Both laughing and crying with the 'ever-changing' hotel names in Ho Chi Minh City when booking rooms during the holidays

Booking a hotel room in Ho Chi Minh City on the occasion of April 30, many tourists are both amused and annoyed by the 'ever-changing' hotel names. The truth about the quality of service and the reliability of online booking platforms is something that tourists need to consider.

When booking a hotel room in Ho Chi Minh City, many customers are "dumbfounded" because the actual name is Alpina Hotel Saigon (5 Truong Dinh, District 1); the name on the invoice is Eliot Boutique!? What is the actual service quality with many names at one hotel address is a matter of doubt for tourists - Photo: NL

Recently, many readers have reported to the Tuoi Tre hotline about their frustrations when "checking in" in Ho Chi Minh City despite having booked a room nearly a month in advance during the April 30 and May 1 holidays.

It is worth mentioning that the names of hotels sold on the app or on the fanpage are different from the actual name, the name of the invoice information..., making tourists "blind" and skeptical about the quality of the rooms.

According to the Department of Tourism Accommodation Management of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, a hotel address has many names because it has been sold many times to many different owners, and it is very difficult to contact because most of the business owners do not live in Ho Chi Minh City.

One hotel address, many "birth certificates"

The story of reader Pham Mau Thu Huong (27 years old, Hanoi ) encountered a "bitter fruit" when booking a hotel room through the Booking.com app, belonging to a hotel at 260 Ly Tu Trong, District 1. At this address, Ms. Huong booked a room on the app named Saigon Premium Hotel, showing 3 stars; but the actual name is KAS - Premium Hotel.

Similarly, in the case of Mr. Ngo Ngoc Luyen (50 years old, Binh Chanh district, Ho Chi Minh City) when his extended family encountered the "bitter fruit" of booking a room directly at a hotel named Alpina Hotel Saigon (at 5 Truong Dinh, District 1).

However, when giving the deposit receipt to the customer, Mr. Luyen "didn't understand why" the hotel name "changed" to... Eliot Boutique!?

On May 1, Tuoi Tre Online recorded the hotel business situation in some groups on social networks.

The wholesale transfer of hotels in the center of Ho Chi Minh City is very busy. With more than 40,000 members, the group "Saigon Motels - Hotels" has an average of dozens of hotel sale/lease ads every day.

According to records, the facility also has the name "Premium Saigon", also on Ly Tu Trong Street (District 1), introduced as a 5-star hotel with 100 rooms, meeting rooms, restaurants... is being sold for 1,500 billion VND.

Or in the group "Transfer - Rent hotel - Hotel TP.HCM" with more than 10,000 members, there are many hotels for sale.

There are 3-star hotels in the center of District 1 with 45 rooms, advertised for sale at 370 billion VND; and the rental price is 700 million VND/month, tax-free, with a 5-year contract...

Similarly, on Bui Vien Western Street, hotels in bustling locations are also for sale, with a 36-room, 7-story hotel for sale for 130 billion VND.

What to note when booking a hotel room that has "changed name, changed surname"?

Mr. Tu Quy Thanh, director of Lien Bang Tourism Company, acknowledged that an accommodation address has many different names, originating from the transfer of names from new ownership to other ownership...

According to Mr. Thanh, when tourists book a hotel room on an online booking service platform, that platform does not have the function of monitoring the new name, old name, actual name and registered name.

A customer booked a room on the Booking.com app called Saigon Premium Hotel (260 Ly Tu Trong, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City), but when he arrived it was KAS- Premium Hotel, so he was upset and livestreamed to warn other tourists - Screenshot: THAO THUONG

"Because online booking platforms are like connecting floors, signing contracts with all hotels to create a "hotel room market", tourists choose for themselves. I admit that there is a situation where one accommodation has several different names.

Each name will be associated with different actual room quality because it depends on the business strategy of each owner.

Therefore, it is difficult to know the actual quality of the room if an accommodation address has "changed its name" many times. Tourists must check the information carefully," said Mr. Thanh.

Many cases occur when booking rooms online or on online platforms; according to a tourism expert in Ho Chi Minh City, these are warnings for consumers to change the way they book rooms, buy tours and need to check carefully before making online transactions.

"If booking directly, tourists should request to provide business licenses and permits to ensure standards of operation in the tourism sector.

If booking through an intermediary, ask the seller to present an agency contract, voucher purchase contract... which clearly shows party A and party B, including the hotel and individuals or room sales agents.

If there is an invoice, request the exact name as on the issued license. The hotel has many names, customers must be skeptical, stop depositing because of the "change" of the name, which can be related to the quality of the room as well as the difficulty in resolving risks with the head of the accommodation facility," this person recommends.

Verifying self-proclaimed stars with… "rice-powered machines"

In the hospitality business, star rating is important. Stars are associated with the class of the hotel.

According to the provisions of the Law on Tourism, organizations and individuals providing accommodation services are allowed to voluntarily register for star ratings. Therefore, it is difficult for tourists to know and verify the reality.

However, to verify, some people chose to go to the hotel to see it directly. Mr. Nguyen Van Nam (HCMC) said that a friend abroad asked him to book a hotel room.

Mr. Nam searched for information on the apps of online booking platforms and saw that name A had 4 stars, but the fanpage of the same address was named B, but the signboard was named C.

"I had to run to the correct address to check. The staff introduced a 4-star hotel. Before depositing the deposit, I asked to survey the criteria such as size, room standard type, service equipment and auxiliary services, staff... all of those criteria could be equivalent to 4 stars. I just deposited the room and issued an invoice but requested the correct hotel name because it was related to taxes," said Mr. Nam.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/do-khoc-do-cuoi-voi-thien-bien-van-hoa-ten-khach-san-tai-tp-hcm-khi-dat-phong-dip-le-20250501151150435.htm