An increasing number of boutique hotels are appearing in Cambodia and attracting foreign investment, insiders say, including a US$2 million investment in the Governor’s House, a newly opened, 10-room boutique hotel in Phnom Penh.

The number of boutique hotels in Cambodia has increased rapidly, particularly in Siem Reap, Luu Meng, president of the Cambodian Hotel Association and owner of the Almond Hotel, says.

High-end tourists such as actors, actresses and other wealthy tourists who like quiet, family-style places usually stay at boutique hotels, Ang Kim Eang, president of the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents, said.

Belgium investor Alain Garnier, founder and CEO of the Governor’s House, said that he invested $2 million in the boutique hotel that soft-launched on Saturday evening, while the grand opening is scheduled for September this year.

He invested up to $500,000 in the construction and completion of the building, but spent approximately $1.5 million on the furniture, interior design, and several imported antiques.

Other botique hotels spend between $3,000 and $8,000 per room on decorations and equipment, while Garnier spent much, much more, he said.

“There is about $200,000 in every room,” he said, adding that prices start at $180 to $420 per room for the soft launch, but the price is scheduled to increase to three or four times the current price in the near future, he said.

The 10-room Little Garden boutique hotel, in Phnom Penh, achieves an approximate 60 per cent occupation rate in the low season and an 80 per cent rate in high season, its owner, Pich Pisey, says.

Both Cambodians and foreigners are interested in running botique hotels here, Pisey says.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rann Reuy at [email protected]