Though Vietnam has fully reopened its tourism market, 5-star hotels in Hoan Kiem district in Hanoi still have a high number of vacancies.

Do Thi Linh, a worker at a hotel, said the number of travelers to Hanoi still has not regained the level in the pre-pandemic period. About 40 percent of guests are locals and Vietnamese travelers, while 60 percent are foreign travelers. 

The rates quoted by the hotel for Tet are reasonable, from VND4 million per room per night, with preferences offered to those who book rooms soon.

According to Nguyen Thanh Trung, a business officer in Hanoi, one just needs to spend VND3 million to book a room at a 5-star hotel in Hanoi. 

This amount cannot book a 5-star room in Bangkok or Singapore. 

Online hotel booking websites show that the number of vacancies for Tet days is high and hotel room rates are reasonable.

On Traveloka, a 5-star hotel room in the central business district of Hoan Kiem in Hanoi has the rate from VND3 million. 

Apricot Hotel Hanoi and Hotel de l'Opera Hanoi – Mgallery are offering rooms at VND3 million per night, while Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi offers VND8 million.

Meanwhile, Grand Vista Hanoi and Wyndham Garden Hanoi Hotel set their room rate at VND1.5 million.

Savills Vietnam’s hotel market report showed that hotels in Hanoi are witnessing better recovery thanks to business travelers who stay for a long time, and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) travelers. 

However, the average hotel room rate is still 15-20 percent lower than in 2019.

In Hanoi, the supply is plentiful, with 10,179 rooms from 17 5-star hotels, 17 4-star and 31 3-star hotels. 

In Q4 2022, the room occupancy rate was 49 percent, an increase of 7 percentage points QoQ and 22 percent YoY.

The average room rate is VND2.5 million per night, up by 15 percent QoQ and 41 percent YoY. 

In 2022, the average room rate was VND2.2 million. Tourism reopening has helped recover the hotel market, but the market still depends heavily on domestic travel demand.

According to Savills Vietnam’s CEO Neil MacGregor, 5-star hotels in Vietnam are the cheapest in the region and it needs more time to recover.

China reopened its borders on Jan 8 and routine flights will resume. The hotel sector will benefit from Chinese travelers.

South Korea led the market in number of foreign travelers to Vietnam in 2022 (965,400 travelers, 26.4 percent of total foreign travelers), according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).

Duy Anh