Four-star hotels experienced a similar trend, seeing their rates climb 1 percent to 75.2 USD last year, the Hotel Survey 2018 by Grant Thornton revealed.

This year’s report marks the 15th consecutive year of the US firm conducting the comprehensive research on high-end hotels and resorts in Vietnam.

According to the survey, Vietnam welcomed 86 million domestic and international visitors in 2017, an increase of 19 percent from 2016. To accommodate the increasing arrivals, a large amount of investment was pumped into the country’s hospitality industry.

The revenue per available room (RevPAR) continued to go up in both star categories, with a 7.6 percent rise at four-star hotels and a 10.2 percent rise in five-star hotels. The RevPAR growth last year is lower than that of 2016 at four-star hotels, while much higher in the five-star category.

Revenue structure varied between the northern, central, and southern regions. In the south, revenue from added services increased while that from rooms dropped. Visitors spent more money in dining services in central and southern Vietnam than in the north. In addition, domestic tourists appeared to spend more at hotels and resorts in the north than foreigners.

The survey also found that holidaymakers and visitors travelling in a group accounted for 60 percent of guests at luxury hotels. Those on business trips slight rose by 0.5 percent.

Travel agencies and tour operators remained the largest booking channel for four-star and five-star hotels, making up 33 percent of the booking market share.-VNA