Luxurious Penthouses cannot find Rich buyers Vietnam

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Luxurious penthouses cannot find rich buyers

VietNamNet Bridge – Though the supply of penthouses is limited with just several penthouses for every block building, penthouses in HCM City still have been left unsold. Especially, the market segment has been narrowed because a lot of investors have given up the game.

Penthouses have been decreasing dramatically in prices, because the demand has plunged in the context of the economic downturn.

Fifteen penthouses at the Thai An 3 and Thai An 4 on Nguyen Van Qua Road of District 12 in HCM City still have been left unsold. In the past, the apartments here were offered for sale at 16-17 million dong per square meter. However, though the prices have dropped to 13 million dong, the products remain unsalable.

Eight months ago, the projects’ developer had to rescue himself by turning the 15 penthouses into 30 standard apartments in a hope to sell them more easily.

The penthouses of high end projects are also unsalable. In 2009, Minh Hoang Real Estate Corporation bought 13 penthouses at The EverRich 1 project, but only several products have been sold. The penthouses here are offered to sell at 21.5-27.5 billion dong.

In the past, penthouses were considered “rare products” and the buyers of the penthouses were defined through lucky draws. However, the golden age of real estate developers is over. Buyers now have a wide range of choices.

The penthouses at The Estella in district 2 in HCM City have been offered for sale at 12.3 billion dong for each. Especially, the seller has promised negotiable prices and best preferences to buyers.

Meanwhile, the penthouses at Xi River View Palace in district 2 are being on sale at 1.2-1.5 million dollars.

In an effort to “liberalize” the capital “buried” in penthouses, the high end products have been offered to sell at the prices which are even lower than the prices of smaller apartments at the same projects

For example, in the secondary market, such as product at Chanh Hung project in district 8 is offered at 12.8 million dong per square meter, while a standard apartment has the price of 18-20 million dong per square meter.

Since the real estate market has fallen into decay, penthouses have become less attractive; real estate developers, when implementing new projects, now consider removing penthouses to make apartments more easily salable.

“We are building high grade apartment blocks in Tan Binh districts and we wonder if we should build penthouses,” said Marketing Director of the Tan Binh Construction and Investment Pham Thi Phuong Lien.

Lien said the market segment has been unceasingly narrowed, while penthouses have been unsalable in the last few years. Therefore, developers always have to have three design solutions to weigh the costs and the investment efficiencies.

Of the three solutions, only one suggests building penthouses, while the other two do not mention the expensive products, because of the too weak demand in the market.

“Penthouses would help increase the value of the projects. However, luxurious products are unsalable at this moment, while the low liquidity would put hard pressure on the investors,” Lien said.

Meanwhile, Montgomery Truong, a senior executive of Savills Vietnam, thinks that one should not look the penthouse market segment with short term vision.

He said that penthouses have been decreasing sharply in prices not only because of the decline in the real estate market, but also partially because of the low quality of the products.

In the golden age of the real estate market, penthouses were built at all residential blocks, including popular or medium-class projects. At that time, it was very easy to sell products.

However, since the market has become frozen, buyers have become choosier, and only perfect products can persuade them to spend so much money.

Thanh Mai

Luxury car importers in Vietnam

Car importers still contrive to bring luxury cars to Vietnam

August 8, 2011 about Uncategorized

LookAtVietnam - Car importers have admitted that with the newly released regulations on car imports management, it is very difficult to bring luxurious cars to Vietnam. However, they do not intend to “give up the games.”

The luxury car market in Vietnam has become very bustling over the last few years. Though Vietnam has just escaped from the list of poor countries, the demand for luxurious cars has been increasing significantly among billionaires and high income earners. A lot of luxury brands have joined Vietnamese market, while hundreds of original cars made to orders have been flocking to Vietnam.
However, experts believe that many changes will occur in the luxury car market after the promulgation of Circular 20 with very strict rules which car dealers believe aims to install a technical barrier to the cars to be imported from non-official sources.
The new regulation, as explained by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, aims to help “clean” the car import market, because it will only allow genuine cars to be imported with full standard post-sale services.
The Vietnamese luxury car market has gathered many well known names, including Audi, Mercedes, BMW, Porsche or Land Rover. The brands are believed to have the greatest potentials to conquer the market, while many Vietnamese traders have applied for acting as the authorized distributors of the brands in Vietnam.
A question has been raised that what car importers, who have been importing products from non-official sources, will do in the new circumstances. Distributing the products with the above said brands proves to be unfeasible, because no luxury manufacturer allows the existence of two official distributors on the same market.
A lot of car dealers have admitted that they see very few opportunities to continue their business. If they do not have the opportunities to import the cars whose manufacturers have representatives in Vietnam already, they will have to cooperate with other manufacturers. But what brands should they join hands with, then?
As said above, the brands with great potentials which promise lucrative profits in the Vietnamese market have cooperated with other partners already. How about the super car brands such as Rolls Royce, Maybach, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lotus, Bentley, Aston Martin or Maserati?
In principle, the doors of the manufacturers have been kept open to all. However, luxury car importers say that it is very difficult to persuade the giant choosy manufacturers to obtain the contracts to become authorized distributors, the work which is described as “moving mountains.”
In fact, the luxury manufacturers only churn out products in limited quantities. Even the millionaires in the world have to place orders with the manufacturers and wait for deliveries. Therefore, it would be unnecessary for them to set up distributors which require a lot of complicated procedures.
There are still other luxurious, but more popular brands, including Acura, Lexus, Cadillac, or Lincoln. However, before thinking of joining hands with the brands, enterprises have no other choice than waiting for the parent groups that own the brands shut down their joint ventures and call their representatives back. They are Honda (which owns Acura), Toyota (Lexus), GM (Cadillac) and Ford (Lincoln).
In the eyes of car dealers, the situation is even more serious in the used car market. On June 29, the Prime Minister released a decision on a new method of calculating tax on used car imports.
The noteworthy thing is that the government has not only raised the fixed tax rates sharply, but has also applied a new tax calculation method. For example, used passenger cars with less than 10 seats with the cylinder capacity of 1.5L-2.5L will bear the tax to be calculated by the formula: X + 5000 dollars, while the cars with the cylinder capacity of 2.5L and more will be X + 15,000 dollars.
Analysts have pointed out that with the new tax calculation method, the import tax on used luxury cars with the cylinder capacity of 5.0L will be much higher than the tax imposed on brand new cars of the same kind. Once the tax on used cars exceeds the tax on brand new cars, no one would be foolish enough to import used cars any more.
TBKTVN

Vietnam joins ranks of Asia’s finest hotels and resorts | Vietnam joins ranks of Asia’s finest hotels and resorts

Vietnam joins ranks of Asia’s finest hotels and resorts

Conde Nast Traveler, a renowned luxury travel magazine, has placed five Vietnamese hotels and resorts atop its list of Readers’ Choice Awards.

Hotel Metropole Hanoi

Vietnamese resorts that made the top 20 list for best resorts in Asia included, Life Heritage Resort-Hoi An, The Nam Hai, and Evason Ana Mandara & Six Senses Spa.

The Sofitel Legend Metropole-Hanoi and the Park Hyatt-Saigon, each won top spots in the survey of the 100 top hotels in Asia.

While readers lodged three Vietnam resorts onto the list, they also sung the praises of five resorts from Bali and five resorts from Thailand.

“Both Bali and Thailand have tremendous reputations as resort destinations,” said John Blanco, the new general manager at The Nam Hai. “So, for Vietnam to make this kind of impression on readers of such a distinguished travel magazine is indeed remarkable.”

The Readers’ Choice Awards polled 25,916 responses from readers who rated resorts and hotels across these five categories: food/dining, location, overall design, rooms and service. Resort ratings were also based on activities/facilities.

According to Conde Nast, only candidates that received a required minimum number of responses were deemed eligible for an award.

None of Vietnam’s islands made the Readers’ Choice Awards. Bali and Phuket were among the top three island destinations in Asia, which makes Vietnam’s resort standings all the more impressive.

Similarly, Vietnam’s top cities failed to make the top-ten cut. Bangkok and Chiang Mai came in at number 1 and 2, while Bali’s Ubud ranked fifth.

Source: VIR

Luxury Travel Vietnam to Launch a New 6 Day Tour “laos for Families”

Luxury Travel Vietnam to Launch a New 6 Day Tour “laos for Families” - SBWire: "Hanoi, Vietnam -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/17/2010 -- Luxury Travel Co., Ltd (http://www.luxurytravelvietnam.com ), Southeast Asia’s the leading destination management is pleased to announce the launch of a new 6 day tour “Laos for Families”.

Luxury Travel Co has announced the launch of a new 'Laos for Families' six day tour. The trip includes the current capital Vientiane and the former capital Luang Prabang, the two most visited destinations of Laos.

“This trip has been specially designed for families traveling to Laos from Bangkok or Hanoi. You are certain to be entertained by the Lao people, history, color and culture” said David Nguyen, Sales and Marketing Manager for Luxury Travel Company (http://www.luxurytravelvietnam.com).

With stunning nature, rich in heritage and friendly people, Laos really is an undiscovered gem in Southeast Asia.

Upon entering Vientiane, travelers will be surprised at the relaxed atmosphere and small-town charm of this capital city. This capital city is characterized by an eclectic mix of colonial-French buildings and ancient temples along with colorful markets.

Nestled in the valleys of the mountainous north is Luang Prabang, a former royal capital and now a World Heritage Site listed by UNESCO. This enchanting city, dominated by golden-roofed temples and bright saffron-robed monks, exudes a spiritual essence that is sure to capture your soul.

The six day tour offer includes accommodation in deluxe rooms at some of the best hotels in Laos, private boat trips on Mekong River, most meals, private transfers, excursions, elephant rides, private pick up and drop off service with an escorted English or French speaking tour guide. The tour can be booked last minute and customized to suit individual interests and schedules.

Guests can also request, restaurant reservations, meetings with artists, cooking instructors and designers, shopping recommendations, spa reservations, tours with special-interest lecturers, and exclusive access to local activities and cultural events for an additional charge.

For tour information and online booking, visit: http://www.luxurytravelvietnam.com"

Park Hyatt Saigon named “world’s best hotel in Asia” 2008

Park Hyatt Saigon has been voted “World’s Best Hotel in Asia” in the 13th Annual World’s Best Awards Readers’ Survey conducted by Travel + Leisure, the US’s leading luxury travel and lifestyle magazine.

“This prestigious accolade is wonderful recognition for the international standards of product and service provided by Park Hyatt Saigon. Our authentic hospitality is setting the benchmark for service in Vietnam and places Ho Chi Minh City on the world stage in travel. Our goal is to continue to raise the bar in service excellence and further develop Vietnam as a luxury travel destination catering to the discerning traveller,” said Michael Golden, General Manager, Park Hyatt Saigon.

In Travel + Leisure’s 13th annual poll, the readers once again selected their favourite providers of travel facilities around the globe. According to editors Jennifer V. Cole and Amy Farley, Travel + Leisure’s readers name the very best in travel, from hotels, spas, airlines and cruise liners to cities and islands, along with all the operators and outfitters who make a journey possible. This year’s winners reveal readers’ evolving but always exacting standards of excellence.

In 2008, Park Hyatt Saigon was also voted “Best Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City” for the third consecutive year by DestinAsian magazine, Asia’s leading luxury travel and lifestyle publication. “Best Luxury Hotel” by the TripAdvisor travel community. Business Traveller Asia Pacific magazine named Park Hyatt Saigon the “Best Business Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City” in its annual Readers’ Choice Awards.

5-star hotels, resorts reluctantly slash service fees

It is quite a surprise that in the context of the global economic recession, when the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) and travel firms are calling for tour fee reductions, luxury hotels and resorts have not slashed service fees at all.
High-class hotels should not slash service fees?
Foreign tourists to Furama resort
Nguyen Tri Phong in Hanoi, while booking a room at Furama Resorts in Da Nang City for the holiday at the end of March, realised that room rates had not been slashed as he expected.
Phong said that the staffs of Furama Resorts said that the room rate was $327/night, including a pick-up and drop-off at the airport.
Meanwhile, Luong Duy Khiem, Deputy Director of ANZ Travel, said that travellers in groups can book rooms at 4-star and less luxurious hotels at much cheaper rates, 1.5 times or 2 times lower than the rates applied to separate travellers.
River Side, a 4-star hotel in Da Nang city, for example, is offering $50/night, while a 3-star $35-40/night. However, these rates are applied to travel firms, much lower than the officially announced rates. If groups of travellers use more than eight rooms, the room rate would be $36-37/night (4-star hotel).
Meanwhile, 5-star hotels even do not accept slashing room rates for tourists in groups, or just slash by a little of 10%. At Furama resort, the lowest room rate is $195/night.
Explaining the big gap between the room rates at high-grade and lower-grade hotels and resorts, Khiem said that high-grade and lower-grade hotels have different subjects of clients. The main clients of high-grade hotels are businessmen and high-income earners who do not care much about room rates.
Nguyen Duc Quynh, Managing Director of Furama resort in Da Nang city, said that every hotel has its own pricing policy.
High room rates can bring high profit, low profit and many clients bring less profit because hotels have to pay high commissions. Meanwhile, it is easier to slash room rates than raise prices.
However, “the market will define the right prices. Hotels are adjusting room rates in order to attract travellers,” he said.
Quynh said that Furama has not joined ‘Impressive Vietnam’ because it believes that Furama’s room rates are now reasonable. As for travellers in groups, the room rates will still depend on different times. However, Furama is considering slashing room rates or providing free meals to groups of travellers, or even one free night if the travellers stay for many days.
Once tour fees down, travellers up
When hotels have high rates of idle rooms, turnover is low. Therefore, all hotels, both luxury and less luxury ones, need to attract clients with special offers.
The 5-star Sheraton Hotel in Hanoi, after two months of shaking hands with several travel firms, slashing room rates for travellers from Australia, South Korea, Europe and the US, has seen the number of travellers increasing significantly.
According to VNAT, the number of foreign travellers to Vietnam has decreased by 10.3% in total, but the number of travellers from the US has still risen by 40% (89,500 travellers). The number of travellers from Australia has increased by 14.4% (49,500), France 12.4% (31,200), Canada 30% (22,500).
As for separate travellers, Sheraton has offered special hotel room rates, $145/night, applied until the end of April 30 in Hanoi, and $275/night from now to March 31 in HCM City.

Many other 5-star hotels are also offering special programmes to attract MICE travellers. In the last time, a lot of MICE tours were cancelled in the context of economic difficulties.
Do Khanh Tra, Foreign Affairs Director of InterContinental Hanoi, said that the occupancy rate reached 98% last week after the hotel launched a discount programme applied to travellers in groups who stay for three nights and more.
Tra said that InterContinental Hanoi has also slashed service fees for workshops and conferences with associated free services, to be applied to events confirmed prior to June 30, 2009.
Ha Yen

Vietnam's First Luxury Tour Operator at ITB Berlin to Promote Luxury Tourism

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, February 08, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Luxury travel will be one of the sectors to see growth in 2009, bargain hunting and last-minute travel dominate in the current global financial crisis.A newly-released report indicates that luxury travel will be one of the sectors to see growth in 2009, according to ITB Berlin, one of the travel industry’s leading trade shows.The ITB World Travel Trends report predicted that the effects of the global financial crisis will tend to favour niche markets such as luxury travel.However, bargain hunting and last-minute travel will dominate at the same time, according to ITB Berlin.Dr Martin Buck, director of the Competence Centre Travel and Logistics at Messe Berlin, said: ‘Whether we like it or not – the idea of saving money at all costs is back with us again.’Based on the assessments of around 60 tourism experts who met at the World Travel Monitor forum in Pisa in November 2008, the report also indicated that short breaks in Europe could be increasingly popular this year.Dr Buck said: ‘Higher costs and a new kind of insecurity affecting consumers will undoubtedly impact negatively on long-haul travel in 2009.Ha Pham, founder and CEO of the Luxury Travel Vietnam Company believes the time is ripe for high-end travelers worldwide discovering Vietnam in lap of luxury. The Luxury Travel Company is Vietnam’s first luxury tour company and full travel service agency.“ Luxury travelers have time and money to travel. The current financial crisis they may shorten their holiday, stay in the less luxurious hotels…but still travel” Ha added.Luxury Travel Vietnam Company is experienced in providing special services and unique tourism products to luxury global travelers since 1990 and highly recommends tourism industry players to selling niche luxury tourism products to niche market.Vietnam's first luxury tour operator will be present at ITB to promote Vietnam luxury tourism and its destinations. Visit Luxury Travel Company Stand at ITB Berlin or check it out at www.luxurytravelvietnam.com for inspirational luxury travel.

Why No Celebrate Christmas or New Year in The Tonkin Golf of Vietnam with Luxury Travel Vietnam?

A tour offered by Luxury Travel will allow tourists to drive through the Red River Delta to Ha Long City, where the journey will continue cruising through the waters of Halong Bay.
Christmas in the Tonkin Gulf of VietnamThe situation in Thailand may leave travellers seeking an alternative in the region over Christmas, and the islands of Vietnam are offering themselves as a luxurious option.World Heritage listed Halong Bay and Cat Ba Islands have long been lauded as a natural wonder, situated in the Tonkin Gulf.From Halong Bay, the boat travels to
Cat Ba, where the national park and island can be explored at leisure.The entire tour includes private pick up and drop off in Hanoi, an English speaking guide, a mountain bike for cycling through Cat Ba National Park, local ferries, a private cabin on the cruise and a gala dinner.The package over Christmas and New Year's costs 498 USD per person, as a limited rate available on a first come, first served basis."In an era where good service and true committment to excellence is often not achieved I can honestly say that Luxury Travel is the best tour company that we have ever used. We will continue to recommend you to any travellers to Vietnam and I am more than happy for you to give my email address to prospective clients if they require further information.Once again, thank you to yourself and your wonderful team for a great holiday and it will not be the last time that we travel to Vietnam. Donna & Peter Wilson - Sydney Australia"

-Travel Blackboard: Luxury travel increasing in Vietnam

Recent statistics from VNAT have shown that Vietnam’s tourist arrivals from Western European countries are seeking luxury travel.

In 2007, 170,000 travelers came from France, 100,000 from the UK and 100,000 from Germany, whilst Russian visitors increased 50%. From Japan and South Korean, the figures were positive with 430,000 and 470,000 visitors respectively.

Another major market for Vietnam’s tourism sector is ASEAN, where Thailand rose 38% in 2007 and Malaysia by 50%. And in 2007, nine out of the fifteen leading markets grew over 20%.

Ha Pham, founder and CEO of the Luxury Travel Company explained that travelers are seeking to holiday in style and that Vietnam has potential to capture that market by selling niche products rather than “sell the same tourism products since 10 years ago”.

He added, “Golfing, spa, beach vacation, family travel, junk and sampan cruises, honeymoon and romance moved up to the top notch and favorites for upscale travelers. Vietnam’s appeal is vast”

Luxury Travel Company believes that Vietnam’s tourism sector is in an “image crisis as a destination”, where products and services must be developed to cater for that niche market.

In order to start the trend, Luxury Travel Vietnam Company will take part in the ITB Asia Singapore from October 22 to 24, 2008 to showcase Vietnam as a luxury destination.

Property in Thailand: Beach huts for the billionaire backpacker - Telegraph

They may be in Thailand, but these pads are a long way from the shacks of gap years past, writes Anne Cuthbertson
Backpackers first started coming in numbers to the Gulf of Thailand islands in the 1980s. In tie-dye T-shirts, they journeyed by coconut boat to the undiscovered beaches of Koh Samui and Koh Pha-Ngan. They stayed in 50p-a-night bamboo bungalows, watched the sunset from their hammocks, and thought they'd found nirvana.
Lap of luxury: This vast private villa, with four bedrooms and an infinity pool, is one of 36 to be built at the Soneva Kiri resort
Those Lonely Planet-clutching gap-year students are now in their late 30s and 40s and some have risen to become hedge fund managers, law partners and corporate leaders. Cash-rich, time-poor, with families in tow, what is their fantasy holiday home now?
The creators of Soneva Kiri think they have the answer. This ambitious villa development on the Thai island of Koh Kood, within sight of the Cambodian mainland, promises to recapture memories of barefoot bliss for former backpackers, combined with the comforts they have grown accustomed to in business hotels.
These are holiday homes with prices to make even a hedge fund manager choke on his pineapple. With villas weighing in at up to $7·5 million (£3.8m), they kick sand in the face of other island developments in Barbados and the Seychelles.
As one who has strung up a hammock outside many a cheap Thai beach hut, I was intrigued to see Soneva Kiri's rather more luxurious version. Residents will eschew the coconut boat in favour of a private jet which takes 45 minutes from Bangkok airport. The fourth largest island in Thailand, Koh Kood is one of the least developed, with threequarters of it cloaked in rainforest. A few small resorts are already tucked into its coves - the delightful Captain Hook bungalows are $60 a night - but any whiff of cheap luggage is kept a safe distance from the 150- acre Soneva site.
more info-> Property in Thailand: Beach huts for the billionaire backpacker - Telegraph