Buzz
As the festive season approaches, many independent travelers find themselves wrestling with the task of securing hotel accommodations.
Hotel room prices rise, but demand remains high
During the recent Western New Year, the phenomenon of hotel room shortages in once-again-popular destinations repeated. Three weeks before the Western New Year, the demand for hotel rooms in Da Lat, Phan Thiet, Vung Tau, and Phu Quoc skyrocketed. However, the supply was limited as hotels and resorts were almost fully booked. A travel company in Ho Chi Minh City revealed that they had to cancel a group reservation for a 10-person vacation in Phan Thiet because they couldn't find hotel rooms, despite contacting major hotel booking agents.
This year's Lunar New Year of the Tiger offers an extended holiday period (9 days), with the peak travel season falling between February 10 and 16, 2012. At present, hotel rooms in popular tourist destinations such as Da Lat, Nha Trang, and Phu Quoc are scarce, with many hotels declaring they are fully booked. Browsing various online travel agency pages reveals very few available hotel rooms, and some hotels like Muine Paradise (Phan Thiet), Allezboo Resort & Spa (Phan Thiết), Cẩm Đô (Da Lat), Best Western Plaza (Da Lat) have no vacancies left.
However, based on the experience of a seasoned travel professional, in many accommodations, when a travel agency calls, the answer is: No rooms available. Yet, individual guests calling or booking directly still find rooms, but at a price increase ranging from 25% to 100% compared to regular rates. And as the peak date approaches, room prices continue to rise.
Recognize the reality that Vietnamese tourists tend to flock to holiday destinations during Tet, even though it gets crowded with increased prices, including accommodation services.
According to the summary from the customer care department of Mytour: Hotel rooms become scarce like clockwork during every Tet holiday, but not all types of rooms are booked up. The focus is mainly on 2-3 star hotel rooms, especially Standard and Deluxe rooms priced below 2 million VND/night. Premium rooms in 3-4 star hotels with prices starting from 5 million VND/night and above are more available, but the demand is not high.
Investigating the causes of hotel room shortages
- Firstly, it must be acknowledged that high demand during Tet holidays is the primary reason for the scarcity and high prices of budget and mid-range hotel rooms.
- During peak periods of high demand, some major travel agencies worldwide will make deposits to secure rooms. A few days before the peak, they will confirm the specific number of booked rooms, usually around 70-90% of the initial booking.
- Some hotels, especially smaller ones in popular tourist spots, proactively withhold rooms to sell at higher prices to individual customers who book directly. The price difference can be 2-3 times higher than regular rates.
- In Phu Quoc, being a remote destination, tourists looking to save costs often book flight tickets and hotel rooms in advance. As a result, hotel rooms in Phu Quoc often sell out early. It's advisable to book rooms in Phu Quoc about 3 months or more in advance compared to other destinations.
Additional information: Finding hotel rooms for the Tet holiday of the Year of the Tiger might not be easy right now, but customers can send requests to Mytour. Mytour's customer care department will contact hotels/resorts to find suitable rooms for customers at reasonable prices.
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Source: Mytour Travel Handbook
MytourDecember 30, 2013
