Cambodia may have had a tumultuous past but it’s fast emerging as a popular destination to find inner peace. Jennifer Harbottle visits Siem Reap to see how this is affecting the growing spa industry
By Jennifer Harbottle | Published in Spa Business 2014 issue 2
The spiritual Angkor Wat temple complex is the most visited attraction in Cambodia Credit: shutterstock/Artur Bogacki
Welcome to Siem Reap, home to one of the world’s most spiritual sites and Cambodia’s most visited tourist attraction – the Angkor Wat temple complex. This charming and cosy city in the north-west is simple to navigate and visitors can easily fit in a trip to the temples, some market shopping plus a spa treatment in a day and still have time for a relaxing dinner. Surely this makes it an ideal spa destination?
Change of image According to Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism, international tourist arrivals were up nearly 25 per cent in 2012 and Siem Reap is its most popular destination. Visitors from Vietnam, China and Korea make up the largest percentage of travellers, with people from France, Russia, the USA, Australia and the UK dominating western arrivals. Siem Reap has also just been named one of the top 10 fastest growing cities in a 2014 Euromonitor tourism report.
Like Thailand, which is fighting to shrug off its travellers-on-a-budget image, Cambodia is opening itself up to a different kind of visitor: one who has more than dreadlocks and a few coins for spending money. Five star resorts are a large feature in Siem Reap’s accommodation offerings and one look at the upmarket cafés and restaurants in the city’s entertainment district confirm hospitality operators are not after the gap-year tourism market.
The Prime Minister, Hun Sen, says that tourism is a priority for the sustainable growth of the country’s cultural and natural heritage sites. The tourism ministry recently declared that it was looking to encourage high-end hotel development to attract more affluent visitors.
Despite this positive news, Cambodia still has a way to go to shake off its tag as a backpacker’s destination and, more pressingly, rid itself of its damaging reputation for underage prostitution before the serious money-spending spa-goers will come. While the Ministry of Tourism’s official website lists hundreds of ‘spas’ under its activities section, first up is a listing for a 7 Girls Massage at a parlour in the centre of Siem Reap.
Big name operators Encouragingly, hotel occupancy was at a healthy 68.49 per cent in 2012 according to the tourism ministry. Bookings were slightly lower, however, in five star resorts which reported an annual occupancy of 40-60 per cent. But this hasn’t stopped some of the big name international spa resort operators from staking their claim in this growing market.
Despite Siem Reap already being flooded with day spas, the city is home to a number of branded hotel operators including Raffles, Sofitel and Le Méridien. The luxury Navutu Dreams Resort and Spa opened in 2012 and last year The Park Hyatt Siem Reap opened for business.
It’s going to take a few years for Siem Reap to follow in the footsteps of other south-east Asian countries such Bali, which has shrugged off its budget image and reincarnated itself as a serious destination for spa retreats. Operators talk of the challenges of having to compete with almost criminally cheap massages in local day ‘spas’. And the government needs to do much more to help promote tourism in the region and reposition Siem Reap as a destination, rather than part of a journey on the way to neighbouring Laos or Vietnam.
On the bright side, the city has a natural beauty and great charm and, as Cambodia is a Buddhist country, it’s genuinely very spiritual. Infrastructure in and around Siem Reap is good and its international airport is undergoing a US$100m (€73m, £60m) upgrade which will increase its capacity to five million passengers annually.
When talking to spa operators already in the region, it’s evident that they want to support each other. Their willingness to share knowledge and expertise in order to grow the industry as a whole (and not just their individual business) is encouraging.
In the following pages, we take a look at four different spa business models in Siem Reap with unique selling points.
Frangipani Spa Two Thai sisters own Frangipani Spa, a well-respected day spa in Siem Reap. Romyakorn and Siraphat Enyod started as spa therapists in Hua Hin, Thailand before moving to Siem Reap to work as assistant spa managers at Sofitel. In 2000, they opened Frangipani Spa. Fourteen years on, it’s one of the locally-owned day spa success stories. “We created Frangipani Spa because we felt that good spa facilities were only available in costly five star hotels,” explains Siraphat who is the spa manager.
Their spa has six cosy double treatment rooms – “our place will always stay small, we don’t want to become a factory” and a relaxation room. Set in a quiet street off the central hub, it has a homely, welcoming design and therapists greet you with a long-lost-friend kind of warmth. Some have been with Frangipani since the day it opened and have built up a rapport with regular customers – expats from the UK, France and Australia make up the bulk of business. They’re encouraged to spend time with guests outside of treatments, which adds a competitive edge. “We prefer a dedicated customer base of loyal clients than a cookie cutter approach aimed at tour groups,” Siraphat explains.
Annual treatment room occupancy is a healthy 80 per cent and the expat locals help to boost numbers in low season. There are a variety of body and face treatments, alongside waxing and nailcare, with the most popular being the 60-minute aromatherapy massage priced at US$35 (€26, £21). The products are supplied by Algotherm but where possible, treatments are given a Cambodian spin by adding local ingredients such as jasmine rice and pepper kampot. What Frangipani offers that hotel spas don’t, is a more relaxed approach to its menu – traditional therapies, although not listed, can be performed if clients request them. One such modality is coining or gua sha which has been used by Cambodian families for centuries. It involves rubbing the skin with wood until it reddens which is said to improve circulation.
Siraphat admits there’s been a decline in bookings since more five star hotels have moved into Siem Reap. But it’s not been all bad, she says: “As spas gain a better reputation among locals, it’s been easier to find girls to work in our day spa.”
Details: www.frangipanisiemreap.com
Frangipani has built up a successful business over 14 years by providing a cosy retreat for local clients
Frangipani has built up a successful business over 14 years by providing a cosy retreat for local clients
Treatment room occupancy at the day spa is a healthy 80 per cent
La Résidence D’Angkor La Résidence D’Angkor is part of Belmond (the brand new name for Orient-Express), which operates 45 hotel, cruise and luxury rail businesses worldwide. Belmond bought its Siem Reap property from the Pansea hotel group in 2007 and added a stand-alone spa in 2008. Not all Belmond hotels have spas and this is one of its biggest in South-East Asia.
The Kong Kea Spa has two double and four single treatment rooms, plus a mani-pedi room. Kong kea means ‘water for the god’ in the native Khmer language and the spa features an indoor dipping pool and illuminated water walls. Product houses include Jurlique for facials and Bodia for body treatments.
Spa manager Dewa Sunarya, who hails from India and previously worked for Accor and Six Senses, says La Résidence rates highly as an employer. Turnover of therapists is under 5 per cent, thanks mainly to a competitive salary and a 7 per cent service charge which compares favourably with the 5 per cent at most other hotels. They’re passionate about their jobs and work hard but, says Sunarya, it’s difficult to find therapists who aspire to become managers.
General manager Carla Petzold-Beck says although guests are prepared to pay upper-bracket prices – US$365 (€266, £219) a night – to stay at the hotel, they’re very budget-conscious when choosing a massage. “There’s this impression – particularly from Europeans – that everything in Cambodia is cheap,” she says, admitting it can be difficult to get secondary spend when they charge US$68 (€49, £41) for a 60-minute massage. “We’re walking distance to town where you can buy a meal, drinks and a massage for under US$20 (€15, £12), so they expect our massages to be cheap too.”
Additionally, while the spa is a key factor for holidaymakers booking the hotel, that doesn’t always translate into the take-up of treatments once they get there as there are so many other activities on offer. “The magnet for people coming to Siem Reap is Angkor Wat,” Petzold-Beck explains, adding that hiking, kayaking, biking and local artisan visits are also arranged by the hotel.
With the large number of temples and monks in Siem Reap, Petzold-Beck feels it has a spiritual nature which creates an instant sense of calm and peace. It’s the perfect setting for wellness facilities, but she thinks that it will take up to five years before visitors view Siem Reap as a spa destination. “As hoteliers, we need to work out how to tap into that [natural spiritual culture] and integrate it into our spa retreats,” she says. “The government also needs to support our efforts to show that Siem Reap has more than just temples. At the moment, Cambodia is an add-on destination for travellers on their way to Thailand or Vietnam. We need to encourage them to stay here as their ultimate destination and to fit in some days of relaxation as well as to allow for some days of temple sightseeing.”
Details: www.residencedangkor.com
Some hotel spas in Siem Reap can struggle with capture rates as there’s so much to do in the city itself
Water is a key element in the design of the six-treatment room Kong Kea Spa
Water is a key element in the design of the six-treatment room Kong Kea Spa
Amansara When you consider this is where Angelina Jolie and her family stayed in Siem Reap, the US$1,250 (€912, £751) per night fee at Amansara makes more sense. Originally the King of Cambodia’s guesthouse, the 600-year-old property was bought by the Aman Group in 2002 and its 12 bedrooms were converted into suites. In 2005, a spa and 12 spacious pool suites were added.
The resort’s exquisite minimalist and masculine design carries through to the 461sq m (4,962sq ft) spa, which features lots of dark wood and black furnishings. There four treatment suites (all with relaxation areas), plus a room for yoga.
Annual resort occupancy is between 40 and 50 per cent and the spa has a capture rate of 30 per cent. The US$95 (€69, £57) 60-minute oil massage is the most popular but there are a number of treatments by Sodashi and alternative therapies, delivered by visiting international healers. There’s also a blind therapist on call for massages. What guests get for the high-end price are experiences that can’t be bought elsewhere. It offers a water cleansing ceremony by monks, yoga in the temples of Angkor Wat or a night in a Khmer village house which includes a traditional meal and spa treatment that would be hard to find without local know-how. It’s these unique experiences themed around the spa that gives this resort its edge.
Facilities have been kept to a minimum on purpose – aside from the spa, there’s a pool and a dining area. General manager Sally Baughen explains that most guests visit the temples in the day then relax at the spa afterwards. She feels Siem Reap has all the right ingredients to become a leading spa destination: “The temples of Angkor already add a spiritual and energetic dimension, and combining this with [equally mindful] spa treatments such as meditation and yoga will be its USP.”
Details: www.amanresorts.com
Unique experiences themed around the spa give Amansara an edge over other resorts
Sokha Angkor Resort Sokha Hotels & Resorts is the biggest hotel operator in Cambodia and is owned by petroleum group Sokimex. In total, it owns and operates four hotels, with a fifth due to open this year. Each site includes a Jasmine Spa, which Sokha owns and manages in-house.
Sokha Angkor in Siem Reap is the company’s second resort and has 275 rooms. It’s about the same price point as La Résidence (see p70) but attracts a predominantly Asian market – most guests come from Japan and China – rather than a western one. At 60 per cent, annual occupancy is higher than other resorts in the city.
The Jasmine Spa has 18 treatment rooms and employs 16 therapists to work under Cambodian-born spa manager Mok Reksmey. As one of the biggest spa employers in the city, it prioritises training which is provided by both in-house trainers and product house Pevonia.
Throughout the resort, marketing collateral sells the spa and you get the feeling this is an operator that wants its spa to make money, not simply be an hotel adjunct. The price point of US$40 (€29, £24) for a 60-minute massage is lower than other hotel spas and take-up of treatments among guests is ‘good’, according to Reksmey. It places a particular emphasis on professional facial products as this is something Chinese spa-goers value.
“We have a clear focus on our market and we’ve tailored a spa that appeals to the majority of our client base,” explains Reksmey. “We know that the Chinese market will grow even bigger over the next few years and we’re perfectly placed to reach out to them.”
Details: www.sokhahotels.com
Sokha Angkor Resort
Flame for you Ex spa manager, Beck Scougall is an Australian based in Siem Reap whose company Saarti makes all-natural soy candles and body products for Cambodia’s spa industry. Saarti uses soy wax and sustainably-harvested beeswax in its candle and essential oils to scent body products. The company works with local artisans to create unique, biodegradable and reusable packaging. Clients include Sojourn Boutique Hotel, Amansara and Shinta Mani Hotel in Siem Reap as well as Song Saa Resort in Sihanouk Ville.
Details: www.saarticambodia.com
natural soy candles
Wat else?
Other day spa operators in Siem Reap include:
- Bodia Spa Runs two day spas in Siem Reap plus one in Phnom Penh. Bodia also makes its own spa products for consumer and commercial use. www.bodia-spa.com
- Sokkhak Spa Offers treatments as well as training and consultancy for spas. www.sokkhakspa.com
- Body Tune The first Cambodian day spa for this well-established Thai spa operator. www.bodytune.co.th
Jennifer Harbottle is a leisure industry writer based in Asia
Cambodia may have had a tumultuous past but it’s fast emerging as a popular destination to find inner peace. Jennifer Harbottle visits Siem Reap to see how this is affecting the growing spa industry
Jennifer Harbottle
The spiritual Angkor Wat temple complex is the most visited attraction in Cambodiashutterstock/Artur Bogacki
Siem Reap 'pub street'
Amanresorts is one of a number of big name operators with a presence in Siem Reap
Welcome to Siem Reap, home to one of the world’s most spiritual sites and Cambodia’s most visited tourist attraction – the Angkor Wat temple complex. This charming and cosy city in the north-west is simple to navigate and visitors can easily fit in a trip to the temples, some market shopping plus a spa treatment in a day and still have time for a relaxing dinner. Surely this makes it an ideal spa destination?
Change of image According to Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism, international tourist arrivals were up nearly 25 per cent in 2012 and Siem Reap is its most popular destination. Visitors from Vietnam, China and Korea make up the largest percentage of travellers, with people from France, Russia, the USA, Australia and the UK dominating western arrivals. Siem Reap has also just been named one of the top 10 fastest growing cities in a 2014 Euromonitor tourism report.
Like Thailand, which is fighting to shrug off its travellers-on-a-budget image, Cambodia is opening itself up to a different kind of visitor: one who has more than dreadlocks and a few coins for spending money. Five star resorts are a large feature in Siem Reap’s accommodation offerings and one look at the upmarket cafés and restaurants in the city’s entertainment district confirm hospitality operators are not after the gap-year tourism market.
The Prime Minister, Hun Sen, says that tourism is a priority for the sustainable growth of the country’s cultural and natural heritage sites. The tourism ministry recently declared that it was looking to encourage high-end hotel development to attract more affluent visitors.
Despite this positive news, Cambodia still has a way to go to shake off its tag as a backpacker’s destination and, more pressingly, rid itself of its damaging reputation for underage prostitution before the serious money-spending spa-goers will come. While the Ministry of Tourism’s official website lists hundreds of ‘spas’ under its activities section, first up is a listing for a 7 Girls Massage at a parlour in the centre of Siem Reap.
Big name operators Encouragingly, hotel occupancy was at a healthy 68.49 per cent in 2012 according to the tourism ministry. Bookings were slightly lower, however, in five star resorts which reported an annual occupancy of 40-60 per cent. But this hasn’t stopped some of the big name international spa resort operators from staking their claim in this growing market.
Despite Siem Reap already being flooded with day spas, the city is home to a number of branded hotel operators including Raffles, Sofitel and Le Méridien. The luxury Navutu Dreams Resort and Spa opened in 2012 and last year The Park Hyatt Siem Reap opened for business.
It’s going to take a few years for Siem Reap to follow in the footsteps of other south-east Asian countries such Bali, which has shrugged off its budget image and reincarnated itself as a serious destination for spa retreats. Operators talk of the challenges of having to compete with almost criminally cheap massages in local day ‘spas’. And the government needs to do much more to help promote tourism in the region and reposition Siem Reap as a destination, rather than part of a journey on the way to neighbouring Laos or Vietnam.
On the bright side, the city has a natural beauty and great charm and, as Cambodia is a Buddhist country, it’s genuinely very spiritual. Infrastructure in and around Siem Reap is good and its international airport is undergoing a US$100m (€73m, £60m) upgrade which will increase its capacity to five million passengers annually.
When talking to spa operators already in the region, it’s evident that they want to support each other. Their willingness to share knowledge and expertise in order to grow the industry as a whole (and not just their individual business) is encouraging.
In the following pages, we take a look at four different spa business models in Siem Reap with unique selling points.
Frangipani Spa Two Thai sisters own Frangipani Spa, a well-respected day spa in Siem Reap. Romyakorn and Siraphat Enyod started as spa therapists in Hua Hin, Thailand before moving to Siem Reap to work as assistant spa managers at Sofitel. In 2000, they opened Frangipani Spa. Fourteen years on, it’s one of the locally-owned day spa success stories. “We created Frangipani Spa because we felt that good spa facilities were only available in costly five star hotels,” explains Siraphat who is the spa manager.
Their spa has six cosy double treatment rooms – “our place will always stay small, we don’t want to become a factory” and a relaxation room. Set in a quiet street off the central hub, it has a homely, welcoming design and therapists greet you with a long-lost-friend kind of warmth. Some have been with Frangipani since the day it opened and have built up a rapport with regular customers – expats from the UK, France and Australia make up the bulk of business. They’re encouraged to spend time with guests outside of treatments, which adds a competitive edge. “We prefer a dedicated customer base of loyal clients than a cookie cutter approach aimed at tour groups,” Siraphat explains.
Annual treatment room occupancy is a healthy 80 per cent and the expat locals help to boost numbers in low season. There are a variety of body and face treatments, alongside waxing and nailcare, with the most popular being the 60-minute aromatherapy massage priced at US$35 (€26, £21). The products are supplied by Algotherm but where possible, treatments are given a Cambodian spin by adding local ingredients such as jasmine rice and pepper kampot. What Frangipani offers that hotel spas don’t, is a more relaxed approach to its menu – traditional therapies, although not listed, can be performed if clients request them. One such modality is coining or gua sha which has been used by Cambodian families for centuries. It involves rubbing the skin with wood until it reddens which is said to improve circulation.
Siraphat admits there’s been a decline in bookings since more five star hotels have moved into Siem Reap. But it’s not been all bad, she says: “As spas gain a better reputation among locals, it’s been easier to find girls to work in our day spa.”
Details: www.frangipanisiemreap.com
Frangipani has built up a successful business over 14 years by providing a cosy retreat for local clients
Frangipani has built up a successful business over 14 years by providing a cosy retreat for local clients
Treatment room occupancy at the day spa is a healthy 80 per cent
La Résidence D’Angkor La Résidence D’Angkor is part of Belmond (the brand new name for Orient-Express), which operates 45 hotel, cruise and luxury rail businesses worldwide. Belmond bought its Siem Reap property from the Pansea hotel group in 2007 and added a stand-alone spa in 2008. Not all Belmond hotels have spas and this is one of its biggest in South-East Asia.
The Kong Kea Spa has two double and four single treatment rooms, plus a mani-pedi room. Kong kea means ‘water for the god’ in the native Khmer language and the spa features an indoor dipping pool and illuminated water walls. Product houses include Jurlique for facials and Bodia for body treatments.
Spa manager Dewa Sunarya, who hails from India and previously worked for Accor and Six Senses, says La Résidence rates highly as an employer. Turnover of therapists is under 5 per cent, thanks mainly to a competitive salary and a 7 per cent service charge which compares favourably with the 5 per cent at most other hotels. They’re passionate about their jobs and work hard but, says Sunarya, it’s difficult to find therapists who aspire to become managers.
General manager Carla Petzold-Beck says although guests are prepared to pay upper-bracket prices – US$365 (€266, £219) a night – to stay at the hotel, they’re very budget-conscious when choosing a massage. “There’s this impression – particularly from Europeans – that everything in Cambodia is cheap,” she says, admitting it can be difficult to get secondary spend when they charge US$68 (€49, £41) for a 60-minute massage. “We’re walking distance to town where you can buy a meal, drinks and a massage for under US$20 (€15, £12), so they expect our massages to be cheap too.”
Additionally, while the spa is a key factor for holidaymakers booking the hotel, that doesn’t always translate into the take-up of treatments once they get there as there are so many other activities on offer. “The magnet for people coming to Siem Reap is Angkor Wat,” Petzold-Beck explains, adding that hiking, kayaking, biking and local artisan visits are also arranged by the hotel.
With the large number of temples and monks in Siem Reap, Petzold-Beck feels it has a spiritual nature which creates an instant sense of calm and peace. It’s the perfect setting for wellness facilities, but she thinks that it will take up to five years before visitors view Siem Reap as a spa destination. “As hoteliers, we need to work out how to tap into that [natural spiritual culture] and integrate it into our spa retreats,” she says. “The government also needs to support our efforts to show that Siem Reap has more than just temples. At the moment, Cambodia is an add-on destination for travellers on their way to Thailand or Vietnam. We need to encourage them to stay here as their ultimate destination and to fit in some days of relaxation as well as to allow for some days of temple sightseeing.”
Details: www.residencedangkor.com
Some hotel spas in Siem Reap can struggle with capture rates as there’s so much to do in the city itself
Water is a key element in the design of the six-treatment room Kong Kea Spa
Water is a key element in the design of the six-treatment room Kong Kea Spa
Amansara When you consider this is where Angelina Jolie and her family stayed in Siem Reap, the US$1,250 (€912, £751) per night fee at Amansara makes more sense. Originally the King of Cambodia’s guesthouse, the 600-year-old property was bought by the Aman Group in 2002 and its 12 bedrooms were converted into suites. In 2005, a spa and 12 spacious pool suites were added.
The resort’s exquisite minimalist and masculine design carries through to the 461sq m (4,962sq ft) spa, which features lots of dark wood and black furnishings. There four treatment suites (all with relaxation areas), plus a room for yoga.
Annual resort occupancy is between 40 and 50 per cent and the spa has a capture rate of 30 per cent. The US$95 (€69, £57) 60-minute oil massage is the most popular but there are a number of treatments by Sodashi and alternative therapies, delivered by visiting international healers. There’s also a blind therapist on call for massages. What guests get for the high-end price are experiences that can’t be bought elsewhere. It offers a water cleansing ceremony by monks, yoga in the temples of Angkor Wat or a night in a Khmer village house which includes a traditional meal and spa treatment that would be hard to find without local know-how. It’s these unique experiences themed around the spa that gives this resort its edge.
Facilities have been kept to a minimum on purpose – aside from the spa, there’s a pool and a dining area. General manager Sally Baughen explains that most guests visit the temples in the day then relax at the spa afterwards. She feels Siem Reap has all the right ingredients to become a leading spa destination: “The temples of Angkor already add a spiritual and energetic dimension, and combining this with [equally mindful] spa treatments such as meditation and yoga will be its USP.”
Details: www.amanresorts.com
Unique experiences themed around the spa give Amansara an edge over other resorts
Sokha Angkor Resort Sokha Hotels & Resorts is the biggest hotel operator in Cambodia and is owned by petroleum group Sokimex. In total, it owns and operates four hotels, with a fifth due to open this year. Each site includes a Jasmine Spa, which Sokha owns and manages in-house.
Sokha Angkor in Siem Reap is the company’s second resort and has 275 rooms. It’s about the same price point as La Résidence (see p70) but attracts a predominantly Asian market – most guests come from Japan and China – rather than a western one. At 60 per cent, annual occupancy is higher than other resorts in the city.
The Jasmine Spa has 18 treatment rooms and employs 16 therapists to work under Cambodian-born spa manager Mok Reksmey. As one of the biggest spa employers in the city, it prioritises training which is provided by both in-house trainers and product house Pevonia.
Throughout the resort, marketing collateral sells the spa and you get the feeling this is an operator that wants its spa to make money, not simply be an hotel adjunct. The price point of US$40 (€29, £24) for a 60-minute massage is lower than other hotel spas and take-up of treatments among guests is ‘good’, according to Reksmey. It places a particular emphasis on professional facial products as this is something Chinese spa-goers value.
“We have a clear focus on our market and we’ve tailored a spa that appeals to the majority of our client base,” explains Reksmey. “We know that the Chinese market will grow even bigger over the next few years and we’re perfectly placed to reach out to them.”
Details: www.sokhahotels.com
Sokha Angkor Resort
Flame for you Ex spa manager, Beck Scougall is an Australian based in Siem Reap whose company Saarti makes all-natural soy candles and body products for Cambodia’s spa industry. Saarti uses soy wax and sustainably-harvested beeswax in its candle and essential oils to scent body products. The company works with local artisans to create unique, biodegradable and reusable packaging. Clients include Sojourn Boutique Hotel, Amansara and Shinta Mani Hotel in Siem Reap as well as Song Saa Resort in Sihanouk Ville.
Details: www.saarticambodia.com
natural soy candles
Wat else?
Other day spa operators in Siem Reap include:
- Bodia Spa Runs two day spas in Siem Reap plus one in Phnom Penh. Bodia also makes its own spa products for consumer and commercial use. www.bodia-spa.com
- Sokkhak Spa Offers treatments as well as training and consultancy for spas. www.sokkhakspa.com
- Body Tune The first Cambodian day spa for this well-established Thai spa operator. www.bodytune.co.th
Jennifer Harbottle is a leisure industry writer based in Asia
