribbean along with several destroyers. The carrier USS Nimitz, which helped conduct the June strikes on Iran’s nuclear program, also departed the region in October.

The Navy had five small ships — two destroyers and three littoral combat ships — in the waters off Iran as of Tuesday.

Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, had a phone call Tuesday with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s prime minister.

In a statement on X, Al Thani said he “reaffirmed the State of Qatar’s backing of all de-escalation efforts, as well as peaceful solutions to enhance security and stability in the region.”

Iran’s decision in June to retaliate against U.S. strikes by targeting the sprawling desert base created a rare tension between the two maritime neighbors, with Qatari officials saying it caught them by surprise.

No American or Qatari personnel was harmed, the U.S. military’s Central Command said at the time, noting that they worked together to defend the base. A Qatari military officer said one of 19 missiles fired by Iran was not intercepted and hit the base, but Trump said in a social media post at the time that “hardly any damage was done.”

The Gulf state has been caught in the crossfire of other regional tensions, including an Israeli strike in September on the headquarters of Hamas’ political leadership in Doha while the group’s top figures had been gathered to consider a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The Pentagon declined to comment on questions about the changes at Al Udeid. The State Department had no immediate comment on the potential for any security alerts to be issued for American diplomats or other civilians in Qatar.

In June, the embassy had issued a brief shelter-in-place advisory to U.S. citizens in Doha but stopped short of evacuating diplomats or advising Americans to leave the country.

Amiri reported from New York. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Washington and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

FILE - President Donald Trump speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One at Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar, Oct. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

FILE - U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks at the Al Udeid Air Base, May 15, 2025, in Doha, Qatar. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

FILE - President Donald Trump, right, meets with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani aboard Air Force One at Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

A woman cries as members of the Iranian community stage a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, outside the U.S. embassy in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)