Bangkok-based Minor Hotels plans to expand in Vietnam beyond the beach resorts that have defined its business there, targeting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City for corporate, domestic and meetings travel, a top executive told Skift in a story published Sept. 30. The Minor Hotels Vietnam push starts with the group’s first city hotel, in Hanoi, set to open in 2028.
Why the Minor Hotels Vietnam strategy is changing
For more than 20 years, the company’s Vietnam properties have catered mostly to international leisure travelers in coastal spots such as Hoi An, Mui Ne and Quy Nhon, Skift reported. The group now sees growing domestic travel, better air links and business demand as reasons to build in the country’s two largest cities.
“Our presence to date has been built around resort destinations, simply because that’s where we saw the strongest opportunity for international demand,” Omar Romero, Minor Hotels’ chief development and luxury officer, told Skift. “Vietnam today is a very different market.”
Domestic tourism is a big part of that change. Vietnam recorded about 137 million domestic tourists in 2025, TTG Asia reported. Skift noted that much of the country’s new hotel construction is concentrated on the coast, with Da Nang and Phu Quoc leading the development pipeline, which leaves fewer new rooms competing in the big cities.
Avani+ Hanoi leads the city push
The first project in the Minor Hotels Vietnam city push is the 310-room Avani+ Hanoi, which Minor signed in September. It will sit inside Hinode City, a mixed-use development at the corner of Minh Khai and Kim Nguu streets that includes a lifestyle mall, 1,099 residential units and serviced apartments, according to TTG Asia. The hotel is scheduled to open in 2028 and will be the group’s first property in Hanoi.
Romero told Skift the hotel will court corporate travelers, meeting groups, short-stay leisure guests and long-stay residents, with expected demand from South Korea, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe and Australia. He called Vietnamese travelers “a very important part of the mix.”
What’s next for Minor Hotels in Vietnam
The next Minor Hotels Vietnam target is Ho Chi Minh City, where the group is looking for urban deals but has not announced a project, according to Skift.
The Minor Hotels Vietnam plan fits a wider growth push. CEO Dillip Rajakarier told Travel Weekly in November 2025 that the company had just over 600 hotels open and aimed for “about 800-plus hotels by 2027” and roughly 1,000 within five years, largely through franchising and management contracts.
For more travel industry news, read how Alaska Airlines is betting on premium cabins, see why Phu Quoc made Expedia’s 2026 Destinations of the Year list, or browse our Travel section.
Reporting from Skift, TTG Asia and Travel Weekly contributed to this story.
Featured image: Photo: cloud.shepherd / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
