An open talk on enhancing entertainment and customer service at hotels was organised on Tuesday in Ha Noi, gathering experts in the field.

According to the latest survey by Visa's Green Shoots Radar, 42 per cent of people taking part in the survey said they will travel for entertainment in 2022.

"People now come to hotels not only to sleep and eat, but also to entertain themselves and have fun," Le Quoc Vinh, a leading communications expert noted at the talk.

To reach that "fun" factor, hotels should enhance their services by creating more unique experiences for customers and personalising those experiences, he said.

Dang Thuy Ha, Customer Manager of NielsenIQ Viet Nam, agreed. She introduced a recent survey showing the three factors that customers care about most when travelling were personalised services (80 per cent), safety (81 per cent) and privacy (58 per cent).

"The race in offering unique experiences to customers in the hotel service field has become fiercer than ever," she said. "But it is more alluring as well."

Nguyen Thi Thu Ha, head of the Style Design Department of SOJO Hotels, said through many surveys the hotel chain realised that customers demand a destination that is willing to welcome them, and offer them the right amount of services and facilities, neither too little or too many.

"They also want to be connected profoundly and thoroughly from the space to the people and with feelings," she said. "Global citizens want to have fresh experiences and get both familiar and special feelings. They also hope the destination has a unique style."

Ha said that based on the surveys the SOJO Hotels chain, run by TNH Hotels & Resorts of TNG Holdings Vietnam, had set up completely new and convenient hotels in Viet Nam with a customer-centric strategy. The hotel chain has also applied 'gamification' to some of its services.

The games will appear throughout the stay of guests at the hotels. For example, when stepping inside a room, when using the SOJO Hotels app on their mobile phones, guests are guided to turn on a "mood" button.

Following the mood of the guest, the light colour of the bathroom, the kind of music and a certain temperature for the room is instantly set up.

A window curtain will slowly automatically open, Ha added.

There will also be many games inside the room. For example, when a guest steps inside the bathroom, they will see a fun question on the shampoo and conditioner bottles: "Hi JO [how SOJO hotels refer to guests], taking a shower first or washing hair first?'

Another example is how two wooden toothbrushes are delicately put out so that two guests in the same room can distinguish their brushes.

Various entertaining games will be available at the JO247 Lounge, where customers can get drinks, listen to music, play darts, and billiards, and even chat with hotel staff.

"We hope all customers staying at our hotels can enjoy playing, relaxing and having fun, and then they will have more inspiration in life," Nguyen Ba Luan, general director of SOJO Hotels said.

There are now six hotels in the chain throughout Viet Nam. This year, four more will open in Ha Long, Lang Son, Lao Cai and Hau Giang. The company plans to have 100 hotels by 2026.  

The "no-touch" hotel chain applies digital technology for booking, receiving rooms, checking out, controlling the room, and using facilities, all through a mobile app.

Guests can check-in and choose the room they like without contacting receptionists. — VNS