In the early 1950s, actor Cary Grant booked a room at the luxurious Mayfair Hotel, located in the heart of St. Louis (USA). He is a regular customer of this place. Grant’s game of romance has established a tradition in high-end hotels. Photo: Imdb. At this time, Grant was married to his third wife – actress Besty Drake. However, he made an appointment with another mistress here. At the Mayfair Hotel, Grant played a game with his mistress. This has indirectly created the tradition of ordering chocolate of many hotels today. Before his mistress came to the room, Grant asked the hotel staff to arrange the chocolate in long streaks. It starts in the living room, runs into the bedroom, goes up to the bed and stops on the pillow. Attached is a letter whose contents and identity have not been revealed so far. The Mayfair manager heard about the game and liked Grant’s idea. This person asked the staff to put chocolate on the customer’s pillow when renting a room at the hotel. Putting chocolate on pillows helps hotels win the hearts of customers. Photo: Slon. After that, many hotels have applied this formula and received positive feedback from customers. Mayfair discontinued this around the early 2010s. However, they revived the tradition with chocolate from Bissinger in August 2014.

However, famous websites still offer a list of awards regularly as every year so that tourists around the world can gain more travel experiences after the epidemic is over and create motivation for the development of the domestic tourism industry. Travelers’ Choice Awards 2021 is an annual award series announced by the world’s largest travel website TripAdvisor . Awards include categories from hotels, restaurants, resorts, destinations, airlines, leisure activities, swimming pools… based on the evaluation of travel experts and visitors who have been experienced before the Covid-19 epidemic. Vietnam is a destination that has received many positive comments from tourists around the world in prestigious rankings. Travelers’ Choice 2021 Best of the Best list is one of them. Four hotels in Hanoi were honored in the top 25 most beautiful rooftop hotels in the world. Hanoi La Siesta Diamond Hotel & Spa The hotel located on Lo Su street was suddenly ranked first, above many big names. TripAdvisor experts commented: “This hotel is the perfect choice for a city break. One of the most important highlights of this place is the skybar area with beautiful views of the lake and the old town, live music and really good drinks”. (Source: Trip advisor) La Sinfonia del Rey Hotel & Spa In third place is La Sinfonia del Rey Hotel & Spa located on Hang Dau Street – the street next to Sword Lake. With its central location, the rooftop of this hotel offers the perfect view of the old town area. In particular, this place is also chosen by many couples to organize love anniversary parties and romantic marriage proposals. One traveler left a comment on TripAdvisor as follows: “The best hotel I have ever seen with the most special sky bar!”. (Source: Agoda) Peridot Grand Hotel & Spa by AIRA With the 6th place out of 25 names, the hotel on Duong Thanh street is increasingly known by tourists. The most outstanding feature of Peridot Grand Hotel & Spa by AIRA is a rooftop infinity pool with a beautiful old town view. The terrace also has a bar serving beer, dubbed the “chillest beer bar in Hanoi”. This is a place not only for hotel guests but also open to outside guests to enjoy beer, sip some snacks or have a romantic dinner, watching the city from above. (Source: Trip advisor) JM Marvel Hotel & Spa Ranked 8th is the terrace of JM Marvel Hotel & Spa on Hang Da Street. The area is not too big, but thanks to its prime location and unique decoration, this place received many positive compliments such as: “Lovely rooftop bar where you can enjoy a quiet drink, away from the hustle and bustle of the city”, “Have a drink on the rooftop of this Hanoi hotel and take in the amazing views”. (Source: Hotels) (according to the Star)

According to the original plan, the Mövenpick Al Bustan hotel was selected by the logistics team. It is also a 5-star hotel, fully equipped and, importantly, located close to the Dubai airport. The team’s new hotel is located in the busy area of ​​Dubai. Photo: Booking.com The new Swissotel Al Murooj is also a 5-star hotel, located in the expensive Downtown Dubai area. Room price for 2 people excluding breakfast is about 2.4 million VND/night. The two locations are 16 km apart. The accommodation of the Vietnamese team is built in the style of a resort resort, including many entertainment complexes. This place is located next to the iconic Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world (828 m). During a short stay at this hotel, the cost will be taken care of by the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF). This is the preparation phase, so the teams can choose their own places to stay until June 3. After that, the team will move to the 5-star Crowne Plaza Dubai – Festival City hotel. The hotel is located next to the Dubai River, 10 minutes by bus from both arenas. This is where coach Park Hang-seo’s teachers and students used to be stationed before the victory over Jordan in the round of 16 of the Asian Cup 2019. The hotel is fully equipped with training equipment and living space for large groups. On the first day in Dubai, 47 members of the Vietnamese team did not leave the hotel until they received a negative Covid-19 test result from Dubai airport. Vietnamese Ambassador to the UAE wishes Park’s teachers and students a successful competition Sharing with Zing, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam to the UAE Nguyen Manh Tuan sent his best wishes to the Vietnamese team before the final matches of the second qualifying round of the World Cup 2022.

Hanoi requires that hotels serving as concentrated isolation places must ensure the requirements in epidemic prevention and control, and deploy surveillance camera systems. Photo: InterContinental Hanoi Westlake Hotel In this document, the Hanoi Department of Tourism requires the units to fully implement the regulations and measures in the prevention and control of the Covid-19 epidemic in accordance with the direction of the city such as: Stop the meeting activities. , unnecessarily large gatherings of people; implement minimum distance; strictly implement the “5K message”… Restaurants in hotels, standard food and drink establishments to serve tourists, ensure the minimum seating distance in accordance with regulations. Accommodation establishments in the Capital area register and regularly self-evaluate and update to the national Covid-19 safety system at http://safe.tourism.com.vn. Any establishment that temporarily suspends its operation or does not do business must still register and tick the box “Business establishments temporarily suspending operations on the system”. For 19 hotels decided to establish by the Hanoi People’s Committee as a concentrated medical isolation area, the isolation process must be strictly followed according to regulations; tighten the management and supervision of activities at the hotel. These facilities must be responsible for closely coordinating with relevant agencies to assess the situation, deploy surveillance camera systems to integrate and connect with the centralized monitoring system set up by the Ministry of Information and Communications. implementation to ensure on schedule; comply with the adjustment of concentrated isolation time for cases subject to isolation according to current regulations of the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control. Tourist accommodation service businesses, tourist operators and transport units, tourist areas and attractions need to be updated from official sources of information about the epidemic situation; Fully update information, guest list, daily travel schedule for medical declaration, information retrieval upon request. In addition, the Department of Tourism requires units to meet information technology in epidemic prevention and control, to actively create and use QR Codes; install Bluezone application to serve monitoring and contact tracing of Covid-19 epidemic. Step 1: Visit https://www.bluezone.gov.vn or download directly at App Store or CH Play. Step 2: Once downloaded, the application will ask for permission to use Bluetooth to record contact with other users who have installed Bluezone. If Bluetooth is not open, drag the status bar and turn on Bluetooth; or go to Settings, select Bluetooth and turn it on. Step 3: Once the installation is done, click Scan Around. If someone near you less than 2m has used Bluezone, the application will automatically identify these users and put them in the contact list.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, Director of the Department of Tourism of Ho Chi Minh City, said in order to introduce to local people and tourists attractive destinations, unique cultural and artistic features, the diversity of cuisine, the Quality service and unique shopping experiences, the department coordinates with other organizations to promote communication activities with the theme “Ho Chi Minh City – Vivid each experience”. Tourists visit a destination on the Saigon Rangers tour Tourists listen to the piano on Nhieu Loc – Thi Nghe channel The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism has collaborated with tourism experts, researched new experiential destinations, and built a series of stories about Saigon – HCMC. In which, on the occasion of April 30, there will be 5 new tour series including: According to the history line – Silent footprints – Saigon Villa; Can Gio tour – there is a very different Saigon; tour of the sacred place; Exchange tour with the family of typical 3-generation artists in Ho Chi Minh City and the Performing Arts Tour at Ta Quan Le Van Duyet’s Mausoleum / Botanical Garden. For example, with the tour of Can Gio – there is a very different Saigon, visitors will experience by canoe or boat to visit the Yen Quan Salanganes’Nest Exhibition Center – the largest nesting center in Can Gio, learn model of swiftlet raising and the process of preliminary processing of swallow’s nests; visit Sac Forest Ecotourism Area (Sac Can Gio War Historical Relic) or Vam Sac Ecotourism Area – is a biosphere reserve with a population of terrestrial, aquatic animals, fresh air, green nature, wild, quiet and peaceful. “With this new Can Gio tour, when traveling by canoe or yacht, the cost is only half as low as before, helping to reach and introduce to a wide range of people and tourists. The cost fluctuates. from 1.6 million – 2 million / person / day package including lunch, canoe costs and entrance fees … “- leader of the Department of Tourism of Ho Chi Minh City said. Many businesses also make efforts in actively building new tours to welcome guests on the occasion of the holiday. Mr. Phan Xuan Anh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saigon Boat Company, said that on the occasion of April 30th, the company started selling new tour products “Vong Nguyet” on Nhieu Loc – Thi Nghe channel, besides other tours. exploit. With the tour “Vọng Nguyệt”, visitors will be watched while sitting on the canal boat, enjoying tea, listening to ancient or neo-antiquity, especially enjoying Apsara dance of the Cham right on the boat … “Waterway tourism in Ho Chi Minh City is still very potential. With the Nhieu Loc – Thi Nghe canal, we strive to build new products to meet the diverse needs of tourists and people” – Mr. Phan Xuan Anh said . System of accommodation establishments, 3-5 star hotels in Ho Chi Minh City also announced discounts from 40% -65% for groups and retail guests; preferential packages to experience the new trend of on-site travel, healthy and safe travel at Grand Hotel, Majestic, Lotte Saigon, Par Hyatt Saigon, Nikko Saigon, Le Meriden, Pullman Saigon, Sofitel Saigon …

In addition to the preferential policies such as room discounts, including airport shuttle and laundry services, drinking water gifts, buffet discounts, spa …, this series of tourism stimulus programs are also introduced. special experience packages, suitable for new trends such as “travel in place”, “travel safe and healthy”. A series of 3-5 star hotels across the country offer preferential rates up to 65%. Photo: Quynh Danh. At the recent tourism link program in Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Binh and Thua Thien – Hue provinces, provincial leaders also said that many hotels and resorts will reduce by 20-50% of room and service rates, At the same time, gift vouchers to use services for in-house guests These programs extend to the end of the summer tourist season to attract people to travel. The units said that the capacity of the room is currently increasing strongly, at some times the room is closed. Food services, restaurants, and bars in these properties have also recorded positive signals, especially for the holidays April 30 to May 1. Noted that since April, the demand for tourism has increased at the end of the week, mainly in the family group. With the upcoming 4-day holiday season, in addition to the selection of package tours, the need to book individual services such as self-designed tours, hotel combo, airline tickets, hotel shuttle, private car … increase. Mr. Nguyen Xuan Binh, Deputy Director of Da Nang City Department of Tourism, said he would focus on developing potential and trend-appropriate tourism types such as MICE tourism, ecotourism, community tourism … Therefore, in addition to stimulating accommodation, the locality also has free tickets to tourist destinations such as Ngu Hanh Son, Da Nang museum, Museum of Cham Sculpture, Museum of Fine Arts until the end of this year. “We aim to attract about 3.4-4.6 million domestic visitors in 2021, especially during the holidays of April 30 to May 1 and summer from April to September 2021, 12/2021. In addition, it is to bring the image of Da Nang city to become the most sought-after and chosen destination by tourists in 2021 through tourism information sites ”, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Binh affirmed. Meanwhile, Hue, Quang Nam reduce 50% of the entrance fee for travel agencies to bring tourists to visit cultural heritage sites of the ancient capital of Hue, Hoi An ancient town, the birth reserve area. world book of Cu Lao Cham, historical and cultural relic of Bay Mau coconut forest, My Son temple tower. And Quang Binh also offers incentives for adventure tourism products in the area. In Ho Chi Minh City, Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa – Director of the Department of Tourism – said that she would launch a stimulus program “Ho Chi Minh City people travel to Ho Chi Minh City” and many communication activities to promote with the theme ” Ho Chi Minh City – Lively experience “. She emphasized on introducing new, unique and long-standing culinary and tourism destinations, including a series of new tours revolving around stories about Saigon – Ho Chi Minh City. Share with Zing , travel businesses recognize that the domestic tourism market has had many prosperity, and is forecast to explode during the holidays of April 30 to May 1 and the summer.

Families tend to travel for long holidays … (Photo: Phuong Anh)

Closing schedule for the whole family to go away on the upcoming April 30 holiday, Ms. Hoang Thu Giang (Thanh Xuan – Hanoi) chose Ba Ria Vung Tau as the place for the whole family to rest, explore, and by the way. visit relatives too.

But the decision is a bit late, so the selection of hotel rooms is limited. Ms. Giang said that 3-4 star hotels are in the central location, convenient to the sea, almost full of rooms, after many phone calls to ask for rooms, Ms. Giang decided to stay in a hotel slightly far from the sea.

Not only Ms. Giang, up to this point, many families planning to travel on the next 30/4 holiday said that it is a bit difficult to book a hotel room because of the beautiful locations, near the center. The number of guests has booked almost.

Exchange with PV InfonetMr. Pham Van Quy – Director of Holiday Inn Travel Company, said that on the occasion of the 30/4 holiday this year, users of the service at the company are mainly family guests who order odd combos, but the number of guests. follow less. In which, Phu Quoc, Quy Nhon, Ha Long … are the places chosen by many tourists.

According to Mr. Quy, up to now, the number of retail customers booking tours at the company has reached over 80% of the plan. Compared to the time before the translation, the number of visitors is now about 50%.

“4-star hotels in Phu Quoc, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, Da Nang … most of their rooms were sold out during the holidays of April 30 and May 1. At this time, new guests booking to travel during the holiday season will no longer have the opportunity to use the service because there is no room. Guests can only choose another day, deviate from the holidays, ”Mr. Quy said.

Tourists traveling on the occasion of April 30 to May 1 rumble, many places run out of hotel rooms.

According to this director, with the current growth momentum and if from now until the summer time, students are allowed to leave school, no matter how much it affects the movement of tourists, domestic tourism. will recover about 80-90%.

The rate of tourists booking tours for the holidays of April 30 at Vietravel as of April 14 is about 80% of the plan, Ms. Le Hong Viet Thao, Department of Communication – Marketing (Vietravel Tourism Company) said, The tourism situation since the beginning of March has flourished and has been bustling again.

“Every day, the number of tourists registering tours at the Company is about 2,000 visitors. Before that positive signal, the company also introduced tours to serve tourists on the holidays April 30 and May 1. Expected holiday this year, Vietravel will serve about 15,000 retail passengers with the most selected destinations such as Sapa, Ha Long, Phu Quoc, Da Nang, Da Lat ”, Ms. Thao informed.

Also according to Ms. Thao, this year’s tour prices are quite good compared to previous years because service providers, transportation, and attractions all join hands with tour operators to offer stimulus prices.

For example, package travel products by car to the West, Vung Tau, Phan Thiet, Da Lat, Buon Ma Thuot, Nha Trang have time from 1-5 days … priced from only 699,000 VND to more than 6 million VND. VND / person. Package tours travel by plane to East – Northwest, Hanoi, Ha Long, Sa Pa, Ninh Binh, Hue, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Quy Nhon, Da Lat or Phu Quoc, … priced from 4.39 million – 9.9 million VND / person.

In addition, visitors can get more new experiences with family car tours. This is a form of travel by private car and self-drive with itineraries to Nha Trang, Da Lat, Buon Ma Thuot or the West with prices from 5.49 million to 7.59 million.

Mrs. Thao said that in previous years, package tours selected by customers accounted for 90-95%; Only 5-10% of customers choose travel combos, so far the number of guests choosing combos accounts for 20%, sometimes up to 40-50% compared to package tours. Guests who book combo usually only include airline tickets and hotels, and travel and dining schedules are self-planning for themselves.

Before the news that many hotels had ‘burned’ rooms for the holidays of April 30 and May 1, Ms. Thao said that normally, travel agencies had to plan hotel and restaurant reservations many months ago. Therefore, at the peak time, when the retail customers call the hotel to book directly, they often will not be there because the hotel always gives priority to room funds for travel agencies.

Therefore, at peak, when customers want to use the service, they can still book through travel agencies, there is still room fund in the hotel.

In January this year, Chenghua District Bureau of Chengdu Public Security Bureau uncovered a new type of telecom network fraud under the guise of “members rate reservations for hotels nationwide.”

According to Xinhua News Agency, at the end of December 2020, Mr. Lu, a Chengdu citizen, booked a four-night room in a hotel in Shanghai through a seller who provided hotel reservation services on the Xianyu platform. The seller stated that the original price for the four nights was 5,000 yuan. It only costs 3300 yuan to book through him. After taking the photo, Mr. Lu provided the occupant’s information to the other party and contacted the hotel for verification. After confirming that it was correct, he clicked to confirm receipt. But when Mr. Lu went to Shanghai to check in, he was informed by the front desk of the hotel that the order had been cancelled. Mr. Lu tried to contact the seller again and found that he was blackmailed by the other party, and then realized that he had been cheated.

According to the “Statistical Report on National Star-rated Hotels in the Fourth Quarter of 2020” issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, there are 9,717 star-rated hotels in the national star-rated hotel statistical management system in the fourth quarter of 2020, including 2,552 four-star hotels. There are 850 five-star hotels, accounting for 26.3% and 8.7% respectively. In addition, the average price of five-star hotels is as high as 523.27 yuan, and the average occupancy rate is 53.96%. Higher prices and vacancy rates have made some crooks smell business opportunities.

Jiemian News combed through the information on Black Cat Complaints, Zhihu, Weibo and other platforms and found that there are currently two main complaints from consumers about the reservation service of Xianyu Hotel. The first is Mr. Lu mentioned in the above report. In that way, the full payment was paid to the seller on Xianyu before the check-in, and the seller deducted the payment by himself and contacted the hotel to cancel the order. As a result, the consumer found that there was no room available when he arrived at the hotel.

Another situation is that consumers did not pay the room fee to the seller of Xianyu, but only paid a certain reservation fee, and the corresponding room fee was paid directly to the hotel upon check-in. Some of these consumers did pay the seller on behalf of the hotel. The booking was successfully checked in, but some orders were recognized as illegal operations by the hotel and could not be checked in.

The experience of a consumer on Weibo falls into this category. The consumer stated in his post that he had purchased the Conrad Hangzhou Hotel at a low price for two nights through the booking service, but he was questioned by the front desk when he checked in. “I followed the instructions provided by the seller to check in, but the hotel front desk said that I had encountered travelers cheating to check in with the same words before, which caused us to be very embarrassed, and finally failed to check in. We tried to find after being rejected by the hotel The seller claimed for the reservation fee, but found that it had been blocked by the seller.” The consumer wrote on Weibo.

So, where do the low-priced houses on the Xianyu platform come from? And why is there such a situation that “some passengers successfully checked in, while others failed to check in”?

“We will have some hotel sales agents on hand to sell us the negotiated price listings.” A seller who provides hotel reservation services on Xianyu revealed to the interface news. “After the buyer has provided the information, we will generally send the buyer a fake electronic version of the corporate name tag, or send the agreement number of the corresponding company to the buyer, so that the buyer will print it and show it to the hotel front desk when checking in. “The seller said so.

It is understood that the negotiated price means that some hotel sales agents specially sign an agreement with a large company or individual to agree that when the company’s guests or employees stay in the hotel, they can enjoy a preferential price. In this way, the hotel guarantees a certain occupancy rate and keeps the vacancy rate within a reasonable limit. It is generally lower than the listed price of the hotel. Some big companies such as Alibaba, JPMorgan Chase, IBM, etc. will sign an agreement with five-star hotels.

Take the Ritz-Carlton Nanjing as an example. During the period of 4.12-4.13, the price for ordinary travelers to stay in the hotel’s deluxe room is 1430 yuan, while the price for the same room type using Alibaba’s negotiated price is 1287 yuan. This one night produced a price difference of nearly 150 yuan.

The price difference of superior room types is even more disparity. Also on this night, the price for ordinary travelers to stay in a premium suite was 3480 yuan, while Alibaba’s negotiated price was only 3001 yuan, and the difference was nearly 500 yuan. This is not difficult to explain why most sellers on Xianyu provide reservation services only for top-level rooms such as executive suites or prestigious suites, and the resulting profit difference can be seen.

However, tourists staying in hotels through fraudulent use of negotiated prices are essentially an encroachment on the interests of the hotel. Xia Zifan, chief consultant of Lausanne Hotel Agency, said that the current hotel’s negotiated price leakage exists. If consumers book at the negotiated price, they must report the agreement number to the front desk when they check in. This is a common practice in hotels. However, it is inevitable that some unprofessional front desk staff did not identify well. This is also the reason that “some passengers will check in successfully, and some are told not to check in” mentioned above.

“This is actually a’risky activity’. Once the fraudulent agreement price is discovered by the front desk, you will definitely not be able to check in, and personal credibility will be affected. When I sell, I will inform the buyer that there is a risk of not being able to check in successfully, but As far as I know, other people rarely do this.” The above-mentioned idle fish seller told the interface reporter.

Xia Zifan also told Jiemian News: “It is still recommended that consumers book hotels through formal channels to avoid being unable to check in at that time.”

It is worth noting that the lack of qualification review of sellers on Xianyu platform and the inefficiency of handling user complaints have also caused dissatisfaction among some consumers.

A user posted on the Black Cat Complaint Platform that she saw a low-cost hotel booking on Xianyu platform called “Xia Chao’s Weightlifting Doll” on February 21, and she subsequently ordered it from the seller Orders. After contacting the hotel to confirm the information, she clicked to receive the goods, but then the hotel contacted her to pay again at the front desk. The user immediately filed a complaint to Xianyu’s official after realizing that she was deceived, but she found that the seller’s goods were still listed on the platform the day after she complained. “Xianyu platform has been allowing him to deceive without taking any measures.” The consumer wrote in the post.

Jiemian News tried to contact Xianyu regarding this incident, but has not received a response as of press time.

(Reporter Zheng Cuiying also contributed to this article.)