In addition to meeting standards of construction area, open living environment, security and order, many lodging houses also build a healthy cultural lifestyle, solidarity, mutual affection, and share difficulties with workers. Although some people bought lands and built their houses, they do not want to leave their lodging house, where for many years they have lived happily as a big family.
Nguyen Thi Tuong (left) visits, shares difficulties with workers living in her lodging house.
Like an apartment...
Lodging houses of Vu Van Xuoi, Phu Hoa ward, Thu Dau Mot City, are much admired, because of the high-quality construction of entrances, corridors, rooms, and green trees. For example, his lodging house of 20 rooms on Le Hong Phong Street has a car entrance, car parking lot in front of the accommodation. The corridor between two rows of room is nearly 10m wide and has an area of hundreds of m2 covered with roofs. This not only is a living place for workers when the afternoon comes, but also used as a place for organizing birthday or wedding parties of workers. Xuoi equipped each lodging room with a kitchen, toilet and a loft, with a total area of more than 30m2, accommodating a family of 4 - 5 members. Xuoi also decorates the front area of the lodging house with nice flower pots and plants. Therefore, many people think that this is a unique VIP lodging area.
Nguyen Thi Dieu, who lives at this lodging house, said: “I used to rent lodging room in different places, but there was no such luxurious and large area as Xuoi's lodging area. I feel like I'm living in an apartment rather than a lodging room. The area is also equipped with a modern surveillance system and offers free Internet access. The room price fluctuates about 2 million VND/month, which is not too high compared with lodging areas where I lived in before”.
As for Vu Van Xuoi, before building rooms for rent, he went to many lodging houses for reference, then set up his own. According to him, currently, the common price of lodging room is 1 - 1.2 million VND/month, most lodging areas are very small, suffocating, and lack of living space. Now, some people need a big, civilized, clean lodging area, so why don't we meet this demand? Instead of 30 rooms, he built 20 rooms to meet all requirements of the lodgers.
“Between the two rows of room, I save a free space of hundreds of m2, this is what I care most about when I build up lodging areas. It is both a playground for children, a common living space for families, and a place to organize wedding parties so that workers do not have to spend money on renting restaurants for wedding parties", said Xuoi.
Other lodging areas of Thai Kim Anh in Hiep Thanh ward, Dau Mot City, or of Nguyen Thi Nhuom in Binh Nham ward, Thuan An City are also VIP lodging houses, where are the ideal place for workers. With a land fund that are enough for two rows of room like in other lodging areas, Cuoc built only one row of lodging room, the rest used as a corridor of more than 6m wide, tens of meters long.
Cuoc said: "Before building this lodging room row, I think if I live in a narrow, unventilated lodging room, the corridor is so small that I have to park my motorbike in my room, cannot park in the corridor. Then where is the space for lodgers here to meet, breathe fresh air after hard working hours? Therefore, the corridor of my lodging house is enough not only for parking cars, street vendor carts, but also used as a bicycle yard for children in afternoons".
Kindness in lodging houses
In addition to creating airy lodging areas, meeting standards set by the authorities, these VIP lodging houses also guarantee good security and order, build a healthy lifestyle. At Vu Van Xuoi's lodging houses, the owners set up a Zalo group of all lodgers to announce lodging regulations, bank account, as well as code of surveillance system. Hence, just pick up the phone, a lodger can manage his room through security cameras. By the end of every month, the owner announce the room rent, along with the sentence "Those who are difficult, can pay later", the lodgers then pay through internet banking.
Nguyen The Vinh, who has lived in this lodging area for many months, said: "The host is very kind. My family owed him up to two months' rent, he did say an unpleasant word, we paid as we got enough money. At the end of last year, the owner presented 500,000 VND as lucky money to each room. Moreover, any household that did not return to their hometown on Tet holiday received a Tet gift. Just on New Year's Eve, each room received 100,000 VND for good luck... The owner is considerate and kind, very few people like that”.
The fourth Covid-19 wave, lodging houses of Xuoi, Cuoc or Kim Anh were the pioneers in rent reduction and exemption for workers for months. In particular, Nguyen Thi Cuoc was the first lodging house's owner in the province exempted room rent of three consecutive months, along with food and necessity support for poor families, who lost their jobs.
"People in my lodging area always very united and help each other". When there is a sick or unfortunate family, not only the owner but also all lodgers in the lodging area give support. The pandemic came, people stopped working, stayed at home, hence they did not have money to buy food. Even at present, any one at the lodging house unfortunately suffers from sickness, loss of job, loss of income, I will support them", Cuoc said.
In addition to creating a VIP lodging area with more than 60 rooms for students and workers in the area, Thai Kim Anh is a very kind person. She not only helps lodgers when they are in difficulty, but also connects lodgers with each other. There is no quarrel in her lodging area, but mutual affection and solidarity. Every year at the end of the year or on Christmas Day, she spends her own money to host gatherings at every year-end and Christmas for lodgers.
Many cultural lodging houses in Binh Duong have been formed like this.
Reported by Quang Tam - Translated by Ngoc Huynh
