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Hanoi local Minh Ha says she called nearly 10 hotels on Nguyen Thai Hoc and Kim Ma streets on Aug. 11 in the hope of booking a room for her family on Sept. 1, but found no vacancies.

“My family lives in My Dinh Ward, about 15 kilometers away, but we wanted to stay downtown to watch the parade and enjoy the Old Quarter at night. Either there are no rooms left or the prices are too high.”

Kim Chi, an office worker in Hanoi, says she had tried since mid-July to book three rooms for seven colleagues from Ho Chi Minh City, but hotels were full from Aug. 31 to Sept. 1.

Read found most hotels along Nguyen Thai Hoc Street are already full. Others have doubled or tripled their rates to VND1.5- 2 million ($57 – $76), with some quoting as much as VND5 million ($190) for rooms with balconies overlooking the parade route.

Nguyen Thai Hoc and Kim Ma streets form part of the parade route and are situated near the Old Quarter and major landmarks like the Temple of Literature and the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long.

Homestays and higher-end hotels report similar demand. A homestay owner in Ngoc Ha Ward said all 10 of her rooms were booked back in July. Last-minute cancellations were filled immediately.

Luxury properties are also filling quickly. The five-star Pan Pacific Hanoi, within walking distance of Ba Dinh Square, is 80% full on Sept. 1 and 2, while Hanoi Daewoo Hotel has sold more than 90% of its rooms and earmarked a few for international delegations.

Nguyen Thanh Thuy, Pan Pacific’s marketing and communications manager, says: “We’ve received a surge of requests from domestic guests, especially from the south. Bookings are nearly double compared to last year, and we expect occupancy to reach 90 – 95%, the highest of any holiday period so far.”

Many visitors are also choosing the Old Quarter, where rooms are still available but mostly at premium rates.

Listings on Agoda and Booking.com show limited vacancies priced at VND2 – 3 million ($76 – $114) a night.

According to Hanoi-based travel agencies, most visitors during the upcoming holidays are families, veterans and groups of friends traveling independently rather than on package tours. They expect the remaining hotel rooms in central Hanoi to be fully booked within days.

The pageant to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day will begin at 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 2 at Ba Dinh Square with over 16,000 service members and be followed by citywide fireworks and cultural events.