2020 General Manager Finalist Interview, featuring Nicholas Tse.
Nicholas Tse is the General Manager of JW Marriott Hotel Shenzhen Bao’an and a General Manager finalist of Stelliers 2020. Facing the pandemic, Tse led with strength and adapted swiftly to urgent challenges facing the hotel. Leaders often have to make difficult decisions during times of hardship and Tse shares what he has prioritised during this period to keep the hotel afloat and his personnel’s’ livelihood intact.
1. Describe your childhood and upbringing. where and when did your initial interest in hospitality begin?
My draw towards the hospitality industry came at an early age, almost like second nature. Having been born in an international family and raised and educated in the UK and Switzerland, I was blessed with an upbringing that broadened my worldview from the get-go.
My mother is from Leeds and my father was in the Hong Kong textile industry, often travelling and doing business in Europe. Born as a third-generation Chinese, I spent half of my life growing up between the UK and Hong Kong.
The time I spent between these two iconic and bustling cities were instrumental to the development of my passion for hospitality. From the historic hotels to stand-alone restaurants, I experienced world-class service and F&B dining that would ultimately shape my path to become the hospitality professional that I am today.
What really solidified my decision to become a hotelier was my role model and mentor, Auntie Winnie Leung. She was a legendary hotelier in Hong Kong, who knew my passion for travel and people. She recommended that I pursue hotel management, and so I did at the prestigious Les Roches Hotel Management School in Switzerland. Followed by my graduation was an internship in Zurich (for service) and another in Geneva (in culinary). In 1990, I returned to Hong Kong to kickstart my decade-long career in the Marriott Group at the JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong.
From there, the rest is history.
2. Was there a particular key turning point in your career that contributed to your success today?
A pivotal turning point in my career was my first overseas assignment in Vietnam. After six years at the JW Marriott Hong Kong, I had an opportunity to direct the pre-opening of the Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon as the Director of Sales.
At the time, I had my reservations and doubts about whether I could take on this new role. My boss, however, assured me and gave me the confidence to take on a challenge. In 1996, I was one of the very few hoteliers based in Hong Kong who was willing to relocate and develop a career in South East Asia.
I learnt a great deal in Saigon. Everything from revenue management, field marketing, branding to operations and more. I was exposed to all facets of running a new business, building my skills towards becoming an all-rounded hotelier with skillsets across different verticals.
Of course, I didn’t do it all on my own. Blessed with support from our JW Marriott Hong Kong team, my mentors at the HK regional office and my General Manager at the time, Mr John Webb, I successfully progressed my career in the two years I was in Saigon, Vietnam.
Following Saigon, my overseas career took off. Travelling and moving every two to four years for different types of projects: pre-openings, renovations, re-positioning and performance management. My assignments took me to five more cities – Singapore, Seoul, Bangkok, Koh Samui and Shenzhen. To date, I have worked with over 11 hotels in my 27 years with the Marriott Group.
3. COVID 19 has been (and still is) an immense challenge for the hospitality sector, can you share how you decided to lead your team and the property through this period?
Indeed, the on-set of the COVID-19 pandemic has been and still is a very challenging experience. The impact we have seen is worse than it was during SARS in 2003.
Our hotel had to close for one month in February and reopen again in March. During the closure, I stayed behind and lived in the hotel with only a handful of associates (just 12 of us) to maintain minimal operations – one telephone operator, two engineers, two security guards, and six canteen staffs.
In that month, despite the dire situation, we held daily 10AM conference calls with our Owner Rep, Owner Finance, ExCom and Leadership Team to report on the outbreak and the actions we have taken to keep our staff and property safe. The HR team was also in constant communication with our associates, as many had returned home for Chinese New Year during that time.
After we reopened, with no revenue coming in, the largest cost was payroll. Of course, everyone was concerned about the stability of their job. Due to the strong relationship we have with our OCT owners, we were one of the very few hotels in Greater China that did not ask our associates to take a pay cut or no pay leave (some were offered voluntary no pay leave at their request).
I personally managed and searched for new opportunities for our associates to be transferred and promoted to our sister hotels in need, working directly with respective General Managers to make the transition happen. To further reduce our payroll cost, we sent over 50 associates as task forces to support our sister hotels in South China and Greater China.
My main takeaway from this on-going challenge is that open communication, being honest and working transparently together with our colleagues is the only way to real recovery.
4. The hospitality industry has an interesting road ahead, what do you think the next few years hold for the sector and its recovery?
COVID 19 has certainly changed the way we do business for now and into the future. Aside from realising and adapting to this new normal, I believe a focus will need to be placed on defining our strategies based on Millennials’ personality traits and habits. This will be key for the hospitality industry in the next few years. They are a unique group that travels frequently, who are early adopters of technology and enjoy personalisation and spontaneity. Hotels that want to attract this growing purchasing power will entice them with easy check-ins, gourmet dining experiences at reasonable prices and more. In return, satisfied millennials will actively promote the property on their social media channels.
5. What is a book, podcast, or media resource that you have recently read / listen to regularly that inspired/inspires you?
I recently re-read Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson. Branson has always been an inspiring figure for me growing up and I look up to him for his entrepreneurial spirit.
The book encapsulated the philosophy that allowed Branson, in just over twenty-five years, to spawn so many successful ventures. From the airline business (Virgin Atlantic Airways), to music (Virgin Records and V2), to cola (Virgin Cola), to retail (Virgin Megastores), and nearly a hundred others, ranging from financial services to bridal wear, Branson has a track record that is second to none.
Losing My Virginity is the unusual, frequently outrageous autobiography of one of the greatest business geniuses of our time. When Branson started his first business, he and his friends decided that “since we’re complete virgins at business, let’s call it just that: Virgin.” Since then, Branson has written his own “rules” for success, creating a group of companies with a global presence, but no central headquarters, no management hierarchy, and minimal bureaucracy.
6. What is the motto that you live by?
“Don’t ask, don’t get, worse case is that you get the answer “No”. If you don’t try, you’ll never know.”
“Take calculated risks, just do it.”
“Learn from your mistakes, but only make the mistake once.”
“Treat everyone with respect, regardless of who they are or their station in life.”