Local karaoke in Ho Chi Minh City — 11 questions answered: prices, tips, VAT and booking

Two guests in a standard room for three hours with two hostesses come to 9,436,040₫, about 4,720,000₫ per guest. That includes the room, drinks, food, service charge, booking discount, VAT and tips.

The same two guests without hostesses come to 6,446,040₫.

For a different group or length of stay, use the booking calculator; the total appears straight away.

By the hour: standard 690,000₫, VIP 890,000₫ and VVIP 1,450,000₫. Three hours means three times the rate. Sizes and photos of each room are on the rooms page.

There are two. A fixed tip of 1,500,000₫ per room — 1,000,000₫ for the madam and 500,000₫ for the waiter — whatever the group size; two rooms pay it twice. And 1,000,000₫ per hostess, only for the hostesses you ask for.

Tips are cash only, take no booking discount and carry no VAT, so bring Vietnamese dong.

Everything else can go on a card, with a fee of 3.2% on Visa and 4% on Mastercard or AmEx. The minimum spend is 3,000,000₫ for room, drinks and food together.

Our rule of thumb is 500,000₫ a head, counting guests and hostesses alike, so two guests with two hostesses budget 2,000,000₫.

If you would rather pick bottles yourself, every spirit, wine and beer is priced on the price list.

There is no fixed food menu; fruit and snacks come as you order them. The calculator assumes 1,500,000₫ per table, and the real figure depends on what you order.

500,000₫ once per room, however many guests and however long you stay. Unlike tips it is the venue's revenue, so it takes the 10% booking discount and carries 8% VAT.

The statutory Vietnamese rates: 10% on alcohol, 8% on the room, food and service charge, and none on tips. VAT is worked out after the booking discount is taken off.

Mostly in how the price is built. Korean-run venues usually sell a set — room, drinks, snacks and hostess at one known price, with low tips. A local venue charges each item separately, and over a whole evening it usually comes to 15–20% more. Many people assume local is cheaper; it is the reverse.

People choose local for the atmosphere: livelier and showier. The real weakness of local karaoke is not the price but not knowing it in advance, which is why Luxury 21 publishes every price on this site. More in local vs Korean-run karaoke.

Bookings and questions are handled by message in English, Korean, Chinese and Vietnamese — on KakaoTalk, WeChat, Zalo, WhatsApp or by phone. In the room, English works best, so it helps to settle your order and any special requests when you book.

You can walk in, but booking changes three things: 10% off the room, drinks, food and service charge (not tips); a manager assigned to your table before you arrive; and first pick of the rooms at busy times.

Book on WhatsApp or Zalo at 0387 241 967, on KakaoTalk, or with the booking form on this site.

Open every day from 14:30 to 03:00. The address is 21 Bùi Thị Xuân, Phường Bến Thành, Quận 1, Ho Chi Minh City, near Ben Thanh market — show it to your Grab driver as written.