HoSkar Night in December will feature speakers from leading hotels in Vietnam including Park Hyatt Saigon, Sofitel Saigon Plaza, InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort, Centara Mirage Resort Mui Ne; hotel management groups Capella Hotel Group, Centara Hotels & Resorts along with Savills Hotels APAC, RMIT University Vietnam, Noor Studio, VinHMS and True Digital.
shared the view that the overall industry picture still has many challenges.
Under the impact of the fourth wave of the pandemic, hotel business activities in most major tourist destinations have almost come to a standstill. As of the end of November 2021, room occupancy at 4-5 star hotels in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi only fluctuated around 20%, down from 72% in Ho Chi Minh City and 80% in Hanoi in 2019.
In contrast to the bustling atmosphere at the end of the year that was often seen before the pandemic, hotel business activities this year are somewhat quieter. According to hotel representatives in the city, although the overall operating results will not have a breakthrough at the end of the year, they still expect a bright first quarter of 2022, even full of hope for the second quarter when international commercial flights are restored. Many high-end hotels in Ho Chi Minh City have begun to record improvements in demand, mainly from F&B services. The demand for event organization is also showing signs of recovery as hotels receive interest in organizing MICE activities, besides, it is impossible not to mention the demand for organizing wedding parties that is returning after many months of suspension due to social distancing regulations.
KOLs of HoSkar Night program in December
Resorts in tourist destinations such as Da Nang and Phan Thiet expect business to recover sooner, especially as the holiday season approaches. With vaccination rates accelerating and pent-up demand for travel over the past time, vacations are an activity that many domestic tourists are looking forward to. In particular, projects following the Integrated Resort model are receiving a lot of attention in the market as they can meet the needs of diverse groups of guests, from families to corporate groups with the need to organize MICE or team building activities. These are often large complex resort projects, providing a variety of amenities and entertainment activities such as amusement parks, casinos, golf courses, etc. Besides the Integrated Resort model, Branded Residence is also a model that is attracting the attention of the market with many products expected to be launched in 2022.
Omicron variant: “A further blow” to the resort tourism industry
With the new Omicron variant spreading globally, the recovery of the world tourism industry is still uncertain. According to the survey results conducted by HoSkar Night, 92% of the program attendees expressed concern that Omicron could cause delays in the reopening of international borders, of which 17% said the impact could be more severe. However, with the current vaccination rate and epidemic control measures, the majority of HoSkar Night guests said that the recovery of tourism activities will proceed in an optimistic and cautious manner.
Expectations for the high-end segment: A potential direction in the “new normal” period
Industry experts added that the luxury segment is expected to be one of the fastest to recover. As international tourism activities have been stagnant for the past two years, high-budget customers are paying more attention to domestic luxury resorts/hotels that meet international standards.
The luxury segment is expected to be one of the segments with the fastest recovery rate (photo: Internet)
In addition, this customer group still has enough resources to maintain their vacation and tourism activities despite the impact of the pandemic. However, in order to meet and serve this group of customers well, hotels need to pay more attention to offering suitable products and services that meet the criteria of this group. Most of them will have stricter requirements on hygiene and safety standards, privacy and comfort as well as the experiences they receive when using services at luxury hotels/resorts.
With positive prospects in 2022, hotel managers still face many challenges, especially in terms of human resources - how to retain highly qualified personnel and increase engagement with the organization after a long period of suffering the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Watch the entire HoSkar Night event in December through the video below
