The Park Hyatt Saigon may be the nicest place I have been in at the very least the past 5 years. It was so fancy, I would have felt underdressed in anything. It was interesting to see an American business operate in Vietnam as I imagine there would be some trouble with American standards differing from Vietnamese standards as well as clashes with how the Vietnamese Government owns all the land and American businesses not wanting to be controlled by a foreign government. I’m not entirely sure what the process is for getting real estate as a foreign company but I would imagine it has lots of barriers and regulations. It was super interesting to hear about how three cultures were coming together at the Hyatt. Those cultures being Vietnamese, American, as well as French. For me at least, it can be difficult to find the French influence in Vietnam but there are moments that it really shines and at the Park Hyatt Saigon they let it shine! Their restaurant, Square One, has two entirely separate kitchens, one for Vietnamese food and another for French food. They explained that they have separate menus as well but they do mix the styles of food as well. I would love the chance to taste what they have but you need to be a guest there to eat but unfortunately I will not able able to stay there during my visit. We learned a great deal about their sustainable business practices that go beyond just trying to use less plastic such as sustainable building materials and reducing food waste. They also told us about how they try to give their brand a “humble” feel but to be honest I did not really feel it. There were glass chandeliers hanging from every ceiling and gold on just about every surface, including the elevators. If anyone was humble today, it was me being humbled by the sheer luminousness of the Park Hyatt Saigon.It was incredible exploring the hotel and learning about how American and Vietnamese companies and cultures can work together.

Back at UEF, we learned about businesses in the ever changing global environment. The lecture given was incredible and very thought provoking. I had never thought about the marketability of companies saying they are “green” as I had just assumed it was for other reasons such as caring about the environment and regulations on unsustainable practices. At the end of the lecture, we had a group activity to try and propose a business strategy that has already developed in America that is not particularly prevalent in Vietnam. My group proposed a store that requires a subscription to shop at, in the US there are two main chains that have this model, Costco and Sam’s Club. All the groups had great ideas and after the presentations the professor told us about what he thought about each groups idea. It was very interesting to hear about how some French retailer had actually already tried to expand into Vietnam with a membership model but had not succeeded in the market. After that we learned some basic Vietnamese greetings which was a ton of fun! I had two big helpers, Teedie and Mickey, who helped me figure out the pronunciation, as well as talked back and forth with me as I learned the phrases. I couldn’t have asked for better partners to help learn their language.