‘Xin chào, tôi tên là Emerson, còn bạn?’ I must’ve said this at least ten times. We had an interactive Vietnamese language class this morning. I felt that conversing with the UEF students was rather optimal for picking up the phrases quickly. Now I can ask a local what their name is. Nice.
During our lecture of sustainability in the service industry, our presenter went on a quick tangent about semiconductors and how Jensen Huang had selected Vietnam as their main partner in semiconductor material processing. I wondered how much of this was due to Vietnam’s sustainable initiatives, despite having less GDP than other options. In groups, we were later assigned to pitch a system that exists in the US that could be implemented in Vietnam. We chose a self-checkout system, which was not received too well. Apparently people would just walk out with the products and not pay. Touche..
We then toured the Park Hyatt Saigon. I’m familiar with Hyatt back home, but this one was on another level. What resonated with me the most was actually talking to their Director of Food Services. He seemed genuinely excited describing all the creative events that they had planned: flying in chefs from Taiwan, Japan, and Korea to collaborate with the in-house team, hiring DJs to match their different venues, and restocking the largest wine cellar in Vietnam. He then returned to a mooncake tasting to package them for the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival; I was really hoping they needed an extra hand. I left that conversation hungrier than I came in, which says a lot because I was already starving.
The way Park Hyatt has been able to maintain and expand its brand isn’t just the luxury services and Michelin restaurants, it’s how they hire and cultivate their work culture. They’re really committed to long-term initiatives: hiring without discrimination, supporting the employees working their way up internally, creating core competencies that ultimately become a competitive advantage in the hospitality industry. The Hyatt culture is consistent because their leaders come from inside, and it will become harder for other competitors to replicate as Hyatt scales this culture and approach towards great customer-facing initiatives. This approach is present from their name tags, because they put their first name on their so guests can call staff by their real names to create a sense of familiarity. They mentioned that sustainability is a goal of every company in almost every industry, and they do their best to increase their sustainable footprint through motion-sensor lights and reducing food waste.
I forgot to mention that I learned Vietnamese way of saying cheers “Một, hai, ba, YO! Hai, ba, YO! Hai, ba, OOO!”.. Cheers!