Nha Trang hotels sold in droves after Covid-19 blow

A quick search on popular real estate listing website Batdongsan.com.vn shows over 400 entries related to Nha Trang hotel sales, many of them two- or three-star hotels with less than 50 rooms.

The owner of a hotel in a popular tourist area, who asked not be identified, said he was selling his hotel for VND90 billion ($3.9 million) as it has been closed most of the time since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out last year.

Tien, who owns a 21-floor hotel in the coastal city, had borrowed VND50 billion from the bank to put the hotel in operation in the third quarter, when the second Covid-19 outbreak happened.

With absorption rate lower than 10 percent for several months, he is selling the property to stem the losses. The hotel, just 100 meters away from the beach, has seen its price fall by over 30 percent to around VND85 billion now.

Brokers say the hotels selling spree in Nha Trang began in January with the most popular price range being VND10-30 billion.

Prices have dropped by around 20-30 percent from before the pandemic, they add.

Khanh Hoa Province, where Nha Trang is located, saw the number of tourists fall by over 80 percent to 1.25 million last year.

Authorities have said that the pandemic has caused major difficulties for more than 1,100 accommodation facilities. Around 100 have suspended operations so far, according to the provincial tourism department.

Phu, a hotel broker in Nha Trang, said that the situation was in total contrast with what happened in 2016-2018 when developers rushed to find land to build hotels, leading to a surge in prices.

Due to Covid-19 impacts, there are now more sellers of hotels than buyers, he told local media.

Another seller who asked not be identified said that his company has two hotels in Nha Trang and is selling one to make up for losses suffered.

No buyer has shown interest in the 20-floor hotel 10 days after it was listed.

Most sellers say they are unable to bear the losses anymore and do not know when the tourism market will improve.

Phan Viet Hoang, deputy secretary of the Khanh Hoa Association of Real Estate Brokers, said that the selling spree was inevitable with hotel owners suffering major losses due to the shortage of foreign and domestic tourists.

It is likely to lead to a restructuring of the hospitality real estate market in Nha Trang, he said.