Eight months after the closure of Alma, prompted by COVID-19’s resurgence in Vietnam, the 30-hectare resort is set to reopen on January 15. According to Herbert Laubichler-Pichler, the resort’s managing director, since the resort’s closure on May 16, 2021, his team has been busy developing a host of new capacities and services for the reopening, ranging from kick-starting a solar power project to developing a “Back of House” tour and a mobile app.
During the closure, Preferred Hotels member Alma appointed a sustainability officer to oversee three new staff sustainability committees focused on “green products,” “innovation and solutions” and “partnerships,” through such means as garbage segregation, planting trees, paperless solutions and education. A central plank of the independently owned and operated resort’s sustainability initiatives is the implementation of a solar power project. Involving the installation of 5,634 solar panels totaling 134,550 square feet across the resort, it’s estimated the project will fuel up to almost half of the resort’s energy needs and reduce its CO2 emissions by up to 72,670 tons over a 25-year period.
During the closure, Alma joined forces with Australian-founded company Typsy to up-skill its hotel staff. Learners are encouraged to explore their interests, build skills to help with internal promotion and career progression, and earn industry-recognized qualifications via Typsy’s “Netflix-style” library of hospitality training videos by industry experts. Alma’s managers also studied eCornell’s management accounting certification program’s six courses over four months, equipping them with tools to develop key performance indicators (KPIs) and reporting systems to boost the performance of managers and units across the entire organization.
The Atlantis restaurant
Another example of how Alma has strived to think outside the box during the closure is the one-hour “Back of House” tour, which will be available to guests upon its reopening. Tour stops include the pastry room, staff canteen, engineering workshop, loading dock, laundry and uniform rooms, electric buggy station, generator station, air-conditioner centralized plant, water treatment plant, and CCTV and fire panel room.
Alma recently updated its mobile app to usher in a payment gateway, allowing guests to settle bills in a cashless manner via its app, as well as accessing information about the weather in real-time due to the installation of a live weather cam on the resort’s stretch of Long Beach.
Other changes include doubling the size and capacity of the kitchen of beachfront restaurant Atlantis that specializes in local seafood, and introducing a gourmet family barbecue experience and a roadside coffee shop.
The team is also readying the resort for Tet on February 1, to be marked with a six-day program with events including traditional games and competitions, an outdoor cinema on the beach, kite-flying competitions and sing-alongs. The lobby will be transformed into a traditional “Tet Village” with huts offering snacks and beverages.
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