Power outage causes misery for hotels and tourists

Power outages during the first month of peak summer have caused many tourists and accommodation establishments, especially in Ha Long, to suffer.

Nguyen Thanh Dan (living in Ho Chi Minh City) booked a new 5-star hotel in Hung Thang, Ha Long, for two weeks but on the first day, the hotel lost power at night. Because her baby could not stand the heat and cried, she had to immediately rent another 3-star hotel in Cai Dam.

Sudden power outages in Ha Long City are not uncommon these days. On the morning of June 4, the Bai Chay area also suffered a similar situation.

"The power outage was not announced in advance. My hotel had 70 rooms at the time. We called the authorities to ask but got no answer about when the power would be restored," said a representative of Green Suites Hotel.

Due to the power outage, all guests canceled their rooms and in addition to refunding about 600,000 VND per room, this facility also had to pay an additional compensation to guests. This morning, the hotel also rented a large generator to place right in front of the door to prevent unexpected incidents like yesterday.

A rented generator in front of the Green Suites hotel. Photo: Le Tan — A rented generator in front of the Green Suites hotel. Photo: *Le Tan*

In Ha Long, many hotels, motels, and restaurants have had to buy or rent emergency generators. "Buying a whole unit costs about 1 billion. Renting a machine costs about 25 to 30 million a month. Each day, a few million more is spent on gas. Running all day, many machines can't handle it," said a representative of Bao Han Hotel on Phan Boi Chau Street, Bai Chay Ward.

Due to the large investment, many small hotels and motels cannot use generators. Mr. Dong, the owner of two hotels with 50 rooms in Ha Long, said he had to pay guests three times a month. On June 4 alone, the facility "lost 30 rooms" due to a power outage. The hotel owner also had to call everywhere to find rooms for guests to stay in.

According to a survey of some tourism service retailers, Ha Long is the locality that has received the most feedback about power outages from customers in recent times. Ms. Hoang Tuyet, Director of Top One Travel Company, said that she mainly sells 5-star hotel rooms in Ha Long, so this situation is less likely to occur because high-end hotels often invest in generators. Last week, Ms. Tuyet received two more groups of customers who booked private villas and 3-star hotels, but had to come to the company to find new accommodation because the power outage was too long.

"Tourists should consider 4-5 star hotels that are operating stably and have invested in generators. Some 5 star hotels that have just opened and are not equipped with generators still have power outages as usual. The power outage situation this year seems to be more tense than previous years," said Ms. Tuyet.

Hoang Anh, a tourist from Hanoi , booked a hotel room in Ha Long this weekend and was asked to "pay an additional VND300,000 per night if the hotel uses a generator". Unsatisfied with this arrangement, she looked for another place to stay.

According to Mr. Pham Ngoc Thuy, Director of the Quang Ninh Province Department of Tourism, businesses operating in the province are facing many difficulties. Installing additional generators will cost a large amount of money due to the high cost of fuel to run the machines. The Department of Tourism has encouraged service businesses to share difficulties with the electricity industry, while increasing backup power sources to meet basic needs of customers.

A representative of the 3-star Phuong Thao Marina Square Hotel with 56 rooms estimated that it would cost around 700,000-800,000 VND per hour to run the generator. In the past week alone, the hotel has spent tens of millions of VND more due to a 40-50 hour power outage. On June 5, the area where the hotel is located had no power from morning to night.

"If this continues, we will no longer make a profit," said a representative of this hotel.

The hotel and villa complex where Ms. Nhung works is also suffering from power outages. Photo: Booking — The hotel and villa complex where Ms. Nhung works is also suffering from power outages. Photo: *Booking*

Le Thi Nhung, Deputy General Manager of Beverly Hills Ha Long, a resort combining villas and apartments, said that up to 80% of guests who booked rooms this week have called to ask about the power outage. Many guests are worried and have requested to cancel their reservations. Ms. Nhung said the resort has 8 villas for rent, but only 5 have generators. In the past week, they have had to upgrade their rooms for free to rooms with generators, which are also of better quality. Each time they upgrade for free, the resort has lost about 5-7 million VND.

According to the forecast of Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN), operating the power system during the peak hot months (from May to July) is very difficult. The Northern power system faces a shortage of about 1,600-4,900 MW. The cause of drought and prolonged water shortage has reduced the water flow to hydroelectric reservoirs. The capacity and output of wind power plants have decreased sharply due to poor wind.

According to Quang Ninh Electricity, in recent days, the North has been short of more than 2,000 MW of electricity, so its subsidiaries have had to reduce their capacity. On June 1, the company had to cut 78/128 medium-voltage lines in the area, from Dong Trieu to Dam Ha. On June 2, the company cut 186 MW and today it is 236 MW.

Not only Ha Long, some tourists in other tourist destinations also faced difficulties due to power outages. Pham Thi My (living in Nam Dinh) and her family went to the beach in the area of the ruined church (Hai Ly, Hai Hau, Nam Dinh) on June 2 and had to sleep in the hallway for about two hours.

"I went out into the hallway and felt cool and windy, so I took out my pillow and lay down. If I tried to stay in my room, I wouldn't be able to stand it," she said.

Le Tan - Tu Nguyen

Source link