Metropole Hanoi reigns as one of Southeast Asia's most iconic hotels

Earlier, the project’s investors had submitted a proposal to increase the hotel’s investment from the current $48.7 million to $74.7 million to renovate the hotel and upgrade it to the Raffles brand as well as raise the hotel’s operational duration from 45 to 70 years.

The two partners in the project are Hanoitourist Corporation and Singapore’s Indotel Ltd. The hotel’s $48.7 million investment has been disbursed in full.

Currently, Metropole Hanoi has nearly 700 employees and contributes about VND130 billion ($5.65 million) to the state coffers each year.

In 2017, Vietnam Opportunity Fund (VOF) belonging to VinaCapital – one of the leading fund management firms in Vietnam – transferred its stake in Metropole Hotel to Lodgis, a joint venture firm founded in November 2016 between US equity fund Warburg Pincus and VinaCapital with the initial seed capital of around $300 million.

According to VOF's related announcement, the deal value approximated $100 million, equal to half of the hotel value of around $200 million.

After the deal, the 50 per cent equity ownership in Thong Nhat Metrople hotel joint venture belongs to Lodgis, the joint venture between Warburg Pincus and VinaCapital. Currently, the joint venture, through Singapore’s Indotel Limited, still manages 50 per cent stake in Metropole Hotel. 

Earlier, VOF owned half of the stakes in the hotel, with the second half belonging to state-owned Hanoitourist which in January 2018 sold 5.26 per cent of its stake to other local firm Hanoi Import Export Union JSC (Unimex Hanoi), cutting its ownership to 44.74 per cent.

Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, built in 1901, is run by France-based global hotel chain AccorHotels Group. Located in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, it has good access to prime tourist destinations.

As Hanoi’s most iconic 5-star hotel, the boutique hotel has hosted many of the world’s celebrities, including Charlie Chaplin, Stephen Hawking, as well as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Famous English writter Graham Greene reportedly worked on his bestselling classic novel "The Quiet American" there.

In more recent times, other patrons of the 5-star hotel included Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and former US President Bill Clinton.

Significantly, it is where US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met at the historic summit (February 2019) which was the second meeting between the two leaders after the first one that took place in Singapore in 2018. VIR

Huong Thuy

Hotels setting up for post-pandemic boom

A new wave of mergers and acquisitions in the hotel segment may reach the shores of Vietnam’s coastal and central cities even as the hospitality sector struggles with the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

Hotels urged to provide free lodging for first responders

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism has called on hotels and other lodgings to accommodate people who are helping with the response to COVID-19 like doctors, other health care providers and first responders.