GM works his way up to the top job
By Cherry Cao |
March 7, 2013, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
NOT many general managers of five-star hotels likely show up at the staff canteen for breakfast at 6:30am.
But T.K. Chen, who has been at the helm of the Renaissance Shanghai Zhongshan Park Hotel since December, always drops into the canteen around that time after working out at the gym for half an hour.
An early bird who gets up at 5am, the Malaysian-born Australian citizen has been living a disciplined life for the past three decades, a habit he developed in the 1970s when he first embarked on his hospitality career in Europe.
"I started my first job right down at the bottom (of the industry) as a steward, cleaning pots and pans, cleaning kitchens and washing dishes and so on, and it was a great experience," Chen says. "My initial years in Germany, totaling nearly 10 years, have helped shape me into what and who I am today."
A veteran hotelier whose professional stints have also covered Australia and Malaysia, Chen has spent the past 13 years, or more than one third of his career, with Marriott International, in Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing and Nanning.
"The best thing about the hotel business is that it is never boring and you continuously meet new people, new things and new experiences all the time," Chen says. "At the same time, however, it also means you keep encountering new challenges such as to find talent for the seemingly never ending growth in this industry whether you are in a major or smaller city as well as the ever-changing demand from more sophisticated travelers."
Prior to his latest appointment, Chen spent two and a half years in Nanning, the capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, where population is less than one third of Shanghai, as the general manager of Marriott Hotel.
Extra training was needed to improve the staff's service levels and prepare for a fast evolving hospitality industry as economic development continues apace in Nanning, Chen says.
With extensive experience in various hotel departments, Chen considers food and beverage, a segment where much of his career was spent, the most challenging job in a hotel.
"Compared to other departments, it requires the longest working hours," he says. "Every guest is a connoisseur of good food and drink."
However, that doesn't mean his current general manager's job - a position Chen thinks is very similar to a captain - requires less effort.
Chen is dedicated to his job and his primary focus point is to maximize the yield while balancing revenue and profit with guest and staff satisfaction as well as the interests of the owner and hotel management company.
Chen, who played most sports during his younger days, now loves to explore the city with his wife and two children when time permits. They enjoy finding local places that are fast disappearing amid rapid economic development.
The general manager and his family have compiled a list of more than 100 eateries, from street food vendors to fine-dining restaurants, in Shanghai. They are happily devouring their way from one place to the next on the list when time permits.
But T.K. Chen, who has been at the helm of the Renaissance Shanghai Zhongshan Park Hotel since December, always drops into the canteen around that time after working out at the gym for half an hour.
An early bird who gets up at 5am, the Malaysian-born Australian citizen has been living a disciplined life for the past three decades, a habit he developed in the 1970s when he first embarked on his hospitality career in Europe.
"I started my first job right down at the bottom (of the industry) as a steward, cleaning pots and pans, cleaning kitchens and washing dishes and so on, and it was a great experience," Chen says. "My initial years in Germany, totaling nearly 10 years, have helped shape me into what and who I am today."
A veteran hotelier whose professional stints have also covered Australia and Malaysia, Chen has spent the past 13 years, or more than one third of his career, with Marriott International, in Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing and Nanning.
"The best thing about the hotel business is that it is never boring and you continuously meet new people, new things and new experiences all the time," Chen says. "At the same time, however, it also means you keep encountering new challenges such as to find talent for the seemingly never ending growth in this industry whether you are in a major or smaller city as well as the ever-changing demand from more sophisticated travelers."
Prior to his latest appointment, Chen spent two and a half years in Nanning, the capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, where population is less than one third of Shanghai, as the general manager of Marriott Hotel.
Extra training was needed to improve the staff's service levels and prepare for a fast evolving hospitality industry as economic development continues apace in Nanning, Chen says.
With extensive experience in various hotel departments, Chen considers food and beverage, a segment where much of his career was spent, the most challenging job in a hotel.
"Compared to other departments, it requires the longest working hours," he says. "Every guest is a connoisseur of good food and drink."
However, that doesn't mean his current general manager's job - a position Chen thinks is very similar to a captain - requires less effort.
Chen is dedicated to his job and his primary focus point is to maximize the yield while balancing revenue and profit with guest and staff satisfaction as well as the interests of the owner and hotel management company.
Chen, who played most sports during his younger days, now loves to explore the city with his wife and two children when time permits. They enjoy finding local places that are fast disappearing amid rapid economic development.
The general manager and his family have compiled a list of more than 100 eateries, from street food vendors to fine-dining restaurants, in Shanghai. They are happily devouring their way from one place to the next on the list when time permits.
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