Open to international guests, the hotel is still cautious

Close the door silently

Located on Tran Phu Street (Nha Trang, Khach Hoa), a 5 star hotel still closed. Before the epidemic, this hotel was always full. Most tourists come here from Korea and China. The hotel was closed when the number of guests plummeted due to the Covid-19 epidemic.

After Vietnam officially has a plan to open to international guests from March 15, many 5-star hotels in Nha Trang have moved to reopen, but this hotel has not yet made any move.

According to a hotel employee, this is not a good time to return to business when the number of international visitors is very small. “Operating a 5-star hotel with hundreds of rooms requires a lot of preparation, including a certain amount of personnel,” he said.

Many hotels are still hesitant to open their doors

According to the survey, many hotels in Nha Trang are still closed because they are in the process of selling and changing owners. Hotels for sale at various prices, from 70-80 billion VND/budget hotel, to 500-700 billion VND/3-5 star hotel in many golden locations of Nha Trang.

Similarly in Hanoi, many hotels from on Hang Bong, Hang Dao, Bat Su, Ma May,… and some 5-star standard hotels like Hilton Hanoi Opera have not yet reopened to welcome guests. . To prepare, some hotels are planning to repair and upgrade.

“Because there are no guests, hotels are still forced to ‘lay still’ to avoid having to make up for losses in operating costs,” said a hotel manager. Hotels are in a state of moderation because they have not seen the impact from opening tourism. When they start to catch the potential from opening the door, they will start the machine.

Vu The Binh, Standing Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, said that the impact of Covid-19 has also created rejection in the tourism industry. This is a natural development process of any economic sector, requiring the leadership of the leader to overcome. Companies and businesses that cannot pass must accept it.

Directors of travel companies forecast that it will not be until the end of the third quarter of 2022 that international tourists will come to Vietnam. The reason most international visitors usually take from 6 months to 1 year to prepare a travel plan.

Revenue drop

According to a survey by CBRE Vietnam, the average room rent in Hanoi in 2021 continues to decrease to $95.5/room/night, down 5.7% compared to 2020 and 19.7% year-on-year. 2019, the time before the pandemic. In 2021, the occupancy rate of market Hanoi hotels reached 30.6%, continued to decrease by 4.5% compared to 2020 and 50.6% compared to 2019.

The 4-5 star hotel market in Hanoi has remained relatively quiet in the past year as the market welcomed only one new 5 star hotel, Capella Hanoi with 47 rooms in the downtown area at the beginning of the year. By the end of 2021, the total number of rooms reached 8,407 rooms from 38 projects.

Hanoi is about to have a number of new hotels such as Four Seasons, Wink, Dusit and Fairmont under construction, expected to be completed by the end of 2023..

In Ho Chi Minh City, the average room rate is only 72.4 USD/room/night, down 20.6% over the same period in 2020. The trend of hotels converting their models into paid isolation facilities is still quite good. popular, so that the room capacity is gradually improved compared to the new outbreak period in 2020. The average room capacity in 2021 will reach 28.5%, up 3.6% over the same period. Revenue per room for the whole year of 2021 was only 20.3 USD/room/night, recording a 15% decrease over the same period.

The epidemic continues to be a big challenge for the accommodation service industry, accordingly, the operation situation of the 4-5 star hotel market in Ho Chi Minh City has not recorded many positive changes. The trend of hotels converting their models into paid isolation facilities is still quite common, so room capacity has gradually improved compared to the new outbreak of the epidemic in 2020.

By the end of 2021, the 4-5 star hotel market in Ho Chi Minh City has a total of 11,182 rooms with 51 projects. This segment still faces many difficulties in the short – medium term, mainly due to the fact that room rental rates are still anchored at a relatively low level.

Ho Chi Minh City 4-5 star hotel market is expected to have a new supply of about 2,803 rooms from 13 projects, along with the presence of new high-end hotel brands such as Ritz Carlton, Mandarin Oriental, Hotel Indigo, Avani.

According to CBRE, the government has issued a document allowing Ho Chi Minh City to welcome international tourists back under the “vaccine passport” pilot program. In terms of vaccine coverage, the city has completed the second vaccination for 100% of the population aged 18 and over and is currently continuing to implement the additional vaccination.

This is a positive signal and plays an important role in the city’s plan to gradually restore and reopen tourism. The year 2022 will open many opportunities for the 4-5 star hotel market of Ho Chi Minh City, accordingly, the market will have many signs of prosperity in the first half of 2022 and the recovery speed will be stronger in the second half. five.

Duy Anh