URGENT - Low Rent - Auberge du Soleil, Swiss Restaurant and Hotel in booming Kampot

If you are looking for a business to buy in Cambodia, you've come to the right place! This is a section where owners can post their businesses for sale and where others in the community can ask questions about starting a business here. Foreigners can own 100% of a business here in Cambodia, and it's a pretty simple process to buy or sell, whether it's a bar, restaurant, hotel, or anything else. Have questions about what paperwork is needed for your company? Ask away. Curious if the expat bar on Street 136 selling for $100,000 is a good deal? Start a discussion on CEO and we'll let you know what we think.
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Clutch Cargo
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Re: URGENT - Low Rent - Auberge du Soleil, Swiss Restaurant and Hotel in booming Kampot

Post by Clutch Cargo »

frank lee bent wrote: Thu Jun 06, 2019 8:16 pm Bohemiaz Resort in Kampot
Filthy blackwater sewage lagoon still in front of the place?
Yeah, when I was there a couple of years ago, there were a couple of barang girls swimming in it! :facepalm:
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Re: URGENT - Low Rent - Auberge du Soleil, Swiss Restaurant and Hotel in booming Kampot

Post by Barang chgout »

Flexxman wrote:It always seems business-for-sale posts on CEO attract more tire-kickers than genuinely interested parties.

Auberge Du Soleil is a nice place but any restaurant is as good as its patron/chef. It seems Cedric took care of training his staff so a new owner retaining the staff can prolong the current situation if desired. Whether profitable is up to the plans of any new owner, and I am sure (s)he will do due diligence and check the accounting. I am often surprised places with quite a high rent succeed in getting sufficient occupancy throughout the year but apparently online bookings can provide this while operations with 20+ rooms can do deals with tour operators. Even in Kampot, where the raining season tends to last a bit longer (while earnings from dry season need to get stretched to last whole year). Streets in this neighbourhood were/are planned to get resurfaced later this year which might make things more attractive as well. And we all know that in Cambodia the quality and width of a street highly influences the value of properties on that street.

As for real estate prices, these can seem crazy if you calculate the maximum possible income or turnover like someone did above (room rent * number of rooms * days in the year) but 'living the dream' can't be measured in terms of money. You need just one prospect wearing those rose-tinted glasses.

For instance, Bohemiaz Resort in Kampot is also for sale (Andoung Khmer or International Village). Although located on own hard titled land with buildings, bungalows and a natural pool and spa - and generally a nice place, it still seems a difficult sale doing the calculation above against a cool $1.3 million asking price.

https://www.realestate.com.kh/land-for- ... pot/104473
http://bohemiaz.com/index.html#

Another comparison in the town: the flat house along the river currently housing a weddingshop next to the pizza places is also for sale at $800.000:
https://www.realestate.com.kh/flat-hous ... mpot/88020
Living the dream sums it up.
Anyone want a free glory hole shirt?

Sent from my SM-G570Y using Tapatalk

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cedric.auberge-du-soleil
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Re: URGENT - Low Rent - Auberge du Soleil, Swiss Restaurant and Hotel in booming Kampot

Post by cedric.auberge-du-soleil »

All-in-one answer: (but where to start?)

First, Special Thanks to Flexxman's realism.

I did hesitate for a while about posting here as seeing so many "bashers" having nothing else to do of their days, but I am happy and maybe proud not one comment was purely destructive or did hurt me.
Thank you All.

Sure, I invested my person in training and taking care of the staff.
And not Everything is Always perfect, but I am very proud of their job!
I reached with them my level of Satisfaction.

The actual $550 rent is very cheap and helps to keep year round, month by month profitability while it well known that many eat the high season profit to survive the rest of the year.
These last years, we took over 6-7 weeks holiday each year, and I even can invite the staff on a short holiday, this year will be 4 days to Mondulkiri this month.

I am not here for the money, but to fulfil one of my dreams.
I am satisfied and proud I could own and build my own business, and reach the success it is.
I completed this dream, and I still have a list of them to Live.

I was poor in Switzerland, and as in the song: Emmenez-moi au Bout de la Terre, la Misère est moins pénible au Soleil.
Specialised in nothing, polyvalent but getting bored once "mastering" what I am doing, I was an employee who practised many professions with low salaries.
Difficult tight budget taught me to "Optimise" in every situation.

Living in South East Asia was a long time Dream.
Trained to be a chef and hotelier, it was the Tool I choosed to use to live here.
Le Soleil d'Or had given a shape / image to my Dream.
Before leaving, I was describing to my friends the place I was hoping they could visit me one day with the mental image of it.

Once I was ready, after nearly 2 years as manager in a guesthouse then a hotel in SHV, the building representing the essence of my "dream" had it's lease for sale, exactly in the budget I had for it, knowing I would invest more and loose for the first year.
I had to "put my own hands" on everything, be the multifunction "Swiss Army Knife".
It was "Do or Die", succeed or return to a boring 7-5 swiss employee's life, no pension or bank account as backup options.
Now I don't need to be involved as intensely as in the beginning, but I am still "at work" every evening, and the result is I am satisfied with my revenue I have the comfort I need, I can support my gf's family, invite my staff on holidays, pay for a health insurance and contribute for my pension.

All this long story to confirm that Profitability is mostly a question of Individual's Involvement and some knowledge of the domain to succeed.
And even if I use the word "dream" a lot, I am very grounded, realistic and able to calculate the risks/rewards or feasibility of my so called Dreams.

So Yes Whatwat, Time is on my side.
Even if I feel the Appetite for a New Adventure, my Life is comfortably supported by my business.
Opportunities happen, I have one open now, but if I don't sell the business right now, I know I will have maybe even better opportunities later.
When you start to "Follow your Dreams", things tend to happen at the right time, when you are ready for it and the situation is favourable.

Kampot is still reputed a "Foodie's place" with quite a wide palette of food types and restaurant styles.
They call me the "Swiss Restaurant" as I serve Cheese Fondue, Raclette and Röstis...
So ok for "same same, BUT Different"... I am lucky to have a Beautiful Colonial Corner House...

And Yes, angkorjohn2, Kampot is booming.
It's low season, end of may and begining of june as end of september to mid october are still quite quieter.
It's the time I like to close for holidays. But I have been asking my staff in june or october: "Will we have a low season this year?"
It's accelerating. Instead of a "usual" +12-14% growth, we made +28% on december-april this year compared to last year, +24% year round.

... which brings to the Chinese invasion.
Yes, there will be some chinese in town, small size businesses, but once again not a destroy and replace Snooky-style invasion.
The Chinese development is being built in what were mostly still empty areas on the coast.
It will push the real estate higher, and multiply the amount of tourist, they expect 1 million visitors/year once the international cruise ship port will be completed, which is planned in about 2 years. Cruise customers are not mainly chinese.

So I see a rocking future for Kampot, good for its businesses, but the "Sleezy Little Provincial Town" where everyone knew and was mostly friend with each other is gone.
I am Happy and Thankful I had the chance to enjoy that ambiance which made me fall in love with Kampot years ago, and the actual popularity is good for the business.
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