Boutique hotel and shophouse: new real estate trend

In recent years, Quảng Ninh Province has become one of the most popular travelling destinations as well as an ideal place for investment in Việt Nam.

The development of tourism is the driving force behind the growth of the new model of boutique hotel in combination with shophouse (Boutique Hotel and Shophouse), attracting domestic and international investors.

Pioneering this new trend, BIM Group introduced the Boutique Hotel and Shophouse Marina Square project with outstanding advantages, creating an attractive investment opportunity.

Deciphering the rising fever in real estate

In recent times, the concept of Boutique Hotel and Shophouse has gained popularity, besides the usual hotels or luxury business apartments in the city.

Boutique hotel is a type of small hotel with an artistic layout and design. There are usually between 10 and 100 rooms. The small size of the hotel gives guests a cosy and intimate atmosphere with the necessary privacy, making them feel at home.

Shophouse or commercial townhouse, on the other hand, is a type of housing combined with commercial stores.

Boutique Hotel and Shophouse model has emerged since the 1990s in many major cities around the world, including Paris, London, New York and San Francisco, and has flourished in Asian tourist resorts in the 2000s.

In Singapore, the term “Boutique Hotel and Shophouse” comes from the Chinese, Indian or Malaysian cultures. Famous residential areas such as Boat Quay, China Town and Kampong Glam have a typical design---the ground floor is for shops and the upper floor is the living area. This model has quickly become a popular and unique “trend” in real estate. The Boutique Hotel & Shophouse model in Bangkok, Thailand, also brings huge profits to investors.

In Việt Nam alone, Boutique Hotel and Shophouse is fast becoming an attractive investment option even though it has only emerged in the country in recent years. In the context of traditional real estate becoming saturated with hundreds of new investors, the rental housing market is decreasing while raising the value of resort real estate. Moreover, as proper resorts and villas require huge initial investment, investing in medium-scale resorts is a smart step.

Boutique Hotel and Shophouse perfectly integrates the luxury of hotel and commercial purposes into a single line of products, enhancing profitability as well as liquidity of real estate.

Catching up with this new trend, BIM Group is one of the pioneering and persistent groups investing in the real estate market in Quảng Ninh. BIM Group consistently produces unique and quality real estate products, cooperating with popular brands worldwide, such as Frasers Hospitality, InterContinental Hotels Group and The Ascott Limited. This shows BIM Group’s continuous growth, affirming its “big position” in Quảng Ninh Province.

BIM Group is also the successful owner of a boutique hotel and shophouse with Phu Quoc Waterfront project in Phú Quốc island. Hundred per cent of the villas that opened for sale in the first phase were quickly “out of stock”. The number of applicants registering for the sale session was triple the number of villas open for sale, showing the attractiveness of this type of real estate. Customers who own a villa in Phu Quoc Waterfront project are likely to own the key to profitable investment in Phú Quốc.

Ripe time to invest in Boutique Hotel and Shophouse

A visitor to Quảng Ninh will see the problem of a lack of accommodation. Compared to the two coastal cities of Đà Nẵng and Nha Trang, it is obvious that the number of hotels in Hạ Long City is less. Meanwhile, the number of visitors to Hạ Long continues to increase.

According to statistics of the Việt Nam General Administration of Tourism, in the first nine months of 2017, the total number of visitors to Quảng Ninh was estimated at 7.9 million. Hạ Long Bay alone received over three million visitors.

The increasing tourism to Hạ Long creates pressure on the accommodation market. The rate of occupancy in three-star hotels in Hạ Long during the peak season is always 90-100 per cent. Even during holidays, hotels in Hạ Long face a shortage.

But now, with customers seem to be more and more “delicate” in choosing accommodation. Guests are directed to small boutique hotels which are comfortable and in harmony with nature. They are private enough while being close to the “centre” for convenient shopping. The rent is also not too high. Therefore, Boutique Hotel and Shophouse Marina Square is a potential forward-looking strategy.

As a bloodline linking the Hùng Thắng mountain range to the sea square and the shores of Hạ Long Bay, Marina Square takes full advantages of the “dragon reaching out to the sea”, symbolising prosperity and abundance and bringing values to investors.

Marina Square project is built to become a new pedestrian centre of Hạ Long Bay, which offers profitability as well as leisure activities and shopping. The basement of the 1.8ha pedestrian street has an open design and is fully connected to serve tourists. The pedestrian street can hold the weight of hundreds of cars.

Marina Square also owns a spacious front, with the apartments having at least two facades and flexible couplings to maximise space usage. The ground floor of the apartment is an ideal choice for shops and offices.

Marina Square is located in the central peninsula (Peninsula 2) of Halong Marina, the first synchronously planned modern urban area in Hạ Long with complete facilities, such as school, hospital, entertainment centre, supermarket and shopping centre. Marina Square will significantly contribute to bringing more values ​​to residents, besides other unique projects such as Little Vietnam or Royal Lotus Villas and Resort. This is also a significant step to promote the image of Peninsula 2to become the centre of tourist services in Quảng Ninh as the planning was approved by Quảng Ninh People’s Committee.

Investment into a Boutique Hotel and Shophouse is likened by experts to a “chicken laying eggs”. With more convenience and profitability compared to traditional models, investing in a boutique hotel and shophouse is a pioneer for sustainable profitability in future. The “heat” associated with this real estate product and its limited number are factors that investors should consider if they do not want to lose this rare opportunity.