Property developers join hands with foreign management Many Vietnamese real estate developers are hiring foreign managers who have connections to potential customers.    Nguyen Viet Thung, general director of TMS Group, revealed that he has chosen Welham as the management unit for his TMS Luxury Hotel Da Nang Beach. Thung said the investor chose an international management firm because he believes the firm’s prestige, experience and large global network will help lure foreign clients with a high spending level to the project. He also believes that foreign management units know how to manage the resort in the best way at the most reasonable costs. The projects with international management brands can be transferred at 20-30 percent prices higher than other projects. The income from leasing is always higher thanks to the high occupancy rate. “In general, foreign corporations are very strict in maintaining consistent quality of facilities and services globally. The resort will always be maintained in the best conditions,” he said. CEO Group has chosen Accor and Best Western for its huge project on Phu Quoc Island.  Vogue Resort in Nha Trang City has chosen AccorHotels, one of the world’s leading hotel management firms, and MBLand selected Pacific for Pan Pacific Danang - Hoi An Resort project. The representative of a real estate firm in Hanoi said that managing large real estate projects requires technologies and skills that Vietnamese firms don’t have. The biggest benefit is that foreign management firms will bring customers. In fact, the hotels with medium standards can be managed by Vietnamese firms. Meanwhile, luxury hotels need to be managed by foreign firms if they want to attract international guests. AccorHotels is one of the world’s largest hotel management conglomerates which now manages 3,800 hotels in 92 countries under different brands such as Sofitel, Pullman, Novotel and MGallery. Welham is the manager of Lotus Residences, Son Kim EXS Capital, VSP Vietnam, Sheraton Hotel, The Costa Nha Trang and Sai Gon Tower. “The world hotel brands have hundreds of year experience, so they have many frequent customers. Therefore, hiring international management firms will ensure sustainable revenue,” he commented. Knight Frank and Graham Associates said that the cooperation with international brands will help investors get high benefits from leasing and increase capital value. The projects with international management brands can be transferred at 20-30 percent prices higher than other projects. The income from leasing is always higher thanks to the high occupancy rate. However, analysts said it is not easy to find international management firms for cooperation. CEO’s president said prestigious management firms are always very choosy when selecting partners. Therefore, project developers need to have powerful capability and satisfy strict requirements on design, construction quality, interior decoration and services. Thanh Lich, VNN