My neighborhood, like most neighborhoods in Ho Chi Minh City, is not a central business district, but does have many small business offices along the street frontages, and several eight-story office buildings have been recently constructed or are currently under construction. There are also about 30 small hotels along a kilometer of Phan Xích Long Street. As these small hotels were increasingly popping up, I wondered who the expected clientele would be. There may be some demand from business visitors from other cities coming to the small offices, but I couldn't image enough of that sort of demand to justify the number of rooms being constructed.
It does make sense that there is a sizable need for temporary accommodations for relatives and friends coming into the city to visit my neighbors, especially for weddings and funerals. Although Vietnamese houses are slowly becoming larger, most are still crowded with extended families, and have no room for many visitors at one time. Many of these small hotels are in the midst of the neighborhood along small streets, or even off on side lanes from the main streets.
This hotel is a typical example along Hoa Mai Street, a small street three blocks from the main street of Phan Xích Long in Phú Nhuận district. This is primarily a residential neighborhood.
But the hotel signs suggest another category of demand.
They typically charge both by the hour (ngắn giờ) as well as overnight (qua đên). 60 to 80 thousand VN đồng is about US$3.40 to $4.50 currently.
Since the typical Vietnamese house accommodates an extended family, and the young son brings his bride home to live with the family, there is very little privacy. These neighborhood hotels provide a place for young couples to find some privacy. On my Sunday evening walks around the neighborhood, I notice young couples turned away from some of these hotels due to no vacancy at the time.
