Korean hospitality startup Jienem enters Vietnam with local partners

Guesthouse accommodation service provider Jienem is revving up to enter the Vietnamese market.

The South Korean startup announced Wednesday that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Vietnam’s property tech startup MMM Hospitality Co. and hotel franchise CHI Hospitality International to enter the fast-growing market. 

MNM Hospitality is the operator of Livie, a hospitality brand widely recognized in Southeast Asia. The company directly runs five Livie locations in Vietnam and manages more than 300 rooms at hotels, resorts and residential buildings.

CHI Hospitality International is a real estate affiliate of CHI Company Group and runs the hotel brand Stay7 and resorts throughout Vietnam. 

Through the MOU, Jienem has secured 200 rooms at hotels, resorts and residential buildings throughout Vietnam for its new business Y Collection Stay, which provides mid- to long-term stay residences. 

The company plans to secure more Y Collection accommodations in the resort areas of Danang, Na Trang and Phu Quoc by the year’s end. 

There are approximately 5,000 rooms managed under the Y Collection brand in and outside of Korea. Jienem plans to increase the number to above 10,000 by the early half of next year. 

Jienem plans to build a close network of local partners in Vietnam and utilize the network to expand into the rest of Southeast Asia and Japan going forward. 

Write to Lan Heo at why@hankyung.com
Jee Abbey Lee edited this article.