Moevenpick Saigon says to suspend business for renovation
By Dinh Dung - The Saigon Times Daily
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| The façade of Moevenpick Hotel Saigon on Nguyen Van Troi Street in HCMC - Photo: Y Nhi |
HCMC – Moevenpick Hotel Saigon has said it will begin to close on March 8 this year to facilitate a five-month US$15 million renovation plan designed to improve the quality of its services.
Dominik Stamm, general manager of the five-star hotel on Nguyen Van Troi Street in HCMC’s Phu Nhuan District, said at a news briefing held at the hotel on Monday that 
the facelift would better customer services.
“Several factors persuaded us that this was the best course of action, but first on the list was and is customer service,” Stamm said.
He said the upgrade would not only put a new appearance on the facility, but also give 29 additional guest rooms to the current 250-room hotel.
Explaining why the hotel management had decided to completely stop business for the renovation, the general manager said the hotel started its refurbishment in June last year but the renovation process had annoyed guests. Thus, the hotel management decided to temporarily stop business to ensure faster renovation.
“We want to speed up the construction; otherwise, we wouldn’t have been fully operational until December, halfway through peak season,” Stamm said.
He added guests holding reservations at the hotel during the interval had understood the situation, and that they would be transferred to other hotels for their stays. “We have done everything possible to help them find alternative accommodations,” Stamm said.
Asked whether staff would be laid off during the business interval, Stamm said the hotel’s permanent staff had been assured they would be retained following the renovation process, and their benefits program would remain intact during the time.
He said the hotel would take this opportunity to train its staff, improving their skills of services for the hotel, which is scheduled to reopen on August 1 this year.
Stamm said he was pinning hopes that business would come back this year given the economic recovery, and that the hotel wanted to make it ready to catch up with the market.