Forget Switched-Off Holidays, Now Stay Hyper-Connected

Forget switched-off holidays, travellers now want to be hyper-connected, and these new hotel openings are helping them do so through buzzy co-working spaces, social lobbies, and tech-empowered concierges.

- Grace MA

These days, life is all about catching up on all that we have missed during the past two years of the pandemic, especially when it comes to exploring and connecting.

Getting to know new people and places, and bonding with loved ones over "bleisure travel" - business trips mixed with a leisure component - are definitely trending, chaotic airports and lost luggage notwithstanding. According to Booking.com's Travel Predictions 2022 report, 60 percent of travellers are looking forward to meeting new people while on vacation. Hilton's The 2022 Traveler: Emerging Trends and the Redefined Traveler study also notes that travellers are increasingly going on "workcations". Seamless work and play, maximizing connections, quick contactless functions travellers want it fast, efficient, and fun, more than ever before.

A slew of new openings are ensuring that we can do all that. On a recent stay at the newly opened Wink Hotel Saigon Centre, located 25 minutes from Tan Son Nhat International Airport, help was always just a few clicks away at any time of the day.

Instead of scrolling through bewildering "top 10" lists or queuing up at the lobby to speak to a Wink Guide (aka cheerful and in-the-know concierges), I texted the team for whatever information I needed via Whatsapp. One night, wanting to hit the streets running early the next morning, I asked for recommendations for a good pho place to have breakfast. Within five minutes the reply came: Family-run Pho Hoa Pasteur, which serves steaming bowls of noodles with generous amounts of beef balls and beef slices, was a mere 10-minute Grab motorbike ride from the hotel.