This forum is becoming a little to much like tof for my liking sometimes. This or at least the 1st page is one of those times. A question was asked honestly and it was given shit. As always, by people that have no fukn idea what they are talking about.
Anyways as you yanks say -
OP -
1/ Just spending time here can be a waste of time. You need to network and get a solid base of friends and mates around you that will recommend YOU first and your business second. For some people, that may take 1 year, for others, it never happens. This is why you read so many bitter stories from guys who just couldn't make it here (Its almost always guys by the way, very rarely women).
2/ You need to FOCUS. Do you want to start up in Siem Reap or Sihanoukville? Only YOU can answer that. Where do you feel most comfortable? Where have you made more friends? Where would you prefer to live? Because if YOU aren't happy, your business will fail.
3/ You need a business plan. The first question shouldn't be "How much is it going to cost me to buy a business?" The question should be " How much can I afford to spend on ( and perhaps LOSE) on a business? And what realistic return on income do I need to be happy?"
4/ You need an honest, realistic business plan. A 15 room backpackers hostel in either Sihanoukville or Siem Reap, will be lucky to make you a YEARLY net profit of $2000 unless you have a hook. What can you do to make yourself stand out and be different from the other 500 similar business in the town?
5/ YOU NEED A BUSINESS PLAN.
6/ This is harsh, but your English is not all that fluent. The majority of your guests are going to have English as their first language.If you can't communicate with them, then you have to pay someone that can. At least down here in Sihanoukville, there isn't a huge Italian expat community and what there is has been pretty much wrapped up by a couple of long term very good quality business' already. In a small 15 room guesthouse, you need to keep your staffing expenses to a minimum to make a profit. That leads me in to my final point
7/ You say you are working to hard back in Italy. If you come over here with the attitude that you want to take it easy and pay others to run your business for you, because labour here is so cheap, then you will fail. Simple as that. You should be prepared and more importantly you should be ABLE to cover for every job. Can you pour a beer, change a keg and make a great Pina Colada if your bar tender hasn't turned up for work? Do you know the ins and outs of Agoda and Booking. com if your receptionist is sick? Are you willing to pick up a broom or a mop and cover for the cleaner that has a headache and can't work? Can you cook a decent full English breakfast if your cook is missing in action? And more to the point - do you want to ? Running a successful business in Cambodia is no different to running a successful business any where in the world and there is no way to say honestly - " I just want to be the boss and be moderately successful and do nothing " and expect anything but failure.
Any way,thats my advice for what its worth. Good luck and I hope you don't just become another bitter ex expat one day.

Hotdigr wrote:This forum is becoming a little to much like tof for my liking sometimes. This or at least the 1st page is one of those times. A question was asked honestly and it was given shit. As always, by people that have no fukn idea what they are talking about.
Anyways as you yanks say -
OP -
1/ Just spending time here can be a waste of time. You need to network and get a solid base of friends and mates around you that will recommend YOU first and your business second. For some people, that may take 1 year, for others, it never happens. This is why you read so many bitter stories from guys who just couldn't make it here (Its almost always guys by the way, very rarely women).
2/ You need to FOCUS. Do you want to start up in Siem Reap or Sihanoukville? Only YOU can answer that. Where do you feel most comfortable? Where have you made more friends? Where would you prefer to live? Because if YOU aren't happy, your business will fail.
3/ You need a business plan. The first question shouldn't be "How much is it going to cost me to buy a business?" The question should be " How much can I afford to spend on ( and perhaps LOSE) on a business? And what realistic return on income do I need to be happy?"
4/ You need an honest, realistic business plan. A 15 room backpackers hostel in either Sihanoukville or Siem Reap, will be lucky to make you a YEARLY net profit of $2000 unless you have a hook. What can you do to make yourself stand out and be different from the other 500 similar business in the town?
5/ YOU NEED A BUSINESS PLAN.
6/ This is harsh, but your English is not all that fluent. The majority of your guests are going to have English as their first language.If you can't communicate with them, then you have to pay someone that can. At least down here in Sihanoukville, there isn't a huge Italian expat community and what there is has been pretty much wrapped up by a couple of long term very good quality business' already. In a small 15 room guesthouse, you need to keep your staffing expenses to a minimum to make a profit. That leads me in to my final point
7/ You say you are working to hard back in Italy. If you come over here with the attitude that you want to take it easy and pay others to run your business for you, because labour here is so cheap, then you will fail. Simple as that. You should be prepared and more importantly you should be ABLE to cover for every job. Can you pour a beer, change a keg and make a great Pina Colada if your bar tender hasn't turned up for work? Do you know the ins and outs of Agoda and Booking. com if your receptionist is sick? Are you willing to pick up a broom or a mop and cover for the cleaner that has a headache and can't work? Can you cook a decent full English breakfast if your cook is missing in action? And more to the point - do you want to ? Running a successful business in Cambodia is no different to running a successful business any where in the world and there is no way to say honestly - " I just want to be the boss and be moderately successful and do nothing " and expect anything but failure.
Any way,thats my advice for what its worth. Good luck and I hope you don't just become another bitter ex expat one day.

Thanks Hotdgr...
your post is explicit and clear...
i know that my english isn't perfect, in my work in italy i speak english only with people that english isn't their first language (German and switzerland people) this don't help me. But I like travel and around the world i always understand my foreign friends
I'm doing two business plan, one for sr and one for sk, you're right i must focus on one city, when i will come in Cabodia i choose it.
For the business plan i have a big problem... to calculate the cash flow and the net income i must have an idea for the possibility rate of occupation rooms in high and in slow season.
i'm not looking for a backpacker hostel but for a boutique hotel or a guest house of medium level.
I think i bad explaned my story... i don't want escape from italy because i work too much....
but because i hate italian rule, italian tax and a lot of italian people....

I recommend that you expect to be entirely empty during low season. Firstly there are really not that many tourists (guest house guests) during this part of the year. Secondly you're getting into, after restaurants, the most competitive market in Cambodia.

I hate sounding bitter but the restaurant and hotel market is already well over crowded. The reason why the same bars are being bought and sold repetitively in SHV is because visitors and expats in SHV expect the beer to cost $0.50 per can, and if it doesn't they will go where it does. Knowing that, even the visually crowded places are lucky to cover their expenses. Now add to it the constant fights amongst drunks, drug induced psychosis dramas, electricity outages and unstable water supply.

Lonely Planet readers will argue with you about getting what they pay for. You will have to deal with the overhead of registering every visitor with the government. Tuk tuk drivers will demand commissions to admit the existence of your business. Local authorities will visit you for tea money, and if one of your guests has an accident or deliberate destruction you'll have to deal with it financially. You will have to track social media scammer pages and memorize faces so you don't accidentally let in backpacker robbing knife wielding scum. Half the year you'll sit rolling your thumbs wondering if next year's tourists still remember you.

Sure sounds like a lot of risk for a small return.

Here is I hope another qualified response to your questions. I just happen to be an owner of a 16-room boutique hotel in SHV. I am also a hospitality/tourist professional with extensive world-wide experience so I know what I am talking about. Don't be misled by my username; that's my other business in Cambodia.
SR has the same low season as SHV; you need to talk to hotel owners. SR looks busier because it gets more tourists than SHV and it is the main attraction in Cambodia. SHV is only part of the overall trip most of the time. The low season in SHV has picked up considerably the past 2 years. Occupancy used to be in the 30% range, it is now in the high 50ies to low 60ies. If you go for the Western market July/August is not too bad, as those are the vacation months in Europe and the U. S. (families with children). You basically have 3 seasons, low, shoulder, and high. That doesn't mean there is room for more hotels; new ones are being built left and right. Plus occupancy is usually achieved by lowering rates to an uneconomical level, in other words, you won't make any money at all in low season; if it runs well you will just about break even. In other words, you will have to make all your money in high season, which is only 4 months. (It is not much different in Europe or the U. S.) Asians, especially from China and Vietnam come all year round, and fill up rooms in low season quite well; although for peanuts. Western and Chinese/Vietnamese don't mix well in a hotel.
There certainly is no money in the low-end category; the mid-range can be successful if you target the right market and keep up the quality. Location is of the utmost importance; most of the hotels in the mid- to upper-range on Ochheuteal and Otres make money; some more, some less, but their rates are in the $30/night (low season) to $180/night (high season). I am completely discounting Victory Hill as an option for an additional hotel/guesthouse. Ochheuteal is still popular despite its reputation, simply because it is close to everything. Otres 1 and 2 are farther away, about 10km to 17km respectively. Otres 1 is backpacker central but better hotels are going up across the street now. They will eventually replace all the temporary beach side properties. Otres 2 is one big construction site now; the new ones are all in the top-end. Logistics and waste is an enormous problem.
As for cost: a ballpark figure is $300/m2, plus furniture and equipment, landscaping, swimming pool, etc. You are looking at a minimum of $250,000 for a 15-room quality hotel, plus rent, electricity, water deposit, building and other permits, etc. It's a hassle.
Buying an existing business is the better option; the cost is about the same but you won't have to deal with contractors, officialdom, etc. and go through the introductory marketing phase, usually a year. Hot-tempered individuals aren't fit to deal with Khmer people.
You can clear $2,000 to $2,500 a month if you do it right. But doing it right also means to factor in amortization, interest on investment, etc. The phase where you actually will make real money might not come until after 4 or 5 years running the business. So you need a very long lease to recoup your investment.
Change of lifestyle? Only in terms of climate and culture. You need to train staff, supervise them almost hourly, handle the guest relations, the marketing and check on the equipment regularly. Things always break down because of the shoddy quality you get here. Repairs and maintenance is a major item of your operating expenses. Contractors are a hassle and you need to speak the language to deal with them. No laid-back, easy-going life running a hotel here. As has been said, you also need to speak English rather well to communicate with people from all over the world, and they all use English.
As Hotdgr repeatedly pointed out: you need a business plan and have a professional check it.

thanks bofh and rubber!! you gave me very interesting information!

Yea, it can't be easy in Sihanoukville like it once was. I wonder if you'd find it easier in Thailand, but there's the Thai's to deal with.

Probably easier to try this in South America. Spanish is an easy language for Italians, and many Italians live/travel there. Fascinating countries/culture/food, amazing nature.

Many many possabilities from heavily visited places like Cusco, Lima, Quito, bla bla bla...

cant agree more with some of them posts, very true

i like more Cambodia than south america... i know it isn't easy but i don't like places full of italian...
do you know a guest house that do long term rental and accept dog in Sihankouville?

Good points from several posters here.

If you want an analysis with figures in SR, this has just been developed here by someone in a better position than yourself :

[The Old Forum link removed.]

If you start a new business anywhere in Cambodia and especially SHV you need to have funds for at least 18 months for all the business expenses and your own living costs/expenses.

Generally you will not turn an operating profit for at least that long.

There is a vacant hotel that fits your description in SHV, located a couple of blocks off the beach. From memory, around 18 rooms, khmer built and rent was $4,000 per month.

It opened at the start of last high season and was only full on the national holidays. During the Chinese new year all the staff quit and it was was full.

Two months ago I bought most of their stuff, linen, tables, chairs safes etc for about 1/4 what they paid for it. The owner would have walked away from a hefty deposit as well.

My calculations were that he would have burned through at least $80k in less than a year.

There is no way at that rent he would have been able to turn a profit in a hotel without a pool considering the rates his better established competition (with much lower rent) charge.

Competition is fierce and prices are cheap. Many places have low season occupancy of 25% or less at reduced rates.

You can live a great life, with no work and no stress in SHV for less than $1.5k per month.

Rubber Barons post and Hotdigr's posts are both spot on.

If you want to make a small fortune in business in Cambodia, start with a large one.