REGIONAL REPORT
Ibis Styles Nha Trang , Vietnam
Hotel Royal Hoi An , an MGallery Hotel by Sofitel , Vietnam
“ THE VISA IS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO GO AWAY EVENTUALLY . THE GOVERNMENT IS SLOWLY GETTING THEIR HEAD AROUND THE IDEA THAT WE NEED THAT TO BE COMPETITIVE WITH PLACES LIKE THAILAND . IT MIGHT NOT HAPPEN IN THE NEXT 18 TO 24 MONTHS , BUT THEY UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE .”
— PIETER VAN DER HOEVEN , MINOR HOTELS to look a lot like what is already up and running , observes Mauro Gasparotti , Savills director , Southeast Asia , who believes Vietnam needs to offer a more diverse inventory . “ You go from small family hotels in the city center to the 4- and 5-star market ,” he says . He thinks the high-end resort has potential and the boutique segment , which is strong in other Asian tourist destinations , could benefit from more competition .
In fact , AccorHotels ’ design-driven Sofitel MGallery in Hanoi is one of the city ’ s best-performing properties , he notes . “ The country ’ s food and culture are very strong and could easily be brought into the design .”
It ’ s not all smooth sailing . Visas remain a sticking point — Vietnam is a bit stingy when it comes to approving visitors from many countries , especially compared with neighboring tourist-friendly destinations , and visas are limited to 15 days . “ The visa is something that needs to go away eventually ,” says Pieter van der Hoeven , area general manager for Minor Hotels , Bangkok . “ The government is slowly getting their head around the idea that we need that to be competitive with places like Thailand . It might not happen in the next 18 to 24 months , but they understand the importance .”
Inadequate infrastructure is seeing much-needed upgrades , though some projects are not progressing as quickly as operators would like . Airline capacity is another pain point slowly getting resolved . Airports in Da Nang and Phu Quoc , for example , will need to see more incoming seats once all the hotel inventory in the works come online . “ Land
44 hotelsmag . com March 2018