Savills Vietnam merges with hotel advisory firm

Savills office in Vietnam has merged with Alternaty, a leading hotel advisory in Indochina, as part of its efforts to tap into the growing hospitality markets of the Asia Pacific, particularly South East Asia. 

Alternaty’s employees will join the hotel business at Savills and will be based in Savills’ Ho Chi Minh City office. 

Savills Hotel Asia Pacific, led by Raymond Clement, consists of individuals with experience and a strong track record across the tourism and hospitality sector. Mauro Gasparotti and Rudolf Hever will both take the role of director, Hotels, Savills Asia Pacific, driving business in Vietnam and South East Asia. 

On the team from Alternaty, Savills Vietnam managing director Neil MacGregor said: “The Alternaty team, led by Mauro and Rudolf, are well known as market leaders in hospitality in the IndoChina region. Their capabilities will add depth to establish a robust platform, offering a complete suite of services for the hotel development lifecycle.”

The merger will help Savills get a platform to tap into IndoChina’s rapidly growing hospitality markets, with Vietnam itself seeing a 26% increase in foreign arrivals in 2016.  

With a growing number of investors actively seeking hotel and resort assets, this will consolidate Savills’ investment brokerage platform.

The Hotel Advisory Services in Vietnam will provide hotel and resort market research including feasibility studies, operator selection, asset management and investment brokerage.

“We are delighted to become part of the Savills family and to leverage Savills’ extensive operation, sales and marketing platform in the region,” said Mauro Gasparotti, executive director at Alternaty.

Rudolf Hever, director of Hotels, Savills Asia Pacific said more players were entering Vietnam’s growing market with total hotel transaction volumes at nearly $500 million in the last 24 months. The number of five-star hotel rooms in 2015 soared by 37% year-on-year to reach 24,000 units, he added. 

This growing trend in hotel development can be seen across hotel segments with an estimated 15%-20% growth in total hotel supply in the short term. Besides the key cities of HCMC and Hanoi, up and coming markets such as Phu Quoc, Danang and Nha Trang are also catching investor attention. 

Alternaty is a boutique real estate consultancy which was founded in 2012. It is known for its contacts and track record in commercial property, hotel and resort advisory throughout the IndoChina region. 

The Savills Hotels team valued and advised on US$9.1 billion worth of hotel assets in Asia Pacific in 2016. Most recently, it has led the sale of the Anantara Ubud Bali, the Duxton Hotel Saigon and the Hyatt Regency Osaka.