Saigontourist buying $44 million hotel in the US

      The travel service company Saigontourist is near to finalizing a deal to purchase a hotel in San Francisco. Saigontourist hopes a program of hotel purchases in major destinations abroad will create a breakthrough in its business.
Saigontourist General Director Nguyen Huu Tho on June 24 confirmed that the travel service company has hired a US law firm, Baker & McKenzie, to help complete negotiations for the property.
Tho said that if everything goes smoothly, the deal will be wrapped up by the end of 2009. The hotel Saigontourist is purchasing is located on North Point Street in the Fisherman’s Wharf area of San Francisco, California. Fisherman’s Wharf is the city’s top tourist destination. Many hotels with big brand names like Intercontinental, Hilton, Sheraton, Hyatt and Marriot are located on the same street.
According to Tho, the the hotel was initially offered at $55 million. However, the price has been lowered to $44 million during the negotiation.
“Baker & McKenzie introduced several hotels to us, all leading hotels in big cities in the US. However, US laws do not permit us to conduct negotiations to purchase many hotels at the same time,” Tho said.
The Saigontourist chief confirmed that this is for the first time the company has sought to purchase a hotel in another country. Regarding the procedures, he said that after the two parties finish the price negotiations, a third party will inspect the hotel. The seller will have to repair any problems before it is handed over to Saigontourist. The money for the hotel will be remitted to a third party (put into escrow) before it is transferred to the seller.
Tho said that if the deal on purchasing the hotel in the western US metropolis succeeds, Saigontourist will carry out plans to purchase hotels in Tokyo, Berlin, Hong Kong and Moscow. Saingontourist experts are now in the Japanese capital on such a mission.
Saigontourist is targeting three-star hotels which have more than 200 rooms and are located in the central area of cities.
Tho said the company’s objective is to increase the turnover of the company and help gain the confidence of US tourists. In just a few months, guests will be able to enjoy Vietnamese meals at a hotel owned by Vietnamese people right in the US.
Tho also hopes that successful investments in foreign hotels will help make Saigontourist become an international brand name.
Tho said that the hotels will be managed initially by a foreign company under the supervision of Saigontourist, until the company is more familiar with the market unfamiliar and better understands the laws of the host country.