Joint Circular No. 1192/TT-LB guides the conversion of guesthouses and rest houses of ministries, sectors, mass organizations, and provincial/municipal people's committees under the central government to operate as tourist hotels.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for converting guesthouses and lodges of ministries, sectors, mass organizations, and provincial/municipal people's committees under the central government to operate as tourist hotels.

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Pursuant to Decision No. 317/TTg dated June 29, 1993 of the Prime Minister on the conversion of guesthouses and lodges of ministries, sectors, mass organizations, and provincial/municipal people's committees under the central government to operate as tourist hotels under the current business enterprise mechanism, the General Department of Tourism, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Construction hereby provide the following guidelines:

I/ GENERAL PROVISIONS:

1/ Purpose:

The conversion of guesthouses and lodges to operate as tourist hotels aims at:

- Utilizing guesthouse and lodge facilities more effectively for receiving and serving tourists;

- Unifying tourism business management and establishing order in the hotel tourism business sector, ensuring equality in competition among businesses;

- Enhancing service quality, capital efficiency, and utilization of existing technical facilities of guesthouses and lodges.

2/ Scope and Applicability:

2.1/ Guesthouses and lodges of ministries, sectors, central and local mass organizations, and enterprises (including those registered and unregistered under Decree No. 388/HĐBT dated November 20, 1991 and Circular No. 283/CN dated January 16, 1993 on managing economic units of the Party and mass organizations) that meet the conditions specified in Section 1 of Part II of this Circular shall be converted to operate as tourist hotels.

In cases where the enterprise's supervisory authority has a need to serve its officials and employees within the industry, a proportion of rooms may be reserved for such needs.

For the system of labor union guesthouses, in addition to reserving a proportion for the aforementioned purposes, another proportion may be reserved to fulfill tasks of serving workers according to the current social insurance regulations. Each year, enterprises must prepare plans including proportions reserved for serving officials and employees within the industry and serving workers, submit them for approval by the supervisory authority, and register with the Tax Revenue Office.

2.2/ Guesthouses and lodges within the above scope, once converted to operate as tourist hotels, will be subject to state management over tourism business operations by the tourism sector, but ownership rights and other management aspects will still be managed by the supervisory authority according to current state regulations.

2.3/ Only tourist hotels that have been granted a business license for international hotels by the General Department of Tourism may accept foreign guests for accommodation.

3/ Content of State Management Over Tourism Business Operations for the Above Entities Includes:

- Guiding the organization of tourism business operations and specialized professional activities in accordance with current regulations of the tourism sector and the state.

- Assisting in promoting and advertising domestic and international hotel tourism, finding markets and investment partners.

- Assisting in training and enhancing professional skills for hotel management staff and professional personnel.

- Inspecting and urging compliance with state laws on tourism business operations.

II/ SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

1/ Conditions for Conversion to Operate as Tourist Hotels:

To convert to operate as tourist hotels, guesthouses and lodges must meet the following conditions:

- Possess technical facilities and staff as stipulated in Appendix No. 1 of this Circular.

- Be operating under a business establishment permit issued in accordance with Decree No. 388/HĐBT dated November 20, 1991, or a temporary operation permit issued by the competent authority as guided in Government Circular No. 1188/KTN dated March 26, 1993.

2/ Procedures for Converting Guesthouses and Lodges to Operate as Tourist Hotels:

2.1/ For guesthouses and lodges belonging to enterprises established under Decree No. 388/HĐBT, regardless of whether they belong to central ministries or local entities, three sets of application files should be prepared and submitted to the General Department of Tourism. The files include:

- Application form for adding hotel business operations (Appendix No. 2A).

- Inventory of facilities (Appendix No. 3).

- List of staff (Appendix No. 4).

- Establishment decision of the enterprise (certified copy).

- The Business Registration Certificate (certified copy).

The General Department of Tourism, in collaboration with the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Finance, will examine and approve within thirty days. Based on this examination, the General Department of Tourism will issue a document approving or disapproving permission to operate as a tourist hotel. If the hotel meets international standards, the General Department of Tourism will issue an international hotel business license.

Files not approved will be retained by the General Department of Tourism, which will notify the entity in writing of the reasons for non-approval.

2.2/ For guesthouses and lodges not yet established as enterprises under Decree No. 388/HĐBT wishing to convert to operate as tourist hotels, the following procedures should be followed:

2.2.1/ For guesthouses and lodges under central ministries and sectors:

Prepare and submit files to the General Department of Tourism. The files submitted to the General Department of Tourism are similar to those specified in Article 2.1. These include the application for converting guesthouses and lodges to operate as tourist hotels (Appendix No. 2B), inventory of facilities (Appendix No. 3), list of staff (Appendix No. 4), and the decision of the minister or equivalent authority allowing temporary operation.

The General Department of Tourism, in collaboration with the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Finance, will examine and approve within thirty days. Based on this examination, the General Department of Tourism will issue a temporary approval document for permission to operate as a tourist hotel. If not approved, a written response explaining the reasons for non-approval will be provided. If the hotel meets international standards, the General Department of Tourism will issue an international hotel business license.

2.2.2/ For guesthouses and lodges directly under localities:

Establish a dossier to be sent back to the local tourism management agency. This dossier is similar to that specified in point 2.2.1. In this dossier, the application form shall be filled out according to Appendix 2B, but it must bear the notation "RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED TO" followed by the name of the local tourism management agency (Department of Tourism or Department of Trade and Tourism). The local tourism management agency shall take the lead in coordinating with the Department of Finance and Prices and the Department of Housing (Department of Construction) to examine and appraise, and prepare an appraisal record. Subsequently, send the appraisal record along with the aforementioned dossier to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism for review; if the hotel meets the standards for serving international guests, a recommendation must be noted in the appraisal record.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Finance to review and, based on that, issue a temporary approval document allowing the entity to operate a tourist hotel within the time limit as stipulated in point 2.2.1. If the hotel meets the standards for serving international guests, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism shall issue a business license for an international hotel.

The Appraisal Council consists of representatives from the tourism, construction, and finance sectors with the function of examining and appraising and issuing a permit for enterprises to engage in tourist hotel business. This council does not replace the State Enterprise Appraisal Council under Decree No. 388/CP. In cases where some guesthouses and inns have been temporarily permitted by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism to operate tourist hotels, but later, according to the Government's directive, the State Enterprise Appraisal Council determines that these guesthouses and inns do not meet the criteria for re-registration, then the decision issued by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism will lose its validity.

2.3/ Handling the original value of fixed assets, fixed capital, and working capital of guesthouses and inns that have not registered business operations under Decree No. 388/CP.

Guesthouses and inns that have not conducted an inventory and valuation of fixed assets, fixed capital, and working capital at 00:00 on January 1, 1990, and have not transferred funds or calculated fund preservation shall be guided by their superior management agencies to conduct a new inventory and valuation of assets, calculate fund preservation over two years in accordance with Circular No. 05/TC-CNXD dated March 24, 1992, and Circular No. 15/TC-CN dated March 6, 1993, of the Ministry of Finance.

3/ Responsibilities of tourist hotel enterprises.

When granted permission to operate tourist hotel businesses, enterprises need to fulfill the following responsibilities:

3.1/ Strictly comply with regulations and current laws of the State.

3.2/ Hotels must display signs and post prices. For hotel enterprises with multiple establishments (multiple small establishments combined into one hotel), the sign should indicate the hotel name + 1, 2, 3... For example: Peace Hotel 1; Peace Hotel 2...

3.3/ Strictly adhere to hotel operation regulations and minimum requirements for facilities and service standards set by the tourism sector.

3.4/ Strictly comply with regulations concerning security, social order and safety, safety of guests' lives and property, fire prevention and firefighting regulations, ensuring lighting systems for emergencies, and environmental protection regulations.

III/ IMPLEMENTATION:

1/ Ministries, sectors, Party organizations, mass organizations, People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities must urgently direct the organization, arrangement, guidance, and supervision of guesthouses and inns under their jurisdiction to establish and submit dossiers in accordance with the provisions of this Circular. The latest deadline is June 30, 1994.

2/ Guesthouses and inns meeting the conditions but failing to establish and submit dossiers to convert to tourist hotel operations will continue to serve guests for profit and illegal business activities and will be subject to penalties under current State regulations.

3/ Guesthouses and inns that do not meet the conditions to convert to tourist hotel operations may continue to operate for six months (after obtaining the consent of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism) to upgrade facilities and train staff in accordance with the standards set by the tourism sector, in line with the spirit of Decision No. 317/TTg dated June 29, 1993, of the Prime Minister.

This Circular takes effect from the date of signature. During implementation, if there are any difficulties, they should be promptly reported to the Joint Board for consideration, resolution, and supplementation as appropriate./.