In Room Dining @ Alma Resort Vietnam
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Herbert Laubichler-Pichler
Managing Director
Alma Resort
What metrics do you track for IRD today? Is time still a factor?
We have a guest survey to measure overall guest satisfaction that includes our in-room dining. Guests let us know what they think via the survey.
We also have our new Alma App – a mobile app that opens the door to contactless communication with guests and staff in real-time as the coronavirus continues to ravage the globe - that offers ample opportunity for app users to provide feedback about our resort and its services.
Via the survey, quite a few guests have positively remarked that they really like that they can order room service but enjoy their meals at various scenic spots of their choice across our 30-hectare resort such as, for example, a meal amid the gardens or on Long Beach, or a floating breakfast at one of our 12 swimming pools cascading down to the beach.
In a nutshell, our in-room dining is not restricted to your room and this has been welcomed by guests who want to make the most of our stunning location overlooking Long Beach, arguably one of Vietnam’s best beaches, on Cam Ranh peninsula.
With all the new tech, tell us anything that you use for your IRD.
Now available for download on Android, Apple, Windows and Amazon devices, our ‘Alma Resort’ app offers menus, promotions and vouchers as well as live stream broadcasts and information about events and COVID-19 health and safety tips. I believe it will soon be incumbent for five-star resorts across Vietnam to offer the same technology.
In addition to offering an array of menus for Alma’s restaurants, bars, in-room dining and Le Spa and promotions and vouchers on food and beverage, spa services, beauty products, karaoke and items at Alma’s mini supermarket ‘Alma Mart’, our Alma app also offers ample opportunity for app users to provide feedback about the resort and its services, including our in-room dining.
Under the second phase of the app’s development, to be rolled out over the next few months, users will be able to access information about the weather in real-time due to the installation of a live weather cam on the resort’s stretch of Long Beach.
The app is a game-changer for Vietnam’s hospitality landscape, and all the more remarkable because Alma has muscled its way into the realm of mobile app technology alongside predominantly major global hotel brands.
We also offer guests a hotline so that they order in-room dining. We have QR codes and we have a wristband that guests use to charge in-room dining and other services to their room; they don’t have to sign with a restaurant cashier and it is contactless and sustainable. They use their wristband at our portable check-out station.
I think it’s also important to note that we don’t use any plastic, chinaware or glasses; we use paper packaging, paper plates and cups etc to be more environmentally friendly. We have turned in-room dining into more of a takeaway service because our guests like to be able to enjoy a meal on the beach or amid the gardens or another scenic venue of their choice.
They welcome the opportunity to take advantage of our stunning natural scenery; it is not like a corporate environment where the guests order something to their room and eat it in their room because they’re working in their room.
As we are a family resort with many family-friendly facilities including a science museum and 6000sqm water park with a lazy river, water slides, a wave pool and a kid’s pool, many families of up to four generations stay with us. Thus, we have many in-room dining options based on family dining. We have family sharing menus that can be ordered for various family sizes i.e. a set menu for a family of four, a set menu for a family of eight etc.
We keep our in-room dining simple and that ultimately means we can ensure it’s fast, efficient and more economical for our guests. We don’t use heater boxes, table cloth, chinaware, flowers and all of the frills. We simply focus on great food.
All of our suites and pavilions each feature a kitchenette that is fitted out with a microwave as well as plates, cutlery, glasses and more. Therefore, guests have the opportunity to set the table if they wish to do so and this of course is all part of the “new normal” that involves social distancing and avoiding unnecessary or unwanted interactions.
What is so special about your IRD?
As outlined earlier, our in-room dining is special in that you don’t have to order it only in your room; you can enjoy your order anywhere at our resort at any time. As outlined earlier, our resort has embraced cutting edge technology such as our Alma App, QR codes and our guest wristbands to ensure our in-room dining and other services are contactless and sustainable.
What do you think IRD will look like in the coming years?
As you can already see from our Alma App, QR codes, guest wristbands etc, we are already offering contactless and sustainable services.
I’m sure drone services will become more popular, particularly as we can’t send robots down to the beach but we can send drones to the beach. The problem with drones is that they are hard to manoeuvre inside of buildings so I would think they wouldn’t be popular at hotels but I’m sure resorts will use drones in the future. I’m sure drones would help deliver warm food quicker but I’m curious to see if the drones are able to deliver meals completely intact, as presentation of the food is paramount.
Drones and robots making their presence felt in the future will make for an interesting show.
