Spalba’s big Vietnam push: 2 new properties signal major Southeast Asia expansion

The Vietnam foray is part of Spalba's broader APAC expansion strategy, with the company targeting 100% growth this year and plans to expand its footprint to more than 80 cities globally. It is also working towards building a network of over 100,000 active event spaces by 2027, with Southeast Asia expected to be an important growth market.

Vietnam's emergence as a manufacturing and corporate hub, coupled with rising tourism and international business travel, has strengthened its position as a MICE destination. Ho Chi Minh City, in particular, has emerged as a major market for conferences, incentives and corporate events, attracting a growing number of international planners.

Spalba sees an opportunity to address a largely manual pre-event planning process in the market. Venue discovery alone can take two to four weeks, with planners often relying on calls, physical site visits and multiple rounds of coordination before finalising a venue.

“Vietnam represents more than a new geography for us. It is an opportunity to participate in the next phase of how the region's event infrastructure is built,” said Vishal Puri, Co-Founder, Spalba. “As corporate and MICE activity becomes increasingly cross-border, the industry needs infrastructure that makes venues discoverable, comparable and actionable without requiring planners to be physically present at every stage. We see the future moving from fragmented venue discovery to a connected operating layer for the entire event ecosystem.”

Spalba's digital twin technology allows planners and corporate clients to virtually explore venues, assess spaces and visualise layouts before travelling for a physical recce. The company said the technology can help properties reduce sales cycles by up to 60%.

The platform also includes event mock-ups and Praloop, its AI-powered project management platform, aimed at bringing more of the event planning workflow onto a single digital layer.

In the near term, Spalba will serve the Vietnam market through its Singapore and India hubs. Its specialised teams will conduct on-ground 3D shoots at properties, with each digitisation exercise typically taking two to four days.

The company plans to onboard more premium venues across Vietnam as it builds density in the market and will evaluate establishing a local presence as operations scale.

The Vietnam entry is part of Spalba's wider APAC expansion strategy, with the company looking to build a connected digital infrastructure for venues, planners and vendors as it scales across Southeast Asia.