A court beside the beach: Sheraton Da Nang starts selling the holiday you can play

ベトナム中部ダナンの5つ星リゾート「シェラトン・グランド・ダナン・ビーチリゾート＆スパ」が、2026年6月、ビーチフロントにピックルボール専用コートを開設しました。目を引くのはコートそのものではなく、売り方です。ホイアン伝統のかご舟体験や250mのインフィニティプールと組み合わせ、「アクティブに過ごす休暇」というパッケージの中核として打ち出しました。コートを作って終わりにせず、コートを宿泊予約の理由に変える——この設計は、コート設置が始まったばかりの日本の温泉地・リゾートホテルにとって、そのまま教材になります。

What opened — one regulation court sold together with a cultural experience

According to the Asian pickleball outlet pickle.asia and local reports, what opened is a single regulation court measuring 19.7m by 10.2m. A multi-layer cushioned surface eases the load on knees, and LED lighting keeps it open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Olaben paddles and balls are provided free, so guests who arrive empty-handed can start a game on the spot.

General manager Emilio Fortini said today's travelers are looking for more than a beach vacation, framing the court as a facility that answers guests' wish to move their bodies, reconnect with the people who matter to them, and discover where they are staying in a meaningful way.

Starting at the same time is a spinning performance in the round basket boats handed down in Hoi An's Bay Mau coconut forest. A staple activity of central Vietnam tourism has been recreated on the resort grounds, bundling sport and local cultural experience into a single stay. From July 1 to September 23 the resort is also running a summer promotion with 5% off rooms, 10% off food and drink, and free daily ice cream for children, turning the court opening straight into a draw for the summer season.

Da Nang, World Cup host — how 300-yen-an-hour city courts and a five-star resort split the market

For context, Da Nang is one of the centers of Vietnam's pickleball boom. It has been chosen to host the 2026 Pickleball World Cup, and private courts keep opening across the city. A court guide published by the local Novotel Danang lists seven private venues in the city, priced at 40,000 to 180,000 dong per hour (about 240 to 1,080 yen, converting 10,000 dong at about 60 yen here and below). Across Vietnam as a whole,a military-affiliated bank has gone as far as taking the title sponsorship of the PPA pro tour, and that is how much corporate money is flowing into the country.

The Sheraton, in other words, is not competing with cheap city courts on price. In a city where you can play for a few hundred yen an hour, a court on its own is no longer a product. That is why the resort goes all in on value city courts cannot copy: right on the beach, equipment included so guests can arrive empty-handed, and operation bundled with basket boats and water yoga.A Florida resort opening a court floating on the water at the end of its piercame from the same thinking: a resort court is designed not as competition infrastructure but as a device for a stay guests will remember.

現地の受け止め——市の観光ポータルが多言語で発信

What stands out in the reaction is the breadth of the coverage. pickle.asia framed it as one more serious reason for Asian picklers to book a flight to Vietnam, noting that Da Nang, with direct flights from cities across the region, is within weekend-trip range. Da Nang's official tourism portal, Danang FantastiCity, carried the opening as promotional information on multilingual pages including Japanese. One hotel's facility opening is being handled as tourism material for the whole city. Local IT news outlets also picked it up from the release in late June, and the fact that a sports facility opening becomes news on tech media says something about how much attention the sport draws in Vietnam. Rivals moved quickly too: Novotel Danang, mentioned above, put a guide to seven city courts on its own site, turning court information for guests into marketing content.

Four lessons for Japanese resorts that stop at building the court

Resort pickleball is moving in Japan as well.Rusutsu Resort has built eight dedicated courts and brought in a title tournament, shaping a new kind of trip: a summer swing through Hokkaido. Most facilities, though, stop at having built the court, and turning that into a reason to book is still ahead. Four elements can be pulled from the Sheraton's design.

1. Embed it in the context of the stay

Japanese properties already have their own equivalent of the Sheraton's basket boats: after-bath table tennis, harvest experiences in the hills, morning markets at fishing ports. A hot spring inn adding pickleball should sell it as a two-day schedule built from hot springs, light sport and local experience. Putting one photo of the court on the official site will not move bookings.

2. Remove the mental barrier with an empty-handed setup

Free paddle rental removes the beginner's reason to hesitate over not owning gear. A property in Japan only delivers an anyone-can-play experience once loaner paddles, balls and a posted set of beginner rules are all in place. Pickleball's low barrier to entry among racket sports only works when the equipment is already there on site.

3. Design the hours

Running from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. under LED lighting is a schedule built around the gaps before and after check-in and around avoiding midday heat. Outdoor courts through a Japanese summer also see the quality of their utilization change depending on whether they run morning and evening sessions or open for night play. Setting opening hours along the guest's daily movement is what only a lodging operator can do.

4. Launch it together with a promotion

The Sheraton announced the court opening and its summer discount at the same time. The discount itself is modest at 5 to 10%, but presenting a new experience and a reason to book now in the same breath is what pushes reservations along. Capital spending should be treated as starting to pay back only once it is bundled with a campaign that puts it in the lead role.

Ripple effects — Asia starts competing to be a pickleball destination

In Vietnam, pickleball has reached the scale of a social phenomenon, from corporate welfare tournaments to bids for pro tour stops. With the Da Nang World Cup ahead, hotel courts become vessels for itineraries that combine watching the event and playing yourself. If Da Nang, linked by direct flights from cities across Asia, establishes itself as a pickleball travel destination, Japanese resorts on the same air routes will find themselves being compared whether they like it or not. Japan is ahead on the competitive side of internationalization, with events such as the Tokyo Open in Tachikawa, but putting courts to work in the holiday market is close to a blank space, which also means first-mover advantage is still on the table. When picklers overseas learn they can play at a Japanese hot spring inn, that can become a strong reason to travel.

Practical information

Takeaway — what hot spring and resort operators can do this week

What Sheraton Grand Danang showed is that a pickleball court can become a reason to book that moves room occupancy. Four moves are open to operators in Japan right away: (1) check whether existing tennis courts or multipurpose grounds can be converted, and inspect the lighting; (2) stock loaner paddles and balls and state clearly that guests can come empty-handed; (3) build a two-day model itinerary combining the court with local cultural experiences; (4) announce the opening together with discounts or perks, and get it onto the regional tourism portal in several languages. Japanese resorts have entered the phase where the difference comes not from having a court but from how the court is sold.

Sources

• pickle.asia: A beachfront pickleball court just opened in Da Nang
• Danang FantastiCity (Da Nang official tourism portal): From Pickleball to Hoi An’s Basket Boat Spinning
• Tech.MediaOnline: Sheraton Grand Danang có thêm sân chơi pickleball
• Novotel Danang Premier: Discover 7 Beautiful Pickleball Courts in Da Nang