Professional operators contribute to success of luxury hotels
Professional operators contribute to success of luxury hotels
Several major domestic companies have abundant resources and potential to develop high-end hotels, but they tend to entrust the management and operation of these hotels to well-known professional operators.
Although they have shared interests, co-operation with hotel operators that have a global network of clients ensures a long-term and sustainable development of high-end resorts and hotels.
Growing up
A decade ago, only foreign firms invested in five-star hotels. Well-known hotels such as Sofitel, Metropole, Hilton and InterContinental Westlake in the capital city of Ha Noi, besides Caravelle and Sheraton in the southern hub of HCM City were all built with foreign capital, while the domestic side joined in by simply contributing land.
However, the game is changing now with several domestic groups becoming capable of developing large hotels of global five-star standards and even buying hotels built with foreign investment. For instance, BRG is buying the five-star Hilton Hanoi and Sovico Holdings is buying Furama Resort.
Large Vietnamese companies, despite their huge potential, seemingly do not want to run the hotels themselves, but hire the world's leading professional hotel operators such as AccorHotels, IHG or Starwoods.
Dang Minh Truong, deputy chairman of the Sun Group, a leading property developer in Viet Nam that recently signed a strategic co-operation agreement with AccorHotels, said coordination between the two parties was expected to maintain a regular flow of clients and promote growth toward sustainable development.
Under the agreement, AccorHotels will operate the Sun Group's luxury hotels and resorts that will be launched under premium brands such as Sebel Phu Quoc, Premier Village Phu Quoc Resort and others in Da Nang and Sapa.
Currently, the Sun Group's Novotel Premier Han River and Premier Village Da Nang Resort are being run by AccorHotels.
The Sun Group has to its credit a variety of high-profile hotels and resorts such as the 198-room InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort that won the World Travel Award last year; the 38-storey Novotel Premier Han River; and the 118- resort villa Premier Village.
Strategic co-operation
Nguyen Viet Tao, deputy general director of JW Marriott Hanoi who has years of experience in hospitality co-operation, said hotel operations did not merely include common standards and skills, but technologies and secrets that domestic firms had not mastered.
Thus, hiring the world's leading hotel operators is an appropriate and smart choice for Vietnamese developers.
Tao said the greatest benefit of hiring professional hotel operators was that the occupancy rate would be ensured.
Currently, several domestic hotel operators manage hotels of average standards. However, it was critical to target international guests for high-end and large hotels and selecting the world's leading hotel operators was a good decision, Tao said.
Well-known hotel operators such as AccorHotels and InterContinental have a global network that ensures easy access to a large number of international clients.
Patrict Basset, executive director in charge of Southeast and Northeast Asia regions of AccorHotels, which currently operates 3,800 hotels of prestigious brands such as Sofitel, Pullman, Novotel and MGallery in 92 countries, said the hotel operator was always striving to provide service of the best quality, in addition to professional and exclusive solutions to bring splendid experiences for guests.
Tao said brand played an important role in the hospitality industry as guests might place greater trust and loyalty on large and popular brands.
The world's leading hotel operators often boast a history spread across centuries, and thus, a large number of regular guests. Tao said it was important to attach hotels to international brands to attract guests and ensure sustainable revenues.
Hiring international hotel operators also helped to raise the standards of hotels in Viet Nam to an international level, Tao said, pointing out that maintaining service quality was a secret about which only global groups knew.
Foreign operators in the hospitality business were seemingly better than local ones in giving the fullest satisfaction to guests, Tao said.
International hotel operators also bring an intangible value -- which is added value -- to property along with the passage of time. International hotels with good business results will also have higher value.
Co-operation with international hotel operators is a guarantee for business success. Tao said it was not easy to convince the world's well-known hotel operators as they had strict requirements in selecting hotels, such as prime location and proper investments that maintain certain standards.
This also means that only developers with potential and an international vision can meet such high requirements to co-operate with the world's leading hotel operators such as AccorHotels or Marriott.
