HOI AN Vietnam, 16 February 2023: A new hotel business consultancy, Wafaifo Optimisers, has been launched in Vietnam to serve hoteliers in the country and across the Mekong Region.
The lead ‘optimisers’ in the venture are: Wafaifo Hospitality managing director Pieter van der Hoeven; commercial director Mikkel Krantz; and deputy managing director Uyen Ngo.
The Wafaifo Optimers’ goal is to help hotel owners assess and evaluate the relationship that the hotel may have with a management company.
On sales and distribution, the Wafaifo Optimisers believe that with technological developments, efficient sales distribution doesn’t necessarily have to rely on major online travel agency platforms such as Booking, Expedia, Hotelbeds, Agoda and others, which can take over 20% commissions.
“Wafaifo Optimers will help independent hotels by conducting impartial, clear-eyed analysis of the hotel’s strengths, weaknesses and opportunities,” said van der Hoeven.
“We aim to empower hotel owners on strategic direction. With the owner, we will clinically evaluate whether the hotel is best served with a brand or operating independently. We will advise on pricing and positioning, create standard operating procedures and make sure the hotel meets the specific needs of its target markets,” he said.
“The needs and expectations of, for example, Western, Japanese, Indian and local guests vary,” said van der Hoeven. “We will advise the hotel owner so that he or she can maximise results affordably and efficiently.”
The consultancy launches at a time when Vietnam’s GDP growth for 2022 was 8.02% (the highest rate since 1997), neighbouring China has lifted its Covid-related travel restrictions, and Vietnam Airlines reported that it carried 18 million passengers in 2022, up from 6.1 million in 2021.
In 2023, the Vietnamese government plans to spend heavily on infrastructure developments that will boost domestic road and air connectivity.
On tourism arrivals in early 2023, Vietnam is seeing strong growth from relatively new markets such as India, the Middle East, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Against this backdrop, Wafaifo Optimisers are also developing the all-new Wafaifo Resort Hoi An, which is scheduled to open in the heritage city in central Vietnam in January 2024.
