Not all hotel industry awards are cut from the same bolt of silk. Some are pay-for-play propositions that mean little, at the end of the day, since you pay for what you get. Others are the distillation of a meaningful effort. Among those are DestinAsian’s Readers’ Choice Awards.

The 2020 Awards were announced Feb. 2, and in one representative country category — Vietnam — Balcony clients won the day.

The top hotel in Vietnam, according to DestinAsian Readers, is the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, here lauded for its charm and colonial style. Three other Balcony clients also made the top-ten list, including Banyan Tree Lang Co, Fusion Maia Danang and The Reverie Saigon.

Three former Balcony clients also made the list — Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai, Hoi An, the Caravelle and Anantara Resort Hoi An. Which says this to me: Most roads to glitter and gold run through Balcony. (We did well in other countries, too. Indeed the top hotel in Taiwan is Balcony client Grand Hyatt Taipei!)

The hotels won these awards, of course. Not us. But I’d like to think we played a part. I’d like to think the kind of PR we practice, which is long on substance and short on puffery, stimulated really good stories that inspired votes from guests.