How to find hotels and motels for last-minute room rentals during the National Day holiday on September 2

Contact and negotiate directly with the hotel

Call the hotel directly:This is the fastest way to find a room when online bookings are full. Many hotels often have last minute cancellations, so calling directly gives you the chance to secure a room immediately due to a cancellation.

Speak directly to the manager or front desk. In fact, some travelers say they call the hotel directly and have had 85% success in getting last-minute reservations when they speak to the manager.

Request to join waiting list:If the hotel is currently fully booked, politely ask if they have a waitlist for cancellations. Many places maintain these lists for guests with special needs. You can call back every few days (or every day) to get an update on availability.

Reserve room:While you wait for your preferred hotel, book a free-cancel room elsewhere as a backup. This ensures that you are not caught off guard. If the hotel you want is still unavailable close to your desired date, at least you have an alternative.

Flexible negotiation:When contacting directly, don’t be afraid to ask about different room types. Maybe the room you want is sold out, but the hotel has a higher-end room that’s not listed yet, or a VIP suite.

With an unlimited budget, you can negotiate an upgrade to a higher-end room or add-on services to convince the hotel. Some high-end hotels even keep 1-2 “backup” rooms that are not sold online for the hotel owner or VIP guests at the last minute.

Leverage relationships in the travel industry

When the mainstream channels are full, tap into your personal connections in the travel industry:

Thanks to travel agents and local tour operators:In Hanoi, there are many large travel companies (Vietravel, HanoiRedtour, Saigontourist, etc.) that often reserve a number of rooms for group tours and events. Contact them, if you are lucky, they have extra rooms in their allotment that can be resold. Many times, hotels sell blocks of rooms to partners and only return unsold rooms when the date is near. You can go around through agents to buy these remaining rooms.

Personal relationship with the hotel:If you know someone who works in the hotel (manager, receptionist, sales, etc.), take advantage of that connection. Hotel insiders often know whether there are any VIP guests expected that day, or which rooms can be rented temporarily. Sometimes, the manager can be flexible in changing the purpose of a room (e.g. a room under maintenance or a staff room) to help you.

Keep in close touch:If you stay at a hotel in Hanoi regularly, call the manager using your loyalty card. Hotels always give priority to close acquaintances. Even if you have booked through an OTA before, contact them directly this time and remind them that you are a regular (if possible, quote your loyalty card or previous stay). The hotel may give you priority over strangers when there are cancellations.

Use little-known booking apps and websites

In addition to the popular booking sites (Booking, Agoda, Traveloka, Expedia, etc.), you should try out these specialized apps and websites for last-minute bookings when everyone else is using the regular channels:

HotelTonight & One:Night:These are two internationally famous mobile apps for same-day or last-minute bookings. Many hotels cooperate with these apps to release last-minute vacancies at preferential prices. In Vietnam, not many people know about them.

According to VnExpress, HotelTonight and One:Night specialize in helping customers find last-minute rooms at good prices, even updating discounted prices for rooms that night early every morning.

Last minute “deal” sites:In addition to apps, check out websites that aggregate last-minute deals. Hotels.com and Hotwire, for example, often list deals for last-minute bookings (1-2 days before check-in).

Flash sales:Secret Escapes is a site that specializes in flash sales for luxury hotels, and you may find Hanoi rooms discounted unexpectedly for this weekend. The most attractive last-minute deals for the same night are usually released in the morning (7-9am), when the hotel is sure of the remaining rooms available to sell.

Open Hotel Alert Tool:This is a little-known but very useful service. This website allows you to sign up to receive alerts when the desired hotel has a room available. You enter the date and hotel in Hanoi, enter your email/SMS, if a room opens, the system will notify you immediately.

Find “holes” on multiple OTAs:Sometimes, a hotel may be sold out on one site but still available on another. This is due to room allocation to different OTAs. Use meta-search tools like Google Travel, Trivago... enter the date and see results from a series of sites. Sometimes Agoda says sold out but Expedia has one last room left (or vice versa).

Some platforms like Google or Trivago have hotel maps:You should zoom into the Hanoi area, sometimes you will see a small hotel with rooms that you cannot find when searching for the specific name. Take advantage of all the lesser-known OTA channels: for example Mytour.vn, Vntrip.vn, or international OTAs that are not used by many Vietnamese people such as Priceline, Ctrip (Trip.com)… Who knows, you might find a vacant room there.

Find on Facebook:Groups like “Hanoi serviced apartments for rent”, “Hanoi homestay”… often have people posting rooms and apartments for rent by the day. These are not exactly hotels but can provide temporary accommodation with full amenities.

Roomer Travel buys other people's reservations:A unique way to get a last-minute room is to buy someone else’s unused reservation. RoomerTravel.com allows people who have hotel reservations but are stuck with plans to resell their rooms (usually non-refundable, non-cancelable reservations). You can search for “rooms for sale” in Hanoi.

Track integrated travel apps:Sometimes, airline booking apps or airline memberships will have a section for booking hotels with last-minute deals. Check Traveloka (Last Minute Hotel section), Trip.com, or even Grab in Vietnam (Grab has integrated hotel booking through partners). These places are not as crowded with people looking for hotels, so you are more likely to find rooms available.

Alternative accommodation options (serviced apartments, motels, homestays)

When traditional hotels are all "sold out", you can expand your search to other types of accommodation, sometimes with surprising results:

Serviced Apartment:Hanoi has many short-term serviced apartments, from high-end to budget. These places are often less thought of by tourists, so the possibility of having more space than hotels. The advantage of serviced apartments is that they are spacious and comfortable like at home - with kitchen, washing machine, living room... suitable if you are traveling in a group or family.

Homestays and luxury accommodations: Homestays here are not exactly the usual type of homestays, but there are many beautifully designed homestays for short-term rental in Hanoi (popular on Airbnb). Sometimes the hosts do not list their homestays on major OTAs, so there are still rooms available while the hotels are fully booked. You can find homestays, mini villas, studios, etc. and book directly with the hosts via Airbnb.

Mini hotel, hourly motel:In Hanoi, there are many mini hotels and motels that do not advertise widely online. They usually serve domestic and short-term guests, so they rarely appear on Booking/Agoda. However, most of these motels still have overnight rooms for regular tourists, and the prices are also cheaper. You can go to Go2Joy, HotelQuickly (HotelQuickly used to be quite popular for last-minute bookings in Vietnam) to find motels by the hour or overnight.

High-class hostels and dorms:When private hotels are full, one option that many people overlook is hostels and dorms (bunk beds or capsule hostels). Hanoi has many modern hostels, some of which have private rooms for 2 people with quite good facilities (private bathroom, air conditioning, etc.).

You can search on Hostelworld or Booking (filter by hostel type). During peak season, business people or families often do not choose hostels, so who knows, there may still be room for you. For example, in the old quarter, there are hostels like Little Charm, Hanoi Buffalo Hostel… that still have private rooms. The price can be very cheap compared to hotels, but the important thing is that you have a place to stay.

If you don’t mind sharing a room, a dorm bed is the ultimate solution, both economical and a new experience. However, with a generous budget, you should prioritize a private room in a hostel or a 3-star hotel far from the center rather than staying in a crowded dorm.

Use premium booking services and insider privileges

When budget is no object, take advantage of premium concierge services and under-the-radar membership perks:

Concierge credit card and luxury travel agency:If you have a premium credit card (e.g. American Express Platinum, Visa Signature/Infinite, MasterCard World Elite) or are part of a bank's elite customer program, call their concierge service right away.

These units have their own network and international relations with 5-star hotels. Often, they can have a room available that guests usually do not see.

Hotel membership privileges:Check to see if you (or your company) have a loyalty membership with a major hotel chain. Programs like Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, IHG One Rewards, etc. at the highest level often have a 48-hour guaranteed room availability commitment for premium members.

Luxury travel agency networks (Virtuoso, etc.):If you know a luxury travel agent or a member of a network like Virtuoso or AMEX Fine Hotels & Resorts, take advantage of them. These agents often have their own room quotas or direct relationships with luxury hotel managers. They may know about “unreleased” rooms or special packages.

Book through special channels:Along with searching on your own, you should also try premium booking channels like American Express FHR, Visa Luxury Hotel Collection or Mastercard Travel & Lifestyle Services. These channels (for premium cardholders) sometimes reserve some rooms for their guests, even when the general market is full.