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Victoria’s charms to spread |
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Victoria Hotels & Resorts is close to announcing a new hotel in Vietnam and this will be the first management contract for the group, which has been operating in Vietnam for more than a decade.
Simard: planning for a 100- to 150-room resort in “a new destination” in Vietnam. |
Victoria Express Train: combines luxury with adventure.
Picture by Victoria Hotels & Resorts
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Talks have been held with a local owner since February last year for a 100- to 150-room resort in “a new destination” in Vietnam where Victoria is not present, according to Victoria’s managing director, Mr Eric Simard. The group opened its first Vietnam property in 1997, in in Phan Thiet, and has since added four more hotels to its Vietnam collection, in Sapa, Can Tho, Hoi An and Chau Doc. The latest Victoria to open was in 2004, in Siem Reap, Cambodia, which marked its foray outside Vietnam.
Such rate of growth, which is as calm as the Mekong – and a far cry from the frantic eagerness of international chains to have more hotels in Vietnam now – is the style of Victoria, which charms its mainly European market with the philosophy of selecting only areas that are seductively scenic and designing properties to harmonise with their unique cultural and natural surroundings.
To lure them there and provide a seamless Victoria experience, the group also has private transportation, which it describes as combining adventure and luxury. This includes the Victoria Express Train from Hanoi to Sapa and Victoria Boats along the Mekong Delta to Cambodia.
Victoria owns all of its hotels wholly, except for the Victorias in Can Tho and Hoi An, for which it is the majority shareholder. It is turning to management contracts, as land prices, which have soared in Vietnam “do not make it affordable for us to buy land or build”, according to Mr Simard. But, the fit had to be right, he said.
“We have been approached a few times, but the projects did not match our concept. If we do sign an agreement, we would like it to be a new build, so we could provide construction and design services from scratch. It can be a joint venture or pure management. There are still opportunities to work with local owners in Hanoi, Hoi An, Phan Tiet, etc,” Mr Simard said.
One opportunity he sees for Vietnam and Indochina is a new brand comprising small lodges that cater for trekkers and adventure travellers, who want to be in unspoilt areas sans the hardship. “We’re looking at building them in two unspoilt provinces, Cao Bang and Ha Giang, in northern Vietnam,” he said.
“A destination such as Northern Vietnam makes sense to us as transportation, rail and road, is improving and it is close to Kunming. This is just an example to show you how we try to make our properties a journey and link them together so as to provide culture and authenticity. It is not just for the sake of development.” – Raini Hamdi
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