SINGAPORE, 3 July 2018: Lodgis Hospitality Holdings has completed the acquisition of two historic hotels in Cambodia collectively identified as “Raffles Hotels”.
The acquisition involves the flagship Raffles Hotel Le Royal Phnom Penh (“Raffles Le Royal”) and the Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor Siem Reap (“Raffles Grand d’Angkor”).
Lodgis is a hospitality platform sponsored by Warburg Pincus and VinaCapita, the shareholders.
With the acquisition of the two Raffles Hotels, Lodgis now owns the largest collection of luxury historic hotels in the Mekong Region as well as a growing resort and hotel management business under the Fusion brand.
The acquisition of the Raffles Hotels marks the company’s maiden acquisition outside of Vietnam and adds to Lodgis’ leading Indochina hotel platform.
To date, Lodgis has acquired and developed several leading city hotels and beachfront resorts in Vietnam, including the 365-key Sofitel Legend Metropole in Hanoi.
Located in Cambodia, the Raffles Hotels are both historic 1930s buildings, which were fully restored and re-opened under the iconic ‘Raffles’ brand in 1997.
The 175-key Raffles Le Royal is centrally located in the capital city of Phnom Penh, adjacent to the US Embassy.
The 119-key Raffles Grand d’Angkor is in the heart of the old French quarter of Siem Reap, just 6 km from the UNESCO World Heritage site of Angkor Wat.
To maintain their Khmer-French colonial charm, the two properties will undergo renovations, which include upgrading and refreshing rooms and food and beverage outlets as well as updating the meeting facilities and other areas to enhance the guest experience at the hotels.
In 2017, Cambodia recorded 5.6 million international visitor arrivals, representing a year-on-year growth of 11.8% on the back of a strong 10-year CAGR of over 10%.
Phnom Penh and Siem Reap attracted the largest share of international visitors in the country with 49% and 38% share, respectively.
Notably, over 1 million Chinese tourists visited Cambodia in 2017, representing an outsized 45% year-on-year growth and making Cambodia one of the fastest growing frontier markets for Chinese outbound tourists in Southeast Asia alongside Vietnam.
With more direct flights, the industry is expected to continue its strong upswing in 2018 with at least 6 million international visitors on top of the projected 15 million domestic tourists, reaching an anticipated USD4 billion in revenue. In addition to tourism, foreign direct investment in the country reached USD6.3 billion in 2017, translating to a 75% year-on-year increase.
