At a time when the tourism sector is forced to switch to hibernation mode due to the COVID-19 outbreak, many hospitality businesses and firms have actively sought out ways to adapt their operations to overcome the difficulties caused by the epidemic.
Many restaurants are coming up with innovative delivery options to attract customers amid COVID-19 outbreak (Photo credit: Luk Lak Vietnamese Restaurant)
Most noticeable is the trend of mobile and online ordering which is being adopted by many hotels and restaurants to attract customers. Since the epidemic restrains people from going outside, these businesses have switched to providing online food orders and home delivery instead of waiting for customers to come in as before.
The on-offer list includes affordable and easy-to-deliver dishes, which are mainly advertised through online marketing channels, social networks, and mobile apps. In addition to popular dishes, several restaurants also offer more elegant and luxurious menus to serve the diverse demand of customers.
Recently, the Vietnam Hotel Human Resources Association under the Vietnam Hotel Association has coordinated with Vinmart + supermarket systems in big cities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, and Da Nang to find jobs for hotel workers who were laid off due to COVID-19.
With online shopping becoming a thriving business trend, Vinmart + has received more than 1,000 hotel workers who will be arranged into positions as sales and delivery staff in the supermarket systems. This opens new expectations and directions to stabilise the labour market amid the 'freezing' of tourism sector.
Additionally, in order to take advantage of their available rooms and actively contributed to the COVID-19 fight, many tourist accommodations have voluntarily registered to provide the pay-to-stay service for those who are put under quarantine time with commitments to strictly abide by the Health Ministry's regulations on safety and disease prevention.
However, it is more difficult to resolve the problems facing travel firms as COVID-19 slashes travel plans and, in turn, their revenues. While a few tour operators can still afford to pay wages for their employees, the majority of them have had to cut staff and reduce salaries, and some were even forced to take their employees unpaid leave during this difficult period of time. The businesses have taken both words and actions to minimise the impact of COVID-19 within their capacity.
The letter sent by CEO Hoang Duc Huy of TransViet Travel Company to his staff members and employees reveals the situation facing all travel agents. In his letter, he wrote that all managers of TransViet across the country are voluntarily working with the lowest basic income to steer the company through this storm. They have also shared their vacant houses or rooms to provide temporary shelters for staff members who are having troubles in housing facilities when their income is affected by COVID-19.
CEO Vu Dinh Quan of Ben Thanh Tourist Company also sent touching messages to his employees, encouraging them not to mourn but to raise high the spirit of optimism in order to take action and cope with the impacts of the epidemic. He also called on the whole company to stand side by side to create a wall safeguarding the Ben Thanh Tourist family.