US outlet praises survival instinct of VN hotels during COVID-19 pandemic

Titled “Vietnam’s hotels get creative to survive the pandemic” author Brett Davis wrote similar to the rest of the world the Vietnamese tourism industry suffered a seismic blow last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing those in the industry to rethink their approach on how best to cater for guests and innovate their offerings. 

Davis went on to mention that one such initiative was launched at Alma Resort on the shores of Cam Ranh Bay in the south of the country as it developed its own in-house app to create a safe and contactless way of delivering key information to guests.

Developed by the resort’s IT team and available for download on Android, Apple, Windows, and Amazon devices, the 'Alma Resort' app offers users COVID-19 health and safety tips. In addition, it provides menus for the site’s restaurants, activity schedules, and promotions, whilst also live streaming broadcasts and information about ongoing events, the author added.

Herbert Laubichler-Pichler, general manager of the resort, said he believes it would soon be commonplace for all five-star resorts nationwide to offer guests the use of similar technology.

“There is no facet of our lives that remains untouched by this pandemic and under the new normal, this app is an effective and contactless way to connect with guests and staff,” the manager said.

Davis also pointed out that domestic tourism represents a new lifeline for the sector moving forward.

Vietnam became one of the leading countries in the world in terms of controlling the spread of the pandemic whilst opening up fresh opportunities for many high-end tourism properties by offering products specifically marketed to the burgeoning Vietnamese middle class.

Davis expressed his belief that the local domestic tourism came to view the steadily growing purchasing power of Vietnamese consumers as a lifeline for a desperately struggling industry, providing that it could change its strategy in some key areas.

In concluding the piece, Davis quoted Laubichler-Pichler as saying, “Looking forward, the veteran hotelier predicted there would be a strong rebound in the Vietnamese tourism sector because of the pent-up demand for travel after a year spent in various forms of isolation.”