《大酒店》十一月封面故事：安且吉兮 心之所向 ——专访浙江安吉JW万豪酒店总经理丁可荣先生

The Desire for an Auspicious Settlement

--Exclusive Interview with Mr. Eric Ding, 

General Manager of JW Marriott Hotel Zhejiang Anji

安且吉兮 心之所向

——专访浙江安吉JW万豪酒店总经理丁可荣先生

 

The city name of Anji comes from The Book of Songs, reflecting “An”, a sense of settlement, and “Ji”, auspiciousness. The origin of its name guaranteed a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere in Anji from thousands of years ago. As the city becomes more prosperous and bustling, people start to get confined by fast-paced daily routines and burdened with pressure, longing for a place to relax and refresh like the fantastic Land of Peach Blossoms in ancient Chinese stories.

Anji is a Land of Peach Blossoms in modern life. Located in the northwestern part of Zhejiang Province, the geometric center of the Yangtze River Delta Economic Circle, Anji possesses a friendly environment, picturesque scenery and pleasant climate. The mountains, fields, rivers and lakes together wipe sadness off your mind. Anji was awarded the Habitat Scroll of Honour Award by United Nations in 2012. As the first international brand hotel in Anji and the first JW Marriott resort in China, JW Marriott Hotel Zhejiang Anji shows the similar magic of pleasing its guests. Seeing from a distance, JW Marriott Hotel Zhejiang Anji does not give people the oppression of skyscraper hotels in the cities. The five-story castle-style buildings, surrounded by green mountains and clear water, build a natural oxygen bar. “A pure land that dissolves ordinary life matters and creates a Land of Peach Blossom” is a perfect description of the hotel.

Arriving at the hotel, we were welcomed by Mr. Eric Ding, General Manager of JW Marriott Hotel Zhejiang Anji, and his gentle smile. Eric has joined Marriott for 17 years after he received a Master’s degree in hotel management in Switzerland. He was appointed as the General Manager of JW Marriott Hotel Zhejiang Anji in July 2018, fully responsible for operation and management of the hotel. With his keen business insights, comprehensive professional knowledge and solid operation background, Eric has led the hotel to overcome obstacles and difficulties, winning multiple awards.

“Accompanying the development of the economy, people are changing their lifestyle. The fast-paced and high-pressure daily life makes people yearn to separate themselves from the burden for a minute. As the first JW Marriott resort hotel in China, we brought the concept of rebirth to the extreme here,” said Eric on the concept of the hotel. Opened in 2015, JW Marriott Hotel Zhejiang Anji is funded and established by China Sigma Co., LTD, a large national, cross-discipline, investment focused joint-equity enterprise, who owns multiple high-end luxury hotels. Located inside the Phenix International Anji Country Club, JW Marriott Hotel Zhejiang Anji has 228 well-equipped guest rooms and suites with an elegant and luxury design, among which 154 rooms have private balconies with a view to an attractive golf course. The 18-hole high-end championship mountain golf course is built around the hotel, designed and built by world-class designer Dr. Michael Huedzan, Dana Fry, stylist and supervision engineer Marc Blacksher and their team. If you’re looking for entertainment, you can take a Buggy car directly to the Driving Range to enjoy the fun of exercise. If you want some chill time after an exercise, you are welcomed to the bamboo forest, a special scenery in Anji and the filming location of the Oscar-winning film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”. Guests can experience the resilience of life from the astonishing view and decent scent of the bamboo forest. Adjacent to the hotel, the first Hello Kitty theme park in China opens a door to guests for an innocent playground.

In 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out and brought the hotel industry to a depressing situation, JW Marriott Hotel Zhejiang Anji as well encountered great challenges. “The year 2020 brought severe setbacks for every hotel and other industries. Occupancy rate in February was less than 2%,” said Eric about the challenge. Despite the difficulties, Eric was determined to rise from the headwind. “Survival in such a hostile environment is an unprecedented challenge for me and my team. To save Labor expenses to the greatest extent to reduce operational cost, management and middle- and lower-level staff voluntarily took minimum wages, give up vacations and devoted themselves to work. Our owner, at the same time, provided maximum support by promptly adjusting operation strategies with management. We received our rebirth in April when gradually the hotel got booked to full capacity. We turned into profits in April and set a new record of being booked to full capacity in 14 consecutive days with an occupancy rate exceeding 85% in August. Monthly revenue in August reached its monthly record since opening. In the just-ended third quarter, the hotel beat revenue and profit targets,” Eric introduced the current performance of the hotel.

Despite the overall downturn in the hospitality industry, JW Marriott Hotel Zhejiang Anji has been receiving guests and their affections in a continuous manner. Its performance has stood out among Marriott hotels in the Great China region. The encouraging performance attributes to the hotel’s protective measures against the virus. Marriott cares the safety of every guest, aiming to provide a more comfortable accommodation experience. In order to re-establish the intention of travel, Marriott developed a multi-channel platform and formed Marriott Global Cleanliness Council the first time to protect our associate and guests. “As I keep telling my associate, protective masks are now part of our uniforms! While protecting the safety of our guests, we shall protect ourselves. When guests check in at the lobby, we will remind them to keep a two-meter social distance and do not take the same elevator with a crowd of over three. In the meanwhile, we improved various health and safety measures including applying electrostatic disinfection sprayers, disinfecting frequently contacted areas including elevator buttons, guestroom switches, doors, handles and telephones, increasing the frequency of announcing disinfection practices to guests. In addition, we provide sanitary kits in guest rooms and sanitizer in public areas. We intend to make our guests feel at ease,” Eric explained about the protective measures that the hotel took against the virus. We believe during the pandemic, it was these protective measures that gave guests a sense of safety and made them decide to stay at JW Marriott Hotel Zhejiang Anji.

As a luxury resort hotel, JW Marriott Hotel Zhejiang Anji offers highly-praised services, which attributes to an outstanding service team. An excellent leader is indispensable for an outstanding team, and Eric is an obvious model of qualified team leaders. General Manager is a Multidimensional role. I would position myself as an ordinary employee. I would like to practice what and how I require other employees to perform, influencing all staff with my moves, conversations, and attitudes towards guests and fellow associate. I prefer to dine at the employee cafeteria with our associate, discussing the latest news and hot topics on social media with them and making them feel at home. In this way would associate be willing to share their thoughts and feel like a member of this big family. Secondly, the role of General Manager carries a responsibility to put forward new goals and determine the hotel’s position in catering to guests’ various demands, so that the hotel has a clear direction for progress. Last but not least, I hope to be a mentor to my associate. A General Manager should not rely on his authority to force associate to act, but guide them and lead them. The growing pains are inevitable, from which you will learn the meanings of many things. Yet if you have a good mentor, you can avoid some unnecessary detours. Since I am lucky to have met many good mentors myself, I would like to be one as well.”

From design and decoration to services provided, and from its General Manager to associate, JW Marriott Hotel Zhejiang Anji has perfectly interpreted the meaning of an auspicious settlement, letting guests relax their minds and bodies, even amid the pandemic. “The pandemic has brought new lifestyles. Short-distance tours, tour around and self-driving tours are enjoying increasing popularity among guests. Customized accommodation packages, covering afternoon tea in gardens, barbecue parties, sightseeing spot tours, etc., are highly welcomed by guests. We provide different kinds of family rooms and offer yoga mats and simple yoga instructions in guest rooms. Those details have pleased our guests. ‘In-house tours’ as well are recognized by guests. Comparing to the traditional tours to a crowded spot, guests can experience the city of Anji without leaving the hotel. The hotel has improved its involvement and engagement in guests’ travel experience. For example, the hotel has launched an outdoor activities space—JIHEDI, before the National Holidays to provide various special cultural activities, including special courses for children, outdoor old movie shows, Anji sugar painting, heritage dough figurine making, family bubble fight and tea ceremony courses, to guests of different ages. Many guests have spent their National Holiday within the hotel, having fun attending these activities. A corner that condenses all the essence of this city leads to a journey of rebirth. We will introduce more attractive activities in the future and we’re excited to share with more guests,” Eric said on the future development of the hotel. In our conversation with Eric, we are impressed by his confidence and high expectation to the future of the hotel. We believe under Eric’s management, JW Marriott Hotel Zhejiang Anji can certain head towards greater popularity and achievements.