- The shift · Vietnam has become one of Southeast Asia’s most sought-after hotel markets, and international groups are accelerating their presence significantly.
- IHG · The group has announced its intention to grow from around 16 hotels in Vietnam to more than 40, increasing its room count from 4,800 to approximately 12,000, and expanding its brand portfolio from seven to nine.
- Fairmont · Accor’s flagship brand entered the country in February 2026 with Fairmont Hanoi, featuring 241 rooms and eight bars and restaurants.
- The catalyst · Nearly 13.92 million international visitors arrived in the first seven months of 2026, marking a 13.8% increase year-on-year.
A Market Growing Five Times Faster Than the Industry Average
To understand the current stakes in Vietnam, a single point of comparison suffices. In the first half of 2026, IHG reported a global growth in revenue per available room of 4.1%, with 3.1% in Greater China and 3% across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. These are respectable figures, nothing more.
Over the same period, the group announced a development plan for Vietnam alone that would more than double its portfolio. An operator does not commit this level of capital and manpower to a market that merely matches its global average. The gap between the group’s overall performance and its Vietnamese ambition is the true indicator of this trend.
What IHG is Exactly Planning
The British group currently operates around sixteen properties in Vietnam, totaling nearly 4,800 rooms spread across Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Phu Quoc, and Ha Long Bay. Its stated objective is to expand this portfolio to over forty addresses and approximately 12,000 rooms, with six openings scheduled by the end of next year.
Two additional brands will enter the market, bringing the group’s offering from seven to nine brands in the country. The Holiday Inn family remains the primary volume driver, with nine projects joining existing properties in Saigon and Ho Tram · a detail that tempers the “all-luxury” narrative, as the bulk of development takes place in the mid-scale segment while high-end properties act as showcases.
| Today | Target | |
|---|---|---|
| Properties | ≈ 16 | Over 40 |
| Rooms | ≈ 4,800 | ≈ 12,000 |
| Active Brands | 7 | 9 |
| Short-term Openings | 6 hotels by end of 2027 | |
Fairmont Hanoi: An Entry That Shifted Pricing
The arrival of Fairmont in the country in February 2026 serves as a full-scale test. The capital’s property features 241 rooms, including 38 Fairmont Gold rooms and 12 suites, eight bars and restaurants, a wellness area, and Hanoi’s largest pillarless ballroom · facilities designed to appeal equally to business tourism and leisure clientele.
The most interesting effect lies elsewhere, in pricing. The brand’s market entry helped lift the average daily rate for luxury accommodation in Hanoi by approximately 6%, reaching around $185 per night. This is modest in absolute value compared to Bangkok or Singapore, which is precisely what makes the market attractive to investors: there is still tariff headroom to capture.
The Country Has Shifted Its Goal, Not Just Its Volume
In the first seven months of 2026, Vietnam welcomed nearly 13.92 million international visitors, a 13.8% increase year-on-year, alongside roughly 98 million domestic travelers. The country has set a target of 25 million international arrivals and 150 million domestic stays for the year.
However, the turning point is less about these volumes and more about the official discourse accompanying them. Authorities have explicitly shifted their success metric from visitor numbers to spend per visitor, currently estimated between $1,200 and $1,400 per stay. This pivot, rather than mere arrival growth, explains the sudden interest from luxury brands: they are selling value per night, not occupancy rates.
What Groups Are Truly Buying
Vietnam offers a rare combination: a coastline stretching over three thousand kilometers that remains unevenly developed, UNESCO-recognized heritage cities, construction costs lower than those of its neighbors, and a local middle class with rapidly rising purchasing power. For an operator, this translates to a moderate entry cost into a market where the pricing ceiling has not yet been reached.
The risk lies in staffing, not infrastructure. Growing a portfolio from 4,800 to 12,000 rooms requires training several thousand professionals within a few years, in a country where international-standard hotel schools remain scarce. This is the point of tension that development announcements rarely mention, and the one that will determine the actual quality of service in five years.
Our Perspective
Vietnam is not an “El Dorado,” and the term obscures what is truly happening. It is a market undergoing methodical upscaling, where mid-scale volume development finances the luxury showcase, and where the state understood before many others that a tourist’s value is measured by their spending rather than their presence.
The open question is not about the number of openings, which will follow. Rather, it is whether training can keep pace with construction, and whether international groups will manage to grant properties a genuine Vietnamese identity rather than duplicating regional standards. It is on this point, rather than growth figures, that the destination must be judged in a few years.
