JW Marriott Dongdaemun GM named 2018 best manager
Matthew Cooper, the general manager of the JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul, speaks after winning the General Manager of the Year Award at the Hotelier Awards Asia in Singapore, Wednesday. / Courtesy of the JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul
By Kang Seung-woo
Matthew Cooper, the general manager of the JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul, has won this year's General Manager of the Year award, according to the Korea-based hotel, Monday.
The annual award, given by the Hotelier Awards Asia, recognizes outstanding performance in a variety of fields at hotels throughout the region. This year, the judging panel for the award went through two rounds of assessment. The prize was established in 2014. Winning the award carries extra significance for Cooper, given that the Australian is the first Korea-based hotel general manager to claim the award.
“On behalf of the associates at the JW Marriot Dongdaemun Square Seoul, it is not my award, these guys that I work with are simply stars, they are my family,” Cooper said at the award ceremony in Singapore, Wednesday.
“I would like to shout out to the associates at the JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul, they are everything to me. Thank you very much.”
This year's accolade is testimony to Cooper's exceptional management talents, which have seen him form strong bonds with guests, staff and also the owners of the company, and overcome difficulties in the competitive Korean hotel business.
In addition, since he joined the JW Marriott Dongdaemun in April 2016, the hotel has emerged as one of Seoul's leading hotels, as evidenced by its selection as the best-rated hotel in Seoul by TripAdvisor and Conde Nast Traveler's top 20 hotels in Asia in 2017, among others.
With a total of 29 years' experience in the hospitality industry, Cooper has worked at Marriott hotels for the past 20 years. After starting his career in event services, he progressed onto food and beverage, rooms and other fields, gaining direct experience and the spirit of service that saw him reach his first general manager position at the age of just 32.