InterContinental to run new five star Hanoi hotel

TPC Nghi Tam Village Company appointed InterContinental to run a 327-room resort hotel that is being built on the banks of the capital’s West Lake.
The appointment comes after an extensive search for a reputable international hotel management company with the ability to offer immaculate services for international travellers, a TPC executive said.
TPC general director, Amir Abdul Rahman, said guests would benefit from several promotional packages made in connection with their two other hotels in Kuala Lumpur.
Rahman said TPC chose InterContinental as it is the largest hotel management company in the world with 3,500 hotels, comprising of 538,000 rooms in over 100 countries under the brand names of InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn.
“It has a very good network system all over the world. Anywhere in the world you can access the website and make an online booking to Hanoi,” said Rahman, adding the company’s global database has around 21 million members in its loyalty programme.
“The InterContinental Hanoi will be well positioned to capture a significant share of the visitors to Hanoi,” he said.
TPC chairman, Mohd Redza Shah bin Abdul Wahid, said the management deal would reinforce the company’s leadership in Vietnam’s hospitality industry.
“We believe that we have found the right hotel management partner,” he said.
TPC has also contracted a Malaysian group, Bintai Kindenko, to complete the Lien Resort on the banks of West Lake that had 70 per cent of its construction finished before the Asian
ished before the Asian economic crisis in 1998 froze the regional property sector and thwarted investors seeking finances.
Previously the mechanical and engineering contractor for the project, Bintai would work as the main contractor while all sub-contractors would come from Hanoi.
TPC intended to borrow $18 to $20 million to complete construction and furnish the hotel.
Wahid said TPC entrusted Bintai Kindenko to undertake construction as he believed the contractor’s track record in Singapore and Malaysia was unquestionable, and clear evidence that the premium hotel would live up to their expectations.
“We are selective whenever quality is concerned,” he said.
TPC, a joint venture between Thang Long Tourism and General Trading Company and Malaysia’s Tradewinds Corporations Berhad, is looking to complete the hotel by the end of December next year.
Hotel construction is booming across the country as investors are confident about a tourism industry that is bouncing back after the repercussions of bird flu.
Around 1.9 million foreigners visited Vietnam in the first eight months, up 27 per cent against the same period last year, Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) reported.
VNAT vice chairman, Pham Tu, said foreign arrivals this year will reach three million visitors, a significant rise from 2.2 million last year.
These figures represent opportunities for international hotel companies to penetrate and expand in Vietnam.
Accor and Swiss-Belhotel International are among the most aggressive companies, winning contracts to run hotels in Halong, Hue and Hoi An.
Hanoi now boasts eight five-star hotels, including the Daewoo, Horison, Melia, Nikko, Sofitel Metropole, Sofitel Plaza, Hilton and Sheraton.