Alma Launches Mobile App Amid The ‘New Normal’

Vietnam’s Alma Resort has launched a mobile app that opens the door to contactless communication with guests and staff in real-time as the coronavirus continues to ravage the globe.

Now available for download on Android, Apple, Windows and Amazon devices, the 'Alma Resort' app offers menus, promotions and vouchers as well as live stream broadcasts and information about events and COVID-19 health and safety tips.

The app is a game-changer for Vietnam’s hospitality landscape, according to the resort’s general manager Herbert Laubichler-Pichler, and all the more remarkable because Alma has muscled its way into the realm of mobile app technology alongside predominantly major global hotel brands.

“There is no facet of our lives that remains untouched by this pandemic and under the ‘new normal’, this app is an effective and contactless way to connect with guests and staff,” said Laubichler-Pichler.

He believes it’ll soon be incumbent for five-star resorts across Vietnam to offer the same technology.

In addition to offering an array of menus for Alma’s restaurants, bars, in-room dining and Le Spa and promotions and vouchers on food and beverage, spa services, beauty products, karaoke and items at Alma's mini supermarket 'Alma Mart', the Alma app also includes a car transfer service and ample opportunity for app users to provide feedback about the resort and its services.

Under the second phase of the app’s development, to be rolled out over the next few months, users will be able to access information about the weather in real-time due to the installation of a live weather cam on the resort’s stretch of Long Beach.

Phase two of the Alma app will also usher in a payment gateway, allowing guests to settle bills in a cashless manner via the app.

“In this new normal of heightened hygiene and physical distancing, as we also transition to more sustainable solutions by offering menus, resort maps and more digitally, our Alma app will continue to evolve on the cutting edge," said Alma’s commercial director Martin Koerner. "Our aim is for our app to be a comprehensive one-stop shop for information and a weapon in our arsenal to combat COVID-19 and keep guests, staff and the community safe."

In response to the onset of the global pandemic early last year, the resort implemented an array of ongoing health, safety and hygiene measures including body temperature checks, provision of hand sanitizer, spacious set-ups of facilities such as restaurant tables and sunbeds to ensure physical distancing, continual disinfection of common guest and staff areas as well as frequent touch points such as door handles and dining surfaces, and deep cleaning of guest rooms.

Alma staff have undergone extensive COVID-19 safety training and are required to regularly wash their hands and wear face masks.

Guests are required to fill in a health declaration using a QR code and are furnished with an electronic COVID-19 information kit upon check-in.