Glad News: The Ritz-Carlton Chengdu donated books to Gingko College of Hospitality Management

Recently, Mr Marcel Damen, the General Manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Chengdu, donated books to the library at Gingko College for all students and teachers.

In April 2020, Ms Cici Zhao, Lecturer at the Department of Hotel Management of Gingko College, had an in-depth interview with Mr Damen at The Ritz-Carlton, Chengdu. The interview, titled “COVID-19 Implications on the Hospitality Industry”, engaged with topics such as market changes and challenges, hotels` responses and best practices. Thoughts and examples brought up during the conversation provided real-life case studies and valuable experiences for teaching and research which enlightened students and helped them with their career planning.

Mr Damen believes in the significance of helping others in their careers. Based on the saying “teach others to fish and they will eat for a lifetime”. Mr Damen carefully selected books that have benefited his own growth on the road to becoming senior management in the hospitality industry and generously donated them to Gingko College.

P. S.

Mr Marcel Damen, the General Manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Chengdu, comes from the Netherlands and joined Marriott International 27 years ago, working his way up from a front-line employee to his current position. He has worked and lived in nine different countries across three continents. In 2018, Mr Damen moved to Chengdu with his family to assume the role of General Manager at The Ritz-Carlton in Chengdu.

During Mr Damen`s career, he has been part of a leadership team that has successfully pre-opened four hotels and participated in supporting the opening of more than a dozen hotels. As a hotelier, Mr Damen continues to gain experience in hands-on work across the hotel and its departments. Mr Damen also maintains excellent reading habits and continues to learn about different disciplines within hospitality management and cross-cultural communication.