A return to Bangkok after Phuket
Announced by Bangkok Marriott Hotel Sukhumvit, the appointment of Nicholas Francis Tse as Multi-Property General Manager covers two assets in the Thonglor district: the hotel itself and Marriott Executive Apartments Bangkok, Sukhumvit Thonglor. The role thus brings a hotel offering and a serviced apartment offering under a single leadership.
The property presents his arrival as a homecoming. Nicholas Francis Tse served as Resident Manager of JW Marriott Bangkok from 2005 to 2007, before leading the pre-opening of Courtyard by Marriott Bangkok from 2007 to 2009. He joins from Phuket, where since March 2025 he had been running JW Marriott and Courtyard Phuket Chalong Bay Resort & Spa as Multi-Property General Manager.
The appointment comes as Marriott continues to strengthen its presence in the Thai market, as illustrated by the agreement signed with FICO Corporation for seven hotels, which introduces citizenM, Four Points Flex and Series by Marriott to Thailand.
Three decades with Marriott
Trained at the Les Roches hospitality school in Bluche, Switzerland, between 1988 and 1990, Nicholas Francis Tse joined JW Marriott Hong Kong in 1990, the group’s first property in Asia-Pacific. He started out at front office before moving into sales, rising to Assistant Director of Sales in 1999.
His career then continued through sales and marketing roles in several of the region’s markets. He served as Pre-Opening Director of Sales at Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon, the brand’s first property in Vietnam, then as Director of Marketing at Singapore Marriott Hotel and at Renaissance Seoul Hotel, where he supported its repositioning.
From 2005, he moved into operational leadership. After Bangkok, he took over in 2009 as General Manager of Hong Kong SkyCity Marriott Hotel, a 658-room airport and convention hotel, with a turnaround brief. He went on to lead the pre-opening of JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul between 2013 and 2014.
A decade in South China
From 2015 to 2024, Nicholas Francis Tse was based in Shenzhen to open JW Marriott Shenzhen Bao’an, a 463-room hotel with a 1,758 sq m ballroom. In 2023, he added Le Méridien Shenzhen Bao’an, the brand’s first property in Shenzhen, to his remit as Cluster General Manager.
He has also held representative roles within the group and the wider industry. From 2017 to 2019, he chaired the Marriott South China Business Council, which brings together 108 hotels in 24 cities across five provinces. From 2018 to 2021, he also chaired the international-brand general managers’ committee of the Shenzhen Hotel Business Association, which represents more than 40 hotels.
Before Phuket, from March 2024 to February 2025, he led JW Marriott Hotel Macau, part of an integrated resort that includes a casino.
A track record built on openings and repositionings
Over the course of his career, Nicholas Francis Tse has led a number of hotel openings and repositionings in Saigon, Bangkok, Seoul, Shenzhen and Phuket. His work has been recognised with the Stephen G. Marriott Culture Award, as well as the title of General Manager of the Year for Greater China, awarded in 2021 by The Stelliers.
Analysis – The choice of a multi-property general manager for a combined hotel and serviced apartment offering reflects a shared management model that Marriott has already entrusted to this executive in both Shenzhen and Phuket. The Sukhumvit district is also attracting new international brands, such as YOTEL, which is making its Bangkok debut within the Cloud 11 complex, and Fairmont, which opened its first hotel in Thailand there.
At a glance by The Hospitality Tribune
Nicholas Francis Tse returns to Bangkok as Multi-Property GM
Appointed to lead Bangkok Marriott Hotel Sukhumvit and Marriott Executive Apartments Bangkok, Sukhumvit Thonglor
Joins from JW Marriott and Courtyard Phuket Chalong Bay, previously GM of JW Marriott Hotel Macau
33+ years with Marriott across Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Saigon, Shenzhen, Macau, Phuket and Bangkok
Led the pre-opening of JW Marriott Shenzhen Bao’an and chaired the Marriott South China Business Council
Les Roches graduate and recipient of the Stephen G. Marriott Culture Award
