On Tuesday, representatives from 400 one to 3-star hotels in Da Nang, along with those from local relevant agencies, together discussed effective measures to improve the quality of their accommodation services.

Between January and May, the city welcomed a total of 1,877,321 visitors, an increase of 12% compared with the same period last year.  As a result, the local tourism sector earned 5,444.2 billion VND in revenue, up 14.7% against last year.

The city is now home to 535 accommodation establishments with a total of 20,166 rooms available.  Of these, 35 are 4 and 5-star offering a total of 6,084 rooms, 65 are 3-star with 4,394 rooms, 425 are one and 2-star with 9,411 rooms, whilst the remainder are luxury international-standard villa developments and homestays offering 277 rooms in total.

The Deputy Manager of the Criminal Police Division of the Da Nang Department of Police, Senior Lieutenant Colonel Dang Ngoc Viet, said “Since the start of this year, 8 cases of property theft from local hotels have been reported.  In most of the cases, lax security management at the hotels has created opportunities for thieves to conduct their illegal activities”.

A local 3-star hotel

Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Tourism Nguyen Thi Hong Hanh said, “A rapid increase in the number of accommodation establishments has resulted in a shortage of high-quality human resources for the tourism sector."

Ms Hanh stressed the need for local accommodation providers to fully explain their rules and policies to their guests in order to ensure that, if a dispute occurs, their own rights are protected.

Importance should be attached to recruiting more tourism employees and providing training courses for them in order to improve their communication skills and enhance customer service for guests.

Heed should also be paid to displaying in hotel reception areas the phone numbers of the local police stations and the hotlines for receiving and handling any visitor complaints.

Ms Hanh remarked, “Once the quality of the professional services at local one to 3 star hotels is ensured and their reputation is promoted, these hotels will soon win the trust of their guests”.