The
signing of management rights to the new Star King Hotel and Apartment
complex in Phnom Penh’s bustling new CBD marks a significant step in the
expansion of Siem Reap-based Asia Initiative Corporation (AIC), Cambodia’s
unique professional hotel management and development company.
It
also marks a significant step in AIC’s mission to be a truly nationwide company
servicing the tourist sector throughout the kingdom.
AIC
commenced business in 2013, with only one property comprising 30 rooms and 40
employees. Now, this thriving business has stewardship over eight properties,
with a total of more than 220 rooms and just over 280 employees. Six of its
properties are located in Siem Reap, one in Battambang and now one in Phnom
Penh.
Going
forward, the company hopes to further expand in the capital Phnom Penh, and
also in the burgeoning coastal tourism hot spots such as Sihanoukville and
beyond. Part
of the secret of AIC’s rapid growth is the experience of its co-founders. The
company has seven co-founders, with two international public relation and
business advisers based in Sydney. These personnel alone have notched up a
combined experience in the hotel and tourism industries of well over one
hundred years. Said Kelly Chan Dara, Co-Founder
AIC’s
office management is based in its Siem Reap corporate headquarters and includes
a central sales and marketing team, central online and reservation team, an
administrative and accounting office team, a public relations and
blogger team and a rigorous training centre.
As
well as training its own personal when needed, AIC’s experience and
contacts, especially in the busy Siem Reap tourism sector, means that
top-notch and fully experienced hospitality staff can be recruited.
And
being able to put the right person in the right place promptly to do the right
job is yet another hallmark of AIC’s rapid success.
AIC’s
entry into the hospitality market-place has already been noted by the Cambodian
media, with the company featuring in articles in both the Khmer Times and the
Phnom Penh Post and various international travel medias.
In
August last year, The Phnom Penh Post reported, “The group’s two international
advisers are John Savage and Graham Cox from the Australian communications
company, Savage Communications which represent, among other things, some
leading international hotels, national tourism commissions, and tour companies.
“The
group’s clientele, according to [co-founder and vice-president] Kelly Chan
Dara, are a ‘new breed’ of mostly young Khmer professionals who build hotels.
“Kelly
says, ‘These new owners are mostly in the around-40-years age bracket, they’re
new in the business but they understand customers’ needs and are happy for us
to build a bridge for them when it comes to running and marketing their
hotels’.”
Written by: Peter Olszewski
Asia
Initiative Corporation (AIC) Cambodia Blogger
Direct:
+855 (0) 16 211 968