All 5-star luxury hotels in Ha Noi have run out of room ahead of the second DPRK-USA Summit, taking place Wednesday and Thursday in the capital city.
Most three-five star hotels in urban districts are booked up until the end of February.
The major five-star hotels including the Hilton Hanoi Opera, Hanoi Daewoo Hotel, Melia Hanoi, Sheraton Hanoi Hotel, InterContinental Hanoi Westlake, Hotel de l’Opera Hanoi, Apricot Hotel, Crowne Plaza West Hanoi, Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi and JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi, revealed they had no vacancies until March.
“All of our rooms are occupied from now until the end of March. During the DPRK-USA Summit, the entourages following have booked to stay here. One group even booked more than 100 VIP rooms for before and after the event,” a representative of the Ha Noi Daewoo Hotel told a local newspaper.
“After the Lunar New Year, we still had rooms available. However, right after Ha Noi was officially selected as the venue for the summit [20 days ago], the number of bookings surged, not just group bookings but also individual bookings,” a representative of Movenpick Hotel Ha Noi told Viet Nam News on Wednesday.
An overview of the 5-star Apricot Hotel nearby Hoan Kiem Lake in Ha Noi. — VNS Photo Viet Thanh
Reuters quoted the White House as saying that US President Donald Trump would meet DPRK chairman leader Kim Jong Un at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi at 6.30pm (local time) and have a 20-minute one-on-one conversation before a dinner with aids.
Statistics of the Ha Noi Tourism Department showed that the capital city has nearly 3,550 tourist accommodation establishments (hotels, tourist apartments and hostels) with a total of 60,516 rooms.
According to Price of Travel website, among the world’s 137 cheapest tourist cities ranked in January 2019, Viet Nam had three cities listed in the top 10. Of them, Ha Noi was named the cheapest for backpackers with an average cost of $18.29 per day, followed by HCM City at $19.47 and Hoi An at $21.2.
Hoàng Nhân Chính, head of the Tourism Advisory Board, said Ha Noi was capable of hosting international events with morden facilities and professional services.
Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) selects a terrace of a high-rise hotel in the city to record the event. — Photo facebook
Trinh Thi My Nghe, vice president of Ha Noi Tourism Association, told Viet Nam News on Wednesday that the flow of international reporters going to Viet Nam rose quickly ahead of the event.
“High-rise hotels and restaurants near the lake have all been booked by international news agencies to record the event,” Nghe said.
Hoan Kiem Lake, a symbol of Ha Noi, has appeared the most on TV.
Do Van Dong, managing director of 4-star hotel chain Oriental Hospitality Group, which is located near the Hoan Kiem area, said all of their rooms were booked three weeks before the summit.
“Most of our clients during this period are foreign reporters. They mostly come from the US, Korea and Japan. A Korean news agency has hired a terrace to record the summit,” Dong told Viet Nam News on Wednesday. — VNS