Hanoi continues to lure international brands
Despite the impacts of the fourth wave of Covid-19, Hanoi hotel occupancy rate was up 6 percentage points year-on-year as the social distancing policy was not as strict as the previous year.
Hanoi's hotel market will continue to lure international brands with an estimated volume of nearly 1,300 rooms or 48% of future supply by 2023. Major brands are Eastin, Grand Mercure, Fairmont, Four Seasons, Lotte, Dusit, and Wink Hotels.
| One of the resorts under the Four Seasons Hotel system in Vietnam. Photo: Four Seasons Hotel |
Four Seasons Hotel Hanoi at Hoan Kiem Lake, the heart of the city, is currently slated for opening in 2023, providing 100 high-class hotel rooms once it becomes operational to meet the needs of businessmen and tourists domestically and internationally.
Rainer Stampfer, President of Hotel Operations - Asia Pacific, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts told The Hanoi Times: “We see continued interest in Vietnam in general and Hanoi specifically. The significant supply growth from both, local and international brands is a clear sign of ongoing confidence in the future of travel and tourism in this beautiful and dynamic country.”
Matthew Powell, Director of Savills Hanoi said the Hanoi's hotel sector is presently surviving with an occupancy across the city of only 27%. "There are high hopes for ‘revenge hospitality’ as progressive vaccine roll-out would soon allow borders re-opening," he added.
Hanoi's hotel average room rate was US$77 per room night in the first quarter of this year, up 1% quarter-on-quarter but down 9% year-on-year, according to the latest report conducted by Savills Hanoi.
The total stock was stable quarter on quarter at 10,120 rooms, coming from 17 five-star, 17 four-star, and 32 three-star hotels. Five-star lodgings accounted for 54% with the highest revenue per available room of US$28 per room night.
By the end of Q2 2021, among 66 three to five-star hotels in the capital, five three-star ones with 315 rooms remained closed due to Covid-19, and for renovation. Ten hotels continued as quarantine facilities, comprising one of five stars, five of four stars, and two of three stars.
In the first half of this year, occupancy was 25%, down 8 percentage points year-on-year, average room rate was down 16% year-on-year. Visitors to Hanoi in H1 were mostly domestic at 2.9 million, down 25% year-on-year.
Although the city's hotel market recovered in April, the fourth wave of Covid-19 hit from late April that dragged the quarter’s market occupancy down to 27%. However, it was up 6 ppts year-on-year as the social distancing policy was not as strict as the previous year.
From the last half of 2021-2023, approximately 2,600 rooms from 14 projects are scheduled to launch. In 2021, one five-star, one four-star, and one three-star hotels are expected to provide over 500 rooms. The secondary areas will deliver the largest future supply with approximately 1,200 rooms from seven hotels, followed by the West with 36%, according to Savills Hanoi.
Powell said there has been a lot of interest from international investors for Vietnam's hospitality sectors. “The reasons for this are that there is still confident about the recovery of this market after the pandemic when the situation is under control and international visitors are back to the country,” he told The Hanoi Times.
He recommended that hoteliers should carefully prepare to avoid human resource and supply chain shortages when the market reopened.
Stampfer is confident that international travelers will return to Vietnam once cross-border travel becomes feasible again. “Vietnam has a strong destination allure, and we already know from locations where travel is possible that there is tremendous pent-up demand”, he said.
Four Seasons Hotel Hanoi at Hoan Kiem Lake will surely be ready to welcome visitors to the city when it opens its doors. In the past 18 months, Four Seasons properties worldwide have swiftly evolved their service to respond to quick-changing Covid-19 conditions.
“Even in the midst of a pandemic, we have continued to successfully open new hotels in Tokyo, Bangkok, and a number of other locations around the globe,” Stampfer added.
“Our systems are in place to train new team members, and we have sufficient flexibility to respond to changes in the market. We are fully prepared to respond to increased demand for travel and dining from international visitors and local residents - we are very much looking forward to providing Four Seasons hospitality in Hanoi,” he affirmed.
