Interview with Nicholas Tse | General Manager Finalist

Nicholas Tse is the General Manager of JW Marriott Hotel Shenzhen, Bao’an, with an illustrious 30+yearsin hospitality. Inspired from a young age by his Auntie Winnie Leung, Nicholas joined the industryknowing that he wanted to be a great leader.Read on to learnhow he managed to achieve this dream:

1.       Please give us a short introduction about you and your career background

I grew up in an international family, raised and educated in a UK boarding school and the Swiss Les Roches University. My parents often took me out to dine in hotels and restaurants around Hong Kong to experience hotel hospitality service and F&B dining experiences.

Auntie Winnie Leung, a good friend of the family, was a legendary hotelier in Hong Kong.  She was the one who recommended that I study hotel management because I like to travel and meet people. Thus, I graduated from the prestigious Les Roches Hotel Management School in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. As a home-grown Marriott veteran, I have been with Marriott International for 28 years. Through grit and determination, I rose through the ranks from a Front Desk Officer at the flagship JW Marriott Hong Kong to management positions across 11 properties in five different countries, leading hotel pre-openings, as well as leading re-branding and renovation projects.

Some highlights of my career include leading the opening of Marriot’s first luxury JW Marriott branded hotel in Dongdaemun Square, Seoul. I also introduced various best practices in operations and built top quality service teams. These results were reflected by our TripAdvisor ranking; No. 1 out of 413 hotels within only 12 months of operation.

2.       Can you share how you have decided to lead your team and your property through this recent turbulent period?

There were several key actions that helped our team to navigate the past two years:

·         Communicating transparently about the situation.

Associates need to know what is going on, and they should hear it from the most senior leader. News was always going to get out, so it was best if I consulted with the Area Leadership Team, HR, Owners, Legal and/or PR if needed as early as possible to create a strong public statement to our associates.

·         Finding the lessons to be learned.

In the process of analysing and evaluating mistakes, it was important not to place blame and create animosity among our team. Working as a team is key to getting through tough times, as well as being open to thoughts and solutions from associates. The best ideas can come from anyone on the team!

·         Celebrating large and small wins.

Energising our team with positivity helped boost morale during these tough times, and as a result we saw more confidence and productivity in the team. Whenever possible, we break large company goals into smaller more attainable goals and started tracking team progress. Whenever our team achieves a small goal, such as meeting a project deadline, getting a higher click-through rate, or launching a new campaign successfully, we celebrate the win.

·         Asking for honest feedback from associates

Preparing for tough feedback that we may not want to hear and listening to the different perspectives of our associates allowed us to look at the problem holistically, resulting in a stronger team dynamic.

3.       What is it you are most proud of in your career to date?

I am most proud of the fact that I have built a collaborative team from the ground up.

Growing up, I was surrounded by hard working family members. My grandparents and my father worked in a garment factory. While I respected what they did, I knew I wanted to spend my life working for other people; I wanted to be in a leadership role.

After university, I started a series of positions in the Sales & Marketing department in Hong Kong, Saigon, Singapore, and Seoul, working my way up the ranks. Finally, being a Resident Manager at JW Marriott Bangkok, I had to change my mind set from managing around 20 associates to 300 associates.  

It has not been an easy road, but I stuck with it and continued to learn and grow into my present leadership role. Now as a General Manager, we employ over 350 individuals and I am driven by this desire to continue to grow, and help each associate to achieve their dreams and career goals.

I am also proud of my work for the Marriott Worldwide Business Councils, that I helped to restructure. I have been working with them since 2017. It creates a competitive advantage for Marriott International, its owners, franchisees, and markets around the globe. We collaborate to pool resources that enhance market performance, develop leadership, and promote networking and professional growth opportunities for associates.

Over the years I have considered myself as a coach, mentor, cheerleader, and a servant leader. This was recognised when I won the Stephen G. Marriott Culture Leadership Award, one of the top awards from Marriott – this is an honour that has also made me immensely proud. 

4.       Can you share what you believe is key in leading a successful hotel today?

For our hotel, the key to success is my relationship and partnership with our Owner Representative, Doris Deng, whom I have been working with since July 2015. I believe the relationship between the GM and Owner Rep is 60% in leading any hotel’s success. With her support and guidance, as well as the OCT Group, we have been able to achieve our many milestones year on year.

One of the most important is when we broke even in our 1st year operations back in 2015, when owners budgeted a 4-year loss. So, we made history for the owners and built trust.  Since then, we have been performing well and exceeding the owner’s expectations in a very tough market, not to mention the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the trust we have built over the past 7 years, our owner - OCT Group, has planned to build 2 more hotels in Bao’an. Both are now in progress – Le Meridien Shenzhen Bao’an, targeted to open in 2022, and The St Regis Shenzhen Bao’an, targeted to open in 2023.

Build a great team. No one is an expert in everything; the strongest businesses are built on the smartest people – not on one person.

5.       How are you and your team tackling the challenges that face the industry around hiring great people post pandemic?

Maintaining a positive candidate experience is crucial amid all this change and uncertainty.

Managing our candidate experience might not seem like a top priority at a time when many companies are starting to slow or freeze hiring altogether after the post COVID-19 pandemic.  However, the way we treat candidates now still impacts our employer brand in the long run — and it is already getting harder to attract candidates.

No matter how our hiring plans are changing, we will likely have candidates in the pipeline who entered the hiring funnel weeks or months ago. Whether we are putting things on ice, crafting a totally new candidate experience, or continuing business as usual, it is critical to keep candidates updated in such a rapidly changing situation. Proactively reaching out and letting them know what to expect I believe is very important.

For key positions, like Executive Committee members or Department Heads, I will personally keep the potential talent updated, as many are referrals and personal contacts. I also utilise my school Les Roches Alumni network for talent searching.

Our company culture will be tested over the coming months. For many organizations, that culture really comes out the most at a ground level, through office interactions, hallway chats, and team-building events.

An onsite interview and tour are the best ways to immerse our candidates into our company and hotel culture. With that option off the table for many, talent leaders are looking for new ways to communicate the values and overall vibe of their organisation.

Storytelling will be a key skill for any talent acquisition leaders – myself, the Executive Committee, HR, and Department Heads. Just as we ask behavioural questions to get real-life examples of how candidates work, telling stories about how our company has handled different situations can help our candidates imagine themselves as part of the team there.

6.       What is a book, podcast, or media resource that you have recently read / listen to regularly that inspired/inspires you?

Books by Richard Branson. I recently re-read Losing My Virginity. Richard Branson inspired me as I was growing up in the UK, and his Virgin records stores were really cool. I would often hang out there as a kid. He’s an amazing entrepreneur that has gone from nothing to a self-made billionaire. 

The most recent inspirational project that Richard Branson did was when he flew into space with two pilots and three Virgin Galactic employees on 11 July 2021, beating rival Jeff Bezos by 9 days. Amazing!  

7.       What is the motto that you live by?

I can’t narrow it down to just one! Here are four:

·         Don’t ask don’t get, worse case you get the answer is “No”. If you don’t try, you don’t know.

·         Take calculated risk, just do it.

·         Learn from your mistakes, but only make the mistake one time.

·         Treat everyone with respect, regardless of who they are or their station in life.