Accor Vietnam plans to expand its hotel business in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. (Photo: Eric Piermont)

According to Representatives of Accor and IHG, Vietnam is a very attractive country to invest in and foreign investment has been quite robust over the past few years. There is huge potential for developing the hotel sector in the Southeast Asian nations.

As a result, Xavier Cappelut, Vice President of Operations of Accor Vietnam, said the firm has plans to welcome 41 more hotels and resorts in its chain in Vietnam within the next five years. He said that the hotel market received a great number of domestic visitors from the first half of 2022 due to the loosening of pandemic regulations, adding that the demand has increased in both the resort and business segments.

Mr. Cappelut stated that the corporate market has returned with some vigour, so definitely both HCMC and Hanoi have relatively good corporate demand since August, 2022. In recent years, people have been looking for more domestic opportunities to travel, but the fact that they now enjoy domestic hotels and destinations will have a lasting effect.

According to Mr. Cappelut, one of the most important strategies for Accor is to focus on the domestic market because the firm gained a lot of traction from this market during the COVID-19 pandemic and increased the volume of direct business to the hotels by having targeted promotions in 2023.

He said: “We are continuingly focusing on guest satisfaction through the improvement of service quality alongside attractive packages for family holidays and staycations as well as our food and beverage offerings”.

In 2023, Accor expects more long haul business, and a higher percentage of North and South American businesses, Mr. Cappelut said, adding that the firm also expects a rise from the Indian market and the Republic of Korea (RoK).

Mr. Cappelut added that the demand for meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) has gradually rebounded since the fourth quarter of 2022. Accor hopes for enquiries to ramp up month by month and to come back strongly by April and the back half of 2023.

Operating in Vietnam since 1992, Accor owns 40 hotels and resorts with many brands, including Sofitel, MGallery, Pullman, Novotel, Mövenpick, Mercure, and Ibis. Since its operation in Vietnam in 2007, IHG Hotels & Resorts so far owns 15 hotels and resorts in Vietnam with the brands of InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn.

According to Rajit Sukumaran, Managing Director of IHG in Southeast Asia and the RoK, Vietnam is an important market for the group and it has invested in Vietnam for the long term. The group is set to add 22 new hotels and resorts to its system in Vietnam in the next five years, lifting the number of member hotels to 37. Mr. Sukumaran said: “We are building a robust ecosystem including a highly experienced in-market team and strong long-term partnerships to support that growth,” Sukumaran said.

With occupancy across Vietnam is steadily increasing, he noted that domestic demand is driving the majority of IHG’s business. According to Mr. Sukumaran, direct flights have helped promote resort travellers and MICE visitors from ASEAN countries, India, and those from Europe, the US and Australia. But the number of flights across the board has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels.

Currently, IHG has worked closely with the VNAT, trade associations, and Vietnam Airlines to solve this problem, toward promoting tourism recovery. IHG has planned to debut new brands such as Voco Hotels, Vignette Collection, Hotel Indigo, and Holiday Inn Express.