Strengths of Vietnam hospitality

The beautiful beach resort has been renovated fully featuring cutting-edge design in the public areas, with the main focus being the beach environment from lobby to beach bar, from kid playground to spa as well as its Azure restaurant. Especially this year, the resort has seen increased occupancy rates and thus overall hotel performance.

Timothy Nott, general manager of Pullman Danang Beach resort

How long have you worked in the Vietnamese hospitality industry and at the Pullman Danang Beach resort?

I have been working in Vietnam for seven years and at the Pullman Danang Beach Resort for nearly three years.

What is the guiding philosophy that you apply to the resort?

The ethos of all Accor Hotels is to ensure people feel welcome. When we talk about people we include our employees, partners and local communities as well as our guests. This is our philosophy. I feel truly blessed to work with such friendly people and the positive feedback we receive from guests tells us that we are meeting our aims. We believe that this is a strength of the Vietnamese hospitality industry.

How important do you consider continuous renovation of an upscale tourism property to be?

In a rapidly developing tourism market, resorts such as ours face strong competition. Therefore, renovation is essential for us to retain a leading position in the market. We are fortunate that our owning company shares the same vision and through our strong partnership we are able to provide a contemporary resort at the forefront of designs and trends.

However, it’s essential to take into account that in a very busy resort such as ours, any renovation has to be carefully executed to ensure the guests’ stay is never compromised by disruptions from the construction process. We believe that renovation every few years is necessary to improve and update the hotel to meet guests’ satisfaction, allowing us to attract more guests whilst strengthening the reputation of our resort.

What are the special features of your latest renovation?

We are in the final steps of this stage of the renovation. Our resort will feature cutting-edge design in the public areas, with the main focus being the beach environment. This includes beach cabanas, a children’s playground, a beach bar and sports equipment. Giant dragon flies around the ponds and landscaping in the resort garden create a comfortable and relaxed ambiance.

Wifi is now complimentary and unlimited access is available throughout the entire resort. We are confident to say that our Wifi system is the best system among any resort in Vietnam. We believe that these upgraded facilities along with our welcoming and attentive staff will make Pullman Danang Beach Resort the perfect holiday destination.

Which facilities make your resort really standout amongst your competitors?

Providing guests with the perfect leisure or business experience is our primary aim. We offer a wide range of sports equipment including jet skis and the latest in ocean sports equipment. New services at our beachfront massage cabanas will provide guests with the ultimate indulgent pampering experience within a tranquil setting overlooking the serene Danang beach.

Vietnam has reported a sharp decline of international tourists in the first six months of 2015, due to economic and political crisis. Have you seen a decline in visitor numbers to your resort?

Despite the decline in international visitor numbers during the first six months of 2015 our resort has seen increased occupancy rates and thus overall hotel performance.

What steps did you take to ensure your resort retained its visitor numbers?

As the Resorts General Manager, my priorities were to understand the market, identify opportunities and execute strategies to deliver above market performance for all our stakeholders.

What do you expect to see happening for high end tourism in Vietnam as a whole and in Danang in the second half of 2015?

I anticipate seeing a healthy growth in the numbers of travellers in the region and expect that airlines will be keen to expand their direct routes into Danang International Airport.

What do you think are the most important elements to develop successful coastal tourism in Danang ?

The Danang Tourism Department have been playing a very active role in promoting this destination to increase visitation. Further investigation should be made into the viability of a purpose built Convention Centre in Danang to attract more MICE visitors to the city.

Furthermore, the on-going preservation of cultural and natural assets must always be at the forefront of any activity or development in the region.

What do you think the impact will be of the Vietnamese Government allowing free entry visa for many more countries following its introduction of this for six European nations?

The government of Vietnam should be congratulated for this initiative. Tourism in Danang is in competition with other domestic and international destinations such as Nha Trang, Phu Quoc, Phuket, Bali and Langkawi and there is no doubt that waving visas will be beneficial to the country.

Can the policy be a driving force to attract many more international tourists to Vietnam as well as to create a breakthrough in the development of the tourism industry?

We should not see this as a panacea for the industry. It is just another step to attract more visitors and make visiting Vietnam easier. We hope to see an expansion of the program to include more countries in the not too distant future.