Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Vietnamese offered 50% at 5-star hotels

For the first time, six of 12 five-star hotels in HCMC will offer a hefty discount of around 50% for local guests from September 1 to October 31 to attract more Vietnamese people to stay in luxury hotels.

The Rex and the Majestic will offer Vietnamese customers a rate of US$80 per room per night.
The city's tourism department and these hotels met in the five-star Majestic Hotel Friday to announce the promotion called 'One day at five-star hotels'.

The Rex and the Majestic will offer Vietnamese customers a rate of US$80 per room per night, the Sheraton US$160 per night, the Renaissance Riverside US$109 per night, the Caravelle US$120 per night and the Windsor US$75 per night.

The rates apply for the first night only and guests should pay when they book the room. Bookings must be made at least seven days before check-in.

Tao Van Nghe, chairman of HCMC's Hotel Society, said the hotels were offering different prices based on their average rate of the month. "We can make sure that the promotional price will be lower than the corporate rate and other rates that we are quoting," he said. Nghe is also the general director of the Majestic Hotel.

Other hotels are offering other suitable conditions for Vietnamese people to stay. The Renaissance Riverside hotel accepts bookings two days prior to check-in. This hotel and the Majestic offer complimentary stays for kids under 12 without an extra bed.

La Quoc Khanh, deputy director of HCMC's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the department would call for other hotels to join the program to attract more people to HCMC and to help luxury hotels increase occupancy.

"The travel demand of Vietnamese people is increasing. We want to make the people familiar with the luxury facilities and to woo them to stay there," he said.

He added that average occupancy of three-to five-star hotels in HCMC during the first seven months of 2009 was 53%, down 18% year-on-year.

"The market is not promising to recover soon so we need to launch attractive programs for local guests," Khanh said.

The department and tour operators have made marketing trips to Tien Giang, Halong and Hanoi to invite travelers to HCMC.

A representative of the Majestic Hotel told the Daily that the hotel's occupancy was around 60% this month. However, feedback from travel agents for next month was not promising.

"Normally, business in September is better than in August but the feedback was not good this year," she said.

VietNamNet/SGT

No comments: