Nguyen Thi Lan is a savvy business woman. Her hotel knowledge and people skills come from real-world experience. Her talents in the kitchen, come from her sheer joy of cooking.

    Lan was born in Thanh Hoa, a coastal town about 2.5 hours from Cua Lo (she moved here in 2018—a relative newcomer).

    “I choose to operate my hotel in Cua Lo, because having traveled through much of Vietnam, I recognized Cua Lo as a place with great potential for growth. Cua Lo also remains very natural, the people are extremely friendly—it’s not over developed, or over commercialized. Cua Lo is very homey and intimate and that’s the way I like to operate my business.”

    Lan has a pretty impressive pedigree as far as hotel management goes. After starting her career as a preschool teacher (a great place to hone people/patience skills), she went to work at a hotel in the popular resort town of Sam Son.

    “I worked my way up the ladder pretty quickly. Before long, I was offered the opportunity to manage a small hotel in Sam Son. From there, I went to the greener pastures of Da Nang, where I actually rented a hotel and converted it into my own.”

     And that’s the business model she’s brought with her to Cua Lo.

    “I operate the Binh Minh in the same fashion, as a hands-on manager. Despite the fact that I don’t own the building, it’s my baby, as they say.”

    And it’s a big baby—seventy rooms!

    “I believe what makes my hotel special is that fact that I treat my guests as special—as family. I have built my business on social media, but mostly by word-of-mouth. Return customers and references drive my business. People come and stay and either return or send their friends.”

     There are a few layers of hotel accommodations in Cua Lo. From the simple, few room, Homestays, to the many, modest hotels (in which I include the Binh Minh), to the high-end resort types. There is plenty of competition in that second tier and from what I’ve seen, they are all on fairly equal footing—clean, comfortable with reasonable rates (year-round). But I think what sets Binh Minh apart is Lan’s social skills and especially her cooking!

    “I love to cook. And I’ve been cooking since my childhood. Even though most of the menus in the local hotels are similar, or the same, mine food tastes like it comes from my kitchen—because it does!”

    Minh is a gracious host and very hands-on. And while she has a staff, she trains them personally—from housekeeping to the front desk. When you enter the Binh Minh, you truly feel you’ve entered Lan’s home and that you are a part of her family…