How AI Is Helping Hospitality Companies in Viet Nam Cut Costs and Improve Efficiency

As Vietnam's tourism sector surges back, AI is shifting from theory to tangible advantage - improving guest experiences and trimming costs by automating routine work, forecasting demand and powering multilingual chatbots for international travellers; RMIT calls it

“a game changer for Vietnam tourism”

and highlights AI's role in both operations and CX (RMIT: AI can be a game changer for Vietnam tourism).

Practical tools already in use worldwide - from virtual concierges and automated check‑in kiosks to dynamic pricing engines and robot delivery - show how hotels can do more with fewer bottlenecks, faster responses and smarter energy and waste management (NetSuite: Guide to AI in hospitality).

For Vietnamese operators and staff who want to turn these possibilities into daily wins, targeted upskilling like Nucamp's Nucamp AI Essentials for Work bootcamp can make adopting AI tools practical, not painful - imagine a chatbot that handles routine requests so staff can focus on the personal moments that keep guests returning.

Program	Details
AI Essentials for Work	15 weeks; learn AI tools, prompt writing, and job-based AI skills. Early bird $3,582; register: Register for Nucamp AI Essentials for Work bootcamp

Core AI tools reshaping hospitality in Viet Nam are practical and familiar: multilingual chatbots and AI concierges that answer questions, manage bookings and upsell in 20+ languages; voice‑enabled agents and smart IVR that handle call volume; and integrated booking automation that ties chat, PMS and CRM data together so offers and room upgrades land at the right moment.

Solutions like Hoteza's AI Concierge make this omnichannel experience feel local - guests can scan a QR code after check‑in to open a personalised guest app, while the bot handles 85%+ of routine front‑desk queries - freeing staff to deliver face‑to‑face hospitality (see Hoteza).

Industry platforms and vendors also emphasise measurable wins: faster response times, more direct bookings and richer guest profiles that drive targeted upsells and proactive notifications (read how chatbots improve guest engagement at Canary).

For Vietnamese operators serving diverse international visitors, these AI building blocks - multilingual chat, omnichannel concierge, voice agents and analytics - offer an affordable route to cut costs, reduce repetitive work and lift revenue without losing the human touch.

“Our hospitality chatbot is fantastic! It seamlessly handles guest inquiries, allowing our staff to focus on delivering exceptional experiences. Highly recommended!” - Alex Marshall, Guest Relations Manager at Paradise Resort

Building on chatbots and PMS integration, AI and automation are already cutting costs and tightening operations across Vietnam's hotels and restaurants: local reporting notes AI tools have helped boost direct bookings by about 10%, easing front‑desk strains while improving revenue capture (AI boosts direct bookings in Vietnam tourism - Asianews); smart back‑of‑house systems - from automated inventory and dynamic pricing to warehouse robotics - speed workflows and address chronic labour gaps in logistics and supply chains (Warehouse automation and robotics in Vietnam logistics - Daifuku).

Even housekeeping is getting a makeover: HORECFEX coverage highlights a laundry‑folding robot that folds 20–40 items in 2–4 minutes, a vivid example of how automation frees staff for higher‑value guest care while trimming labour hours and errors (Clothes-folding robot increases housekeeping efficiency - HORECFEX).

The combined payoff for Vietnamese operators is measurable - lower routine labour costs, fewer mistakes, faster turnarounds and more time for personalised service that keeps guests returning.

For Vietnam's F&B operators, AI is turning guesswork into predictable savings: demand‑forecasting and inventory models now help kitchens buy and prep to real need, cutting spoilage and trimming food costs while keeping popular dishes in stock.

Local evidence shows practical gains - Saigon Co.op's AI‑powered forecasting lifted inventory turnover by roughly 30% and reduced waste by about 15% (see the Vietnam retail AI study), and industry analyses suggest advanced demand models can cut food waste by up to 50% when combined with expiry alerts and smarter ordering (Saigon Co.op case - Vietnam AI in Retail, How AI is revolutionizing the food industry).

When forecasting links to rostering and reorder rules, labour is scheduled to demand, food runs out less often, and specials can be engineered from items nearing expiration - an instant revenue rescue for perishable stock.

Practical vendors now offer integrated labour+inventory forecasting demos that align teams with sales forecasts, making the back‑of‑house faster and leaner (AI labour & inventory forecasting solutions), while a growing local AI market (valued at USD 753.4M in 2024) means tools and expertise are becoming easier to access.

Metric	Figure / Impact
Vietnam AI market (2024)	USD 753.4 million; CAGR 14.96% (2024–2030)
Saigon Co.op - inventory & waste	Inventory turnover ≈ +30%; waste ≈ -15%
AI demand forecasting	Can reduce food waste by up to 50%

Vietnam's AI story is already practical and measurable: airlines and tour operators are using data and automation to turn marketing and service into hard savings and growth - Vietjet's CDP-powered campaign analysed roughly 150 million customer data points and ran personalised ads across 25+ channels, driving a 6x sales uplift (1.7M bookings, ≈$115M) and reach of over 125 million in APAC (Vietjet CDP campaign case study - MMA Global); Vietourist paired Appier's AIQUA and BotBonnie to lift lead generation 171% with an 85% open rate and 300% more web subscribers, while automated chat pushed over 1,000 leads in three months (Vietourist case study: Appier AIQUA and BotBonnie lead generation results); even smaller carriers like Vietravel report high operational reliability (83.6% on‑time through mid‑2024 with ~1.3M passengers served) as touchpoints expand to capture demand (Vietravel Airlines expanding touchpoints update).

The takeaway is vivid: a single AI-enabled campaign in Vietnam can reach more people than many hotels host in a year, translating digital signals into real bookings and faster recovery.

Case	Key results
Vietjet (CDP campaign)	Sales 6× vs 2022; 1.7M bookings; ≈$115M sales; reach >125M
Vietourist (Appier)	Lead generation +171%; EDM open rate 85%; web subscribers +300%; >1,000 leads in 3 months
Vietravel Airlines	On‑time performance 83.6%; ~1.3M passengers; seat occupancy ~85%

"The success we've achieved through our collaboration with Appier has been transformative. Appier's AI-driven solutions have enabled us to connect with our customers in a personal and relevant way, driving significant growth in leads and customer engagement." - Mr. Phan Ngoc Tuan, CMO of Vietourist

A practical digital transformation playbook for Vietnam's hospitality sector starts by aligning hotel and F&B plans with national moves to modernise the domestic market - leveraging the MoIT programme that champions AI, smart markets and digitalised logistics - and by focusing on a few high‑impact pilots rather than a full rip‑and‑replace.

Prioritise customer‑facing wins (multilingual chatbots, personalised pre‑arrival offers and cashier‑less checkouts) and back‑of‑house systems that feed them (AI demand forecasting, dashboards for inventory and staffing, and RFID/NFC traceability), then scale what measurably lifts KPIs; the government's Hang Viet initiative and broader digital strategy show how certified product discovery and promo notifications can be baked into guest experiences (Optimising AI in promoting Vietnamese goods ecosystem).

Pair technology pilots with human‑centred change: train teams on data literacy, reframe roles toward guest moments, and use local upskilling routes and national digital transformation programmes to avoid resistance and protect service quality (RMIT: Embracing vs resisting, Vietnam National Digital Transformation programs).

Start small, measure with clear dashboards, and scale the tools that cut costs and free staff for the personalised service that keeps guests returning.

Priority	Detail / Source
Retail & consumer growth	Expected retail sales growth 10.5–12% (programme target)
Beneficiaries	Over 50,000 businesses and 15 million consumers to benefit
Digital tech priorities	Smart markets, digitalised logistics, dashboards, RFID/NFC, AI cameras, cashier‑less payments, Hang Viet app

Vietnam's AI rush brings clear rewards but also real risks for hospitality: a severe talent gap and the prospect of repetitive roles being displaced (Hoàng Nam Tiến warns that 85 per cent of workers doing repetitive tasks could be at risk), fragmented data infrastructure, an urban–rural digital divide and cash‑strapped SMEs that struggle to buy or integrate new tools.

Businesses can blunt these risks by pairing technology pilots with aggressive upskilling - short role‑specific bootcamps, online learning platforms and employer-funded retraining - while leaning on national initiatives that fund talent and data infrastructure.

Public‑private partnerships, modular AI‑as‑a‑service products and small measurable pilots help hotels and F&B operators avoid expensive rip‑and‑replace projects and keep the human moments that drive repeat guests.

For firms worried about short‑term disruption, the practical “so‑what” is this: a single focused upskill program can turn desk staff into AI‑empowered guest champions rather than casualties, preserving service quality while capturing efficiency gains.

Track progress with clear KPIs (response times, error rates, direct bookings) and tap government programmes and talent funds to share costs and access expertise (Vietnam Ministry of Information and Communications report on AI's workforce impact, Invest Vietnam analysis: State of AI in Vietnam (2025)).

Challenge	Practical mitigation
Talent & skills gap	Bootcamps, role-specific upskilling, national talent initiatives
Job displacement in repetitive roles	Reskilling, role redesign, AI augmentation pilots
Fragmented data & infra	Use national data governance, cloud/AIaaS and shared data platforms
SME adoption barriers	Modular AIaaS, grants, public‑private demos

“AI and robotics would soon replace humans in many jobs as these technologies would create a new class of AI labour that never tires, needs no bonuses, and never takes sick leave.” - Hoàng Nam Tiến

Events are the fastest route from curiosity to action for Vietnamese operators: HorecFex Vietnam (Ariyana Convention Centre, Da Nang) brought together the industry's biggest tech showcase and forum - expect 26–27 August 2025 to host roughly 3,500 participants, 80 booths and 50+ top speakers - so operators can see service robots, AI facial recognition and smart check‑in systems in live demos and meet potential partners on the spot; the organiser even promises chances to

connect 5,000+ leaders,

making it an efficient way to shortlist pilots and vendors before investing (see the HorecFex Vietnam 2025 official program and local VOV English news coverage of HorecFex 2025).

Practical next steps are clear: schedule vendor meetings during the event, book a tech demo (test an automated coffee machine or an AI check‑in in the same afternoon), align pilots to measurable KPIs, and use the expo's networking sessions to recruit partners for phased rollouts - then follow the calendar for HorecFex 2026 (20–21 Aug 2026) to scale successful pilots.

Metric	Detail / Value
Event	HorecFex Vietnam 2025
Dates	26–27 August 2025
Venue	Ariyana Convention Centre, Da Nang
Expected attendees	~3,500
Exhibition booths	80
Hospitality & F&B businesses	500+
Speakers / Sessions	50+ speakers; 55+ deep‑dive panels
Technologies showcased	Service robots, AI facial recognition, smart check‑in, immersive 3D/VR

Final takeaway: Vietnam's hospitality teams should treat AI as a tool that protects - not replaces - the

“Vietnamese smile”

pairing automation with human warmth (see RMIT's discussion on whether AI can replace that warmth: RMIT: Can AI ever replace the warmth of the Vietnamese smile).

Quick action checklist for beginners: pilot one customer-facing tool (multilingual chatbot or automated check‑in) and one back‑of‑house system (demand forecasting or energy management), set three measurable KPIs (response time, direct bookings, waste reduction) and run a 60–90 day pilot; protect guest experience by routing complex requests to trained staff; and invest in role-specific upskilling so teams can use and oversee AI responsibly - practical courses like Nucamp AI Essentials for Work bootcamp teach prompt writing and job-based AI skills for frontline staff.

For context on practical benefits and use cases to prioritize, review NetSuite's guide to AI in hospitality (NetSuite: AI in Hospitality - Advantages & Use Cases) and start small, measure tightly, then scale what preserves service and boosts margins.

Program	Length	Early bird cost	Register
AI Essentials for Work	15 weeks	$3,582	Register for Nucamp AI Essentials for Work bootcamp