Director of Sales and Marketing Alexandra Hepworth said: “It is a beautiful property and something new for Phnom Penh. In times like this when things are uncertain, with every industry being affected because of the pandemic, being able to open our hotel doors in January is a positive sign for the market and the local community.
Upon entering the hotel’s Colonial House entrance and lobby, guests will find themselves marvelling at a restored royal villa that perfectly blends modern interior decoration elements with the original colonial architecture and structure. The L-shaped towers standing behind the Colonial House consist of 247 guest rooms, nine multifunctional meeting spaces, the Regency Club and FiveFive Rooftop Bar & Restaurant, which has an exquisite view of the Royal Palace and the riverfront. The hotel’s design was created to give a tropical urban retreat feeling to its guests.
Chip Mong are the sole owners of the hotel. The company has a number of other business units including Chip Mong Land, Retail, Chip Mong Bank, golf courses and their hospitality division. Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh is the first hotel to open in the Chip Mong hospitality portfolio.
“There is space in the market for luxury hotel brands to enter. We are not the first and we won’t be the last. Phnom Penh has shown significant growth in investment over the past few years and the interest in investing in this hospitality sub-sector will only continue. When Hyatt first looked at entering the market in 2016, the average room rates in the city were lower than they are now.
Our analysis of which Hyatt brand would fit the project best, pointed to Hyatt’s “Regency” banner as the most natural fit for Phnom Penh’s five-star market, as it caters to the corporate travel sector with its state-of-the-art technology, comfortable rooms and meeting facilities for all occasions,” said Hepworth.
“In terms of our competitor set we do not see ourselves in direct competition with the Rosewood Phnom Penh. It really does stand out as a singularly unique property. But with this property entering the market, this showed us that there is demand for high-end products,” she added.
Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh features apartment-style living on the lower levels of its accommodation floors, complete with either an attached kitchen or separate living room. The hotel also has two-bedroom apartments, perfect for families or longer stays. Hepworth believes there is enough demand for this inventory in the market because of the volume of long-stay business here, especially from corporate entities.
“Long stay is defined as anything from 10 nights to six or 12 months. Our rooms have been set up for that but we also came to see the demand for suites as becoming more popular for shorter stays as well. To that end, we have opened suite inventory up to serving either short stay or long-term guests.” said Hepworth.
The hotel delayed its opening because of various pandemic-related factors, including supply deliveries being slow in coming into the country as well as a hampering of the recruitment process. The revised opening date gave the group the time it needed to ensure that the hotel was fully set up. Making sure that training, staff development, food testing and bringing the team together properly was the determining consideration in the decision to set the opening target.
When the hotel opens its doors on January 7th, all 247 rooms are planned to be ready for guests. Offers to encourage bookings will include “staycation” and food and beverage promotions, among other enticements. One-night staycation packages start from $188 per night.
