Hanoi hotels deserted despite full tourism reopening

Hotels in Hanoi have resumed operations with big discounts, but performance is far from "normal" amid a meagre number of guests.

Many hotels in the capital are reducing room rates by 40-75%, according to Le Mai Khanh, Vice Chairman of Vietnam Hotel Association.

Notably, La Sinfonia del Rey Hotel & Spa and Acoustic Hanoi & Spa Hotel respectively offered up to 72% and 83% off, while Annatole Hotel Hanoi and InterContinental Hotel West Lake cut their rates by 42% and 48%.

Several 4-5-star hotels reduced prices from $410 to $70 per night, while Hanoi Lullaby Hotel lowered its rate from $271 to $87.

A manager of Golden Silk Hotel at 109-111 Hang Gai street, said his hotel has faced many challenges in the last two years due to a significant decline in guests. To adapt to the pandemic scenario, the facility is lowering room rates, laying off employees, and cutting unnecessary costs.

"Incoming guests need to contact us via our hotline. The manager will then open the door and arrange appropriate rooms. This is a necessary and effective process to maintain the hotel’s operation in the current complex pandemic situation," he said.

Nguyen Thanh Huyen, a receptionist at Spring Flower Hotel, 45 Hang Bo Street, said while the hotel continues to offer numerous incentives to lure clients, most international tourists have not returned in large numbers.

"As a result, our hotel is compelled to reopen discreetly, with as few employees as possible. It cannot afford to run at full capacity when revenues are so low."

The tourism industry is still in recovery mode; therefore, it will take time to return to pre-crisis levels. "They need to reinvest to resume business, which is difficult given current low tourist numbers," Huyen added.

Hanoi House Hotel at 85 Ma May Street in Hoan Kiem district is dealing with waterproofing and mold in all its 17 rooms, and is not expected to reopen until the end of March.

Tran Trung Hieu, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Tourism Department, said the city would conduct various tourism activities and events to warm up the market and draw travelers to the capital. These include tourism conferences and promotions on television, cable news networks, and in newspapers. "These activities are expected to create favorable conditions for Hanoi hotels to reopen faster."

Hanoi has 3,722 tourist accommodation establishments with 69,954 rooms, official data shows. Of this, 589 are hotels, offering 24,371 rooms and accounting for 15.8%.

In the luxury hotel segment, only one new 5-star hotel, Capella Hanoi, made its debut last year, with 47 rooms in the downtown area.