From Sleeping in a Hanoi Market to Owning Hotels

Nguyen Quang Quang grew up in an impoverished province near Hanoi, where his parents struggled to feed the family. In the 1990s, at the age of 12, he dropped out of school and went to the capital to find work.

Employers turned him away because of his slight build and young face. After days without food, he began doing odd jobs at Chau Long Market, scrubbing tables for pork vendors and plucking poultry, until his hands blistered and became infected. He had no shelter, and VnExpress International reports that he was homeless in the market for nearly three years, until a vendor took him in as a household helper. The article is not consistent on the length, since he also speaks of seven years of scraping by in the market.

At 19, a vendor's younger brother asked him about his dream. Quang said he wanted to work in a hotel, inspired by the hotel staff he had seen near the market. After an interview in 2000, he joined Koto, a social enterprise that trains disadvantaged young people in hospitality. He trained as a waiter and was paid a sponsor-funded salary in his first month.

He graduated in 2002 and did six-month stints at hotels including the Metropole and the Sheraton. Around 2004 he and two friends opened a pub at Mui Ne Beach, which became popular within two months thanks to music chosen for foreign tourists. About five years later he opened a bar in downtown Hanoi, and over the next eight years he expanded to several venues in tourist areas.

Covid-19 hurt his bars and hotels, but he recovered them. He now owns entertainment venues across Vietnam, along with hotels.