Gareth Johnson
Trendy hotel chain tribe is set to open its first branch in Cambodia, the TRIBE Hotel Phnom Penh Post Office Square, with a tentative opening date of the end of May.
Initially, the Phnom Penh branch’s planned February opening would have made it the first branch in Asia, an accolade now taken by TRIBE Bali Kuta Beach in Indonesia. The hotel manager Posma Silitonga told Cambodia Investment Review that bookings had been “strong” and that people were reacting positively to the brand.
Who are TRIBE hotel in Cambodia?
Founded in Australia in 2017 as the vision of Mark and Melissa Peters, the TRIBE hotel brand was created to provide travelers with a high-end, but affordable hotel experience while focusing on the important things that travelers need, essentially having every available amenity onsite.
The brand is now majority owned by Accor, the French hotel giant, who has previously said it was in negotiations to develop more than 50 of the hotels around the world.
Since its formation, the hotel has since expanded to almost every major European capital, with the countries of the so-called Bamboo trail now being the group’s main area of expansion.
Speaking to Cambodia Investment Review during a tour of the new hotel, Roxana Gheorghe General-Manager of the hotel stated: “We are currently expanding to all the major cities in southeast Asia, so opening a branch in Phnom Penh is extremely important to us. We find our customers have strong brand loyalty, so we want them to be able to stay in a TRIBE hotel when they go through Southeast Asia”.
The TRIBE Concept
But it was with regards to the whole uniqueness of the concept that the team wanted to put across with Roxanna explaining that TRIBE Phnom Penh Post Office Square will feature a unique restaurant concept, an urban social hub, a workout atelier, and an outdoor saltwater pool overlooking the Mekong River.
With regards to the restaurants, while there will be in-house dining most of the ground floor has been set up to house as many as 12 restaurants with Roxanna adding: “We will largely be trying to bring in new brands and restaurants, rather than just copy what is here. People want to eat in a different restaurant every night and they can do that here”.
But when it comes to in-house dining it was the rooftop Hemisphere restaurant that took things to the next level, with plans to offer international, as well as traditional Khmer dishes while offering a 360-degree view of Phnom Penh.
It is hoped by management that it will attract more than just tourists with Roxanna adding: “TRIBE is about more than just our guests and we want to be a hub for everyone. We are very confident our rooftop bar will be able to compete with the best the city currently offers”.
TRIBE Phnom Penh and the digital nomad
One of the other things that strike you when you enter the hotel is not only how well planned it is, but also how modern, particularly from a technological point of view, which involves a huge area set apart for digital nomads.
The large co-working space was “key” to what the brand stood for with Roxanna explaining: “We have set up a modern hotel where you literally have everything that you need. People’s work habits have changed, so we are perfectly fitted for the digital nomad”.
Again this was something not just for the tourists, with the co-working space being described as an “A spot open to everyone, TRIBE will provide the ideal territory to create opportunities, get connected and be an entrepreneur”.
Staying at the TRIBE
The management was also happy to note their connection to the Shinta Mani Hotel group, although also keen to point out the differences: “We share common goals and aims, but we are certainly a different vibe to the Shinta Mani Wild for example. Our rooms while not budget are going to run at the $100-200 rate. We do not offer presidential suites and are not in competition with places like the Sofitel. We are trying to be inclusive rather than exclusive”.
To read more on the Shinta Mani Wild click here.
It would though she added be possible to combine a stay at TRIBE for guests traversing from the Shinta Mani Wild to their resort in Siem Reap. We now wait anxiously for a hopeful opening at the end of May and perhaps a genuinely new concept hotel in the capital.
