Ascott celebrates 25 Years in Vietnam, commits to contributing to a more sustainable future

CapitaLand’s wholly owned lodging business unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott), recently celebrated 25 years of sustainable development in Vietnam with a thanksgiving gala dinner.

Ms. Lew Yen Ping, Country General Manager, Vietnam, said: “Year 2019 marks Ascott’s 35th year of hospitality excellence globally and 25th year of operations in Vietnam. 25 years ago, we brought Ascott from our home base in Singapore to Vietnam with the opening of our first property in the country, Somerset West Lake Hanoi. Since then, we have not looked back. We are extremely grateful and proud of all our accomplishments.” 

Ascott’s growing portfolio in Vietnam

Ascott’s portfolio comprises of over 7,000 lodging units in 28 properties across nine cities and provinces in Vietnam. The properties are located in Hanoi, Hai Phong, Ha Long, Hoi An, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Cam Ranh, Ho Chi Minh City, and Binh Duong.

“We will continue to expand our presence in Vietnam with the openings of PentStudio West Lake Hanoi and Somerset D1Mension Ho Chi Minh City in 2019 as well as Citadines Pearl Hoi An and Citadines Marina Ha Long City in 2020,” said Yen. “We will open Ascott Serviced Residence branded property in 2021. Our first Vertu branded 5-star hotel in Cam Ranh under the portfolio of TAUZIA Hotels, which is slated to open in 2022, is the Ascott’s first move into the lodging segment beyond its core serviced residence business and existing business in apartments for corporate lease in Vietnam. We are the largest international lodging operator-owner here in Vietnam and also one of the largest single country clusters of Ascott.”

Held at the convention hall at Somerset Grand Hanoi, the event was graced by His Excellency Tan Wei Ming, Charge d’affaires of the Republic of Singapore to Vietnam, Ambassador of Malaysia to Vietnam, Ambassador of Austria to Vietnam, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Norway to Vietnam and saw over 300 guests comprising business partners and residents.

Ascott Vietnam’s sustainability initiatives

“We’ve been contributing to the local communities’ underprivileged children and the environment through corporate social responsibility efforts. We engage our customers, associates, office tenants and local partners throughout the country to join Ascott in taking action against climate change by reducing waste and living more sustainable lifestyles. As we have embarked on a global sustainability drive, Go Green, Save the Earth @ Ascott, we are striving to become the world’s leading green lodging company,” said Yen.

“As we are growing bigger, sustainability is the key focus.  

Lew Yen Ping, Country General Manager, Ascott Vietnam

Key sustainability initiatives of Ascott properties in Vietnam include the Inhouse Green Program, offering long-stay residents the option not to have daily housekeeping service to reduce their carbon footprint. Ascott then rewards the residents with eco-friendly products and services such as eco-bags and Ascott Star Rewards points for redemption of free room night stay.

Ascott also placed a 19-liter water dispenser in all apartments, installed water-saving devices in toilet cisterns, and uses energy-saving light bulbs. To reduce single-use plastic, Ascott provides residents with reusable eco-bags or shopping trolleys.

Ascott plays an active role in transforming business practices and employees’ mindsets towards more eco-friendly habits by organizing annual activities such as bicycle roadshows and cleaning beaches in Hai Phong, Danang, and Nha Trang. All Ascott staff are encouraged to say no to plastic. Each one is provided with a stainless steel water bottle with his/her name engraved on it.

Housekeeping staff at Ascott have been doing creative activities. All Ascott’s serviced residences in Vietnam have been using recycled and eco-friendly materials for Christmas and New Year decorations. Each property has a green corner showcasing decorative items made from reusable materials to educate children about the 3Rs—Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. The properties also organize environment-themed movie screenings to further inculcate green habits among the residents.

To combat soil erosion affecting the local community and global climate change, Ascott staff has taken part in an initiative to plant trees at National Reserve Forests such as Cat Tien, Binh Chau – Phuoc Buu and Ba Vi National Park. Staff and stakeholders joined the tree planting activity to grow two hectares of mangrove forest (20,000 trees) in Lac Hoa commune, Vinh Chau district, Soc Trang province, about 300km from Ho Chi Minh City. During the trip to Soc Trang province, Ascott also installed a drinking water filtration system for Tan Hung A Primary School and gave the children water bottles as well as educated them about environment protection.

“Ascott’s efforts is to minimize environmental impact. We hope to forge a sustainable future, to create a better future for our shared home – planet Earth – for ourselves and generations to come. Embark with us on this journey!”

Lew Yen Ping

Ascott Vietnam has achieved the ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certifications, which are globally recognized standards for environmental management and occupational health and safety management of businesses, respectively. The certifications were awarded by an internationally established certification organization, TÜV SÜD.

Somerset Chancellor Court service residence has been awarded as the first in the retrofitted buildings category from the annual National Energy Efficiency Awards by the Industry and Trade Ministry. Somerset Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam achieved the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore (BCA) Green Mark GoldPLUS award, making it the highest BCA-rated property in Vietnam. The serviced residence is fitted with water-efficient fixtures as well as efficient air-conditioning systems and LED lighting to reduce the building’s carbon footprint.

Besides being named ‘Vietnam’s Leading Serviced Apartment Brand’ at the World Travel Awards, Ascott’s accolades in Vietnam include the prestigious Golden Dragon Award for ’Best Serviced Residence’ by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and Vietnam Economic Times, the Guide Award for ‘Excellent Performance’, the ‘50 Best Employers in Vietnam’, ‘Best Service in Serviced Apartments’, and ‘Excellent Service in Serviced Apartments’.