Hotels continue to suffer Covid-19 impacts

By Dat Nguyen December 11, 2020 | 05:00 pm PT

My Khe Beach in Da Nang City is seen deserted on July 28, 2020 as authorities impose social distancing measures in the city to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. Photo by VnExpress/Nguyen Dong.

Vietnam’s third Covid-19 outbreak last month has exacerbated the problems of low occupancy and plunging revenues for hotels and resorts nationwide.

Average daily rates in October slumped 25 percent year-on-year, said Mauro Gasparotti, director of real estate consultancy Savills Hotels Asia Pacific.

In HCMC, occupancy has hovered under 20 percent since the April lockdown, compared to 72 percent during the same period last year.

The latest outbreak in HCMC last month followed the second one that hit July and August with hundreds of cases, all linked to Da Nang City, which badly affected the high season for the hospitality industry, Gasparotti said.

Savills data shows that overall, the resort market is barely crossing the 25 percent occupancy mark, except for some located in drive-to destinations where it is 10 to 15 percentage points higher than the national average.

"The market is in a slow recovery. Even though local demand has delivered a strong rebound, it has not proven steady enough to support hotel and resort performances."

While expectations for 2021 are positive, they are mainly focused on the third and fourth quarter when it is anticipated that travel restrictions will be eased and corporate guests and independent travellers from neighbouring counties will be able to return, partially supporting recovery of the hotel and resort market, he added.

In the first 11 months of this year, foreign arrivals hit 3.8 million, down 76.7 percent year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office.