Every question, in one place

No. We operate no consumer website, no direct booking and no consumer advertising. It is easier to keep the non-circumvention commitment when there is nowhere for that traffic to go.

Nothing, and there is no minimum volume. Verification takes two working days, or one if you supply a recognised industry association membership number.

None. Rates are net and you set your own selling price. There is no percentage to negotiate.

Not as a DMC. We would be subcontracting to an operator we hold no contract with and the standard we sell would not apply. We would rather tell you it is outside our coverage than take the booking and hope.

We tell you, with whatever notice we have, and propose alternative dates or an alternative destination. We do not quietly source from an operator outside the agreement — preventing exactly that is the point of the model. It is also its honest limitation in peak season.

Yes — most of our trade partners are outbound agencies and event agencies based elsewhere in Asia and in Europe. Verification is the same process; the documents we ask for differ slightly by jurisdiction.

You can see how rates are built — bands, seasonal multipliers, what is included and what moves the number. The actual figures are released after verification. That is not gatekeeping for its own sake; published net rates would reach end clients within a week and your margin would be the casualty.

None. We sell net and you set your own selling price. There is no commission structure to negotiate, which is why the conversation is about the net figure rather than about percentages.

Yes, and it is the normal case. Client-facing documents carry your identity and no reference to us. See white-label proposals.

Per person, twin share, at your committed minimum headcount. Production and some fixed costs are quoted separately at programme level because they do not scale per head — spreading them across a headcount that then drops is how quotes go wrong.

Seven days as a soft hold at no cost, and the rate is fixed once a deposit converts it. Outside that, rates are reconfirmed against live availability.

On committed annual volume, yes, negotiated at the trade agreement level rather than per booking. It is a structural discount, not something to reopen on each programme.

That is your commercial decision and we deliberately do not advise on it. What we will say is that the retail market for these destinations is wide enough that we see partners working at very different margins, all sustainably.

No. Registration is free and carries no minimum volume commitment.

Two working days in the standard case, one where an association membership number is supplied. If we need something further we ask once, with a specific list, rather than sending you round a loop.

We re-verify annually, which is normally a single confirmation email. An account with no activity for twenty-four months is closed and can be reopened at any time.

Yes. The company is verified, not the individual. Add colleagues on the same company domain without repeating the process.

No. On-site staff carry your programme identity where you have supplied it, and they are briefed not to distribute their own contact details to delegates. If a delegate asks directly, they give your contact.

We expect you to answer honestly if asked directly — a corporate client running a duty-of-care check is entitled to know who is on the ground, and concealing it creates a much larger problem than disclosing it. What the clause protects is solicitation, not the existence of a supply chain.

Yes. The thirty-six month window runs from the last programme delivered, regardless of whether the trade relationship continues.

Yes. Ask and we will send the clause text before you commit to anything. It would be a strange term to be cagey about.

In shoulder season, usually, on request. In October and November, rarely — the inventory has other buyers. We would rather tell you no than hold something we cannot actually keep.

A shortfall of 5–10% against the guaranteed minimum carries no penalty. Below that, the difference is charged, because the rooms and vehicles were contracted on that number. See payment terms.

Yes, and we will point out where the two are not comparable rather than silently matching a lower number by removing something. Usually the gap is gala production, alcohol or the contingency.

The on-site coordinator, with your named account contact reachable in parallel. Both numbers are in the final programme document. Escalation above them is on the SLA page.

Where your client's schedule is later than ours, the gap sits with you — we cannot fund it. Where it is earlier, no problem. Partners with trading history can discuss adjusted terms at the trade agreement level rather than per booking.

No, and this is the reason the seven-day soft hold exists and costs nothing. Use the hold for internal approval and pay the deposit once the decision is made.

Each destination is contracted separately, so the retention applies only to the cancelled leg. This is one of the practical advantages of a single contracting layer over three unrelated DMC agreements.

Not for changes within the programme structure before D-14. After that, only where a supplier charges us — passed through at cost with the supplier's invoice attached, not marked up.

Vietnamese and English as standard. Other languages on request, produced by a translator rather than machine — turnaround extends to about four working days.

Yes, and it works well for large programmes. We attend as your supplier or as a technical specialist, whichever you prefer, and we follow whatever framing you have set with the client. Agree it beforehand rather than mid-call.

Only what is needed for the operational record and for tax and legal retention. Client details are never added to a marketing list. See non-circumvention.

Send the template and we will populate it. Most partners find the branded version faster after the first programme, but if you have an established format your clients recognise, keep it.

While a group is on the ground, yes. Outside programme dates it reverts to business hours and the number in your agreement forwards accordingly. We would rather state the limit than imply a 24/7 desk that does not exist.

You can, and for routine operational matters it is faster. For anything that has become a problem, come to the duty manager instead — the DMC has an interest in resolving it quietly and we have an interest in you knowing about it.

For anything involving injury, illness, a security matter or a material service failure, yes, within 24 hours, in a format suitable for forwarding to a corporate client's risk function.

Raise it within two working days and we produce the supplier invoices behind the disputed line. Amendments are passed through at cost, so the underlying document settles most disputes immediately.

Not as a DMC. We would be subcontracting to an operator we do not hold a contract with, and the standard we sell would not apply. Rather than take the booking and hope, we will tell you it is outside our coverage.

Ask what the evening is for. If it is an awards ceremony that has to land, Ha Long Bay or a Phu Quoc beach gala. If there is real working content, Da Nang. If the group is international and visa handling matters, Phu Quoc. The guide sets this out properly.

No, and it is the single most useful thing to know about Vietnam. The country spans enough latitude that peak in one destination is shoulder in another. The cross-destination calendar.

Yes. Da Nang with Ha Long Bay works well for a five-day programme; Phu Quoc pairs less naturally because the flight routing is longer. Budget an internal flight and half a day of movement.

About 200 in a single property, more only across multiple properties, which changes the programme substantially and should be discussed before it is proposed to a client. Above 250 we would usually recommend Da Nang instead and say why.

It is current policy and it works, with conditions attached — direct international arrival, staying on the island, duration limits. Conditions have been amended before, so we verify against current rules at quote stage rather than repeating what was true last year.

Up to about 120 delegates with two breakouts, in a small number of properties. Beyond that, the island runs out of rooms before it runs out of ambition. We will tell you which properties can do it rather than implying they all can.

Ninety days minimum above 100 guests, 120 for December and January. The constraint is function space rather than bedrooms.

In a single property with breakouts, comfortably 300 and more in a small number of venues. Above that it becomes a venue-selection exercise rather than a destination question, and we would want a site inspection before quoting.

Da Nang, with Hoi An as an evening. The function space, the airport and the property depth are all in Da Nang. Basing a working programme in Hoi An trades all three for atmosphere.

It is the highest-risk month of the year in central Vietnam and we would rather move a programme than take it in October without a contracted alternative. The rates reflect the risk; so should the client conversation.

Yes, and it is the strongest two-destination pairing in our coverage — working content in Da Nang, the incentive evening on the bay. Budget an internal flight and half a day.

Thirty to seventy. Large enough that recognition means something in front of peers, small enough that the group fits on one deck for the evening. Above eighty-eight the format starts working against you.

A short session, yes — an address or a small senior discussion. A conference day, no. There are no breakout rooms and connectivity is unreliable. Propose Da Nang for the working content.

Nothing sails, for any operator. The contracted alternative is a shore programme at a named venue with a written decision deadline. For programmes in the typhoon window this is a condition of acceptance, not an option.

For most programmes, yes. The emotional peak is the first sunset and the first dinner. With three days available, a working day ashore is usually a better use of the third than a second night afloat.

On Phu Quoc, in a small number of properties, with two breakouts rather than four. On Ha Long Bay, no. We will name the properties that can do it rather than implying the destination generally can.

Yes, as a production line item — desk, staffing, badge printing on site and an attendance export. Not included in the delegate package because most programmes do not need it.

Yes in Da Nang, with booths and certified interpreters. On Phu Quoc it is possible with interpreters flown in, which changes the cost. On the bay, only whisper interpretation for a small group.

Ninety days minimum, 120 in peak season. Function space of that size has fewer alternatives than bedrooms and it goes first.

Thirty to seventy. Below thirty an awards dinner can feel thin; above seventy it needs a room or a venue where everyone still sees the stage, which narrows the destination choice considerably.

Yes, and it changes the room arithmetic rather than the per-head rate. Flag it at brief stage because it can move the group across a size band and therefore across a cost threshold.

Typically 6 to 18% of the programme. Below that it will not carry the recognition; above it, the money is usually better spent on the accommodation grade, which every delegate experiences for the whole programme rather than for three hours.

No — that is your client's internal work and it is where most incentive value is actually created. We can supply destination imagery and a programme summary for their announcement materials.

On a small number of beaches in Da Nang, yes. On Phu Quoc, about 250 is the practical ceiling and it depends heavily on the specific stretch. Both need a site visit before the number is confirmed to a client.

Rarely, and only with permits obtained well in advance at specific venues. Not available at the Ha Long anchorages at all. Cold sparklers indoors or on a beach are usually the workable version.

A resort or ballroom venue typically to 23:00 or midnight. On the bay, amplified music stops around 21:45 under the anchorage noise rule, which is set by the bay authority rather than the operator.

We do, from your client's content, and we send it for approval at D-7. Where the client has an internal events team we work to their document instead.

Two usable blocks in a typical three-day programme, and the second is often short. Agendas routinely assume four. If team building is the primary purpose rather than one element, a dedicated venue near a city will deliver more for less.

Yes, with mandatory life jackets and paired equipment so nobody is alone. Supply the numbers at brief stage rather than at the beach.

Yes, bilingual, and scorers above 60 participants. The facilitator and the coordinator are separate roles and we do not merge them — an activity that runs but does not land is usually the result of merging them.

Every outdoor element has a written substitute in the programme document your client receives before travel. When conditions rule the primary out, the substitute runs. Nobody improvises on the day.

There isn't one, and that is the point of the page. Late October to mid-November for Ha Long Bay, February to May for Da Nang, November to March for Phu Quoc. A client with flexible dates should be matched to a destination rather than the reverse.

Up to about 40% between the best and worst month within a destination. Actual figures are in the net sheet behind verification; the multipliers by month are supplied with it.

The lunar new year period effectively closes for about a week and rates either side are unpredictable. We steer corporate programmes away from the two weeks around it in every destination.

The pattern is climatic and stable. Specific years vary — a late typhoon season, an early monsoon. We reconfirm against current conditions at quote stage rather than relying on the table alone.

You can approach any operator in Vietnam, and some will trade with you. What you would be giving up is the escalation layer, the cross-destination standard and the single contract. For a partner running one small programme a year, direct is often the right answer and we will say so.

Then keep that relationship for that destination and use us for the others. We are not going to pretend a working relationship should be broken up for tidiness.

No. They are independent companies with their own registration, licences and insurance, contracted exclusively to us for corporate group business in their destination. The distinction matters for liability and it is stated accurately in the documentation.

We tell you, with as much notice as we have, and we suggest alternative dates or an alternative destination. We do not source quietly from an operator outside the agreement — that is precisely what the model exists to prevent.

Thailand has more depth at very large scale, longer-established suppliers and better long-haul access. Vietnam is better value at four and five star, newer in build, and more distinctive for an incentive. For groups under 300 the comparison is genuinely close; above 500 Thailand wins.

Vietnam typically sits below Thailand and Bali at equivalent grade, and well below Singapore. The specific figures are in the net sheet behind verification, but the positioning is stable enough to use in an early client conversation.

Only if the delegates are Vietnamese. For international groups, English throughout is standard and guides are English-speaking as a matter of course.

Da Nang. It is the most forgiving — the most supply, the best access, the widest range of programme types, and the fewest ways for a first programme to go wrong.