Miya Ye, Uniform and Linen Supervisor at the JW Marriott Hotel Shenzhen Bao’an, never considered a career in hospitality. But when she was hired in September 2015 at the hotel, she quickly found she loved the work and, more importantly, the relationships she built with other associates. She says, “Connecting with my associates is a highlight of my work. It brings me a lot of happiness.”  She was recently promoted to supervisor as a result of her passion for training and mentoring new hires.

In her role, she ensures every associate has cleaned, pressed and altered uniforms for every shift. Miya leads with a “put people first” mindset and sets an example of diligently taking care of associates so they can take care of the guests. Hotel leaders know they can rely on Miya to help resolve any challenges that may arise and ensure the best interests of associates and guests are considered.

Miya never hesitates to help other departments when needed—in fact, she welcomes the opportunity to help. She has adopted the Chinese proverb “never stop learning” as her life’s mission. She finds learning new skills enables her to be more of a team player. When occupancy is running high at the hotel, Miya is the first to volunteer to assist other teams, from banquet operations to guest laundry. 

Because of her willingness to help other departments, Miya has had occasion to take care of guests more directly. Recently, though she was scheduled to have time off, Miya volunteered to help with a large wedding banquet. Just before the wedding, the mother-of-the-bride became extremely emotional about her daughter marrying and moving far away. Miya brought her tissues and hot tea and told the mother about her own experience marrying and moving far from her family. The mother was calmed and the wedding was able to proceed without issue. After the wedding, the mother sent Miya a handwritten thank you note along with Chinese-traditional wedding candies.

Miya attributes her successful career with Marriott to persistence and dedication to her work. She will not back down from a challenge. She looks at challenges as opportunities to keep going, saying “persistence is victory.”