For some young Vietnamese, renting a holiday ‘partner’ eases Lunar New Year pressure

To cope, some are turning to a growing but discreet market: renting a boyfriend or girlfriend for the holiday.

Thong, 30, who manages a household goods shop in Ho Chi Minh City, said he had considered hiring a woman to pose as his girlfriend for several days during the Lunar New Year holiday, due in a week. 

He said the goal was not romance but peace.

Thong said he recently ended a four-year long-distance relationship and was not ready to start a new one. 

In previous years, his former partner had visited his family during the holiday, and this year he felt unprepared to face questions from relatives.

He said the arrangement he sought was straightforward: a woman aged over 22, with a neat appearance, who could accompany him for two or three days to his hometown of Da Lat in Lam Dong Province, meet his parents, visit relatives, and join holiday outings. 

Thong would cover all expenses.

Thong said the daily fee ranged from VND500,000 (US$19) to VND1 million ($38), depending on expectations such as hand-holding or other limited physical gestures. 

He said he was conflicted about the plan but viewed it as a temporary solution.

Another man, Minh, 25, who helps run his family's business at a wholesale market in Ho Chi Minh City, said he was also searching for a rented partner ahead of a trip home to Ca Mau Province.

Minh said he worked night shifts and had little time to socialize, making it difficult to form relationships. 

During the holidays, he said, repeated questions about marriage were exhausting. 

He offered a similar daily fee and said arrangements could include sightseeing during the day and meals in the evening.

A discreet market online

Such services are rarely advertised openly. 

Instead, they operate inside private social media groups with tens or even hundreds of thousands of members, where users post requests or promote companionship services.

In one closed group, a woman using the name Thao V. described offering full-day dating services around Ho Chi Minh City, including meals, social events, and private movie rooms. 

Her posts also promoted light physical contact as part of the service.

In another group, a user operating under the name Be Xinh presented herself in a more formal manner, asking clients about their location and needs before offering a personal profile that included age, height, education status, and social skills. 

She quoted a standard fee and requested a deposit to reserve time and prepare clothing and make-up.

The services, once limited to brief public outings, have expanded to longer trips and overnight travel, blurring the lines between companionship, entertainment, and other arrangements.

Psychologist Nguyen Thi Tam of the Hon Viet Psychological Science Training and Application Center said the trend reflected shifting attitudes among young people toward marriage and long-term commitment, alongside rising economic pressure and changing lifestyle priorities.

She said traditional expectations around marriage remained strong in Vietnam, creating a gap between parental expectations and the choices of younger generations. 

That mismatch, she said, was driving some young people to seek temporary solutions, particularly during family-centered holidays.

From a legal perspective, lawyer Le Van Thuyet of the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association said renting companionship for social events or family gatherings did not violate the law if it remained within socially acceptable and non-exploitative boundaries.

However, he said any arrangement that crossed into violations of dignity, personal safety, public morality or disguised commercial sex could be subject to legal penalties under Vietnamese law, regardless of how the service was labeled.