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Starting Jan. 1, the downtown Saigon landmark will offer free Internet services to all hotel guests. “The Internet is as essential in any upscale hotel room as a flat screen TV and a premium bed,” said John Gardner, general manager of the Caravelle. “We don’t charge extra for television, or a bed for that matter, and we can no longer justify charging for the Internet.”
In early 2008, the Caravelle upgraded its Internet capabilities with implementation of the MagiNet Broadband Solution, an advanced fiber-optic network infrastructure that allows travelers to work at speeds they’re used to in their home or office. Through 2008, hotel guests accessed the hotel’s broadband by purchasing wired or wifi access on their browser. The new access procedure is the same, except that hotel guests will no longer be assessed a fee.
The hotel began offering Internet services to guests in early 2003. In 2008, the service costs $8 per hour, or $16 for 24 hours, whether for wifi or wired access. The Caravelle will be the first hotel of its stature in Vietnam to do away with the Internet charges.
“Someone’s got to be first,” said Gardner. “At some point, you have to say, ‘Well, we’ve recouped our investment’. The Internet’s no longer a mere convenience. It’s a necessity for business travelers, and, we’re finding, for leisure travelers as well.”
Ho Chi Minh City’s premier hotel, the Caravelle stands at 19 Lam Son Square, across from the Municipal Theater. The hotel opened in 1959, boasting a suite of amenities never before seen in Saigon, including bulletproof glass, a Berliet generator and Trane air conditioners (a first for any hotel in the city). In 1998, after more than two decades of operation on a shoestring budget, the aging landmark was resuscitated with a complete renovation and a complementary, 24-storey tower. A beneficiary of myriad awards from DestinaAsian in Southeast Asia to The Robb Report in North America, the Caravelle was most recently hailed as the top hotel in Vietnam by the Vietnam Tourism Association.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
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