The fact that more five-star hotels will be up and running in downtown HCMC in years to come will pile pressure on the operational high-end hotels which are struggling with room occupancy drops.

Foreign tourists join a cooking class in HCMC. More luxury hotels will be put into service to capitalize on increasing international visitor arrivals in the city.

A report by HCMC-based hotel and resort property firm Alternaty Co., Ltd. showed that two luxury hotels, The Reverie and Le Meridien, will be inaugurated in the center of the city this year, supplying an extra 636 guest rooms for the market.

One year later, at least two more luxury hotels would start operations when the Viettel property with 424 rooms on Cach Mang Thang Tam Street is completed and managed by an international company.

Union Square Hotel, formerly known as Vincom A, is set for opening next year before The One and Lavenue projects join the market in 2017 and 2018.

The projects to expand the Hotel Majestic and re-build Satra Tax Centre are scheduled for completion in the next four years.

According to Alternaty, the city now has 16 five-star hotels with 5,146 rooms categorized in the luxury, upper upscale and upscale levels.

In 2013 and 2014, room occupancy was 71% for five-star hotels of the luxury category and 65% for the other two categories.

InterContinental Asiana Saigon and Sheraton Saigon Hotel were among the best performers last year when their room occupancy exceeded 75%.

InterContinental and Summerset were also among the leaders in the serviced apartment segment as demand of customers for long-term stays increased sharply with an average rate of 84%.

Up to 75% of the luxury hotels in HCMC are managed by foreign companies, and the rest operate on their own names or are under Saigontourist Holding Company such as Majestic Hotel Saigon and Rex Hotel.

Hotel Nikko Saigon, Windsor Plaza Hotel Saigon and Lotte Legend Hotel Saigon focus on Asian markets while Park Hyatt Saigon and Sheraton Saigon tend to eye customers from Europe, America and Australia.

The city looks to attract some 4.7 million international visitors this year, up from around 4.4 million last year. The city welcomed more than 421,000 foreign travelers in the first month of this year, up 8% over the same period last year, according to the city’s Department of Tourism.