Jolie inspires hotelier to invest in Namibia

ZANNIER Hotels is to open two hotels in Namibia next year and is seeking a third project in the country.
The company already owns Le Chalet by Zannier in Megeve, France, which was the first hotel created by Arnaud Zannier and Phum Baitang, which opened in Siem Reap, Cambodia in 2015.
It was following a suggestion made by Hollywood actress An­gelina Jolie, who stayed at Phum Baitang for several months when making a Netflix film in the coun­try that Zannier sought out the projects in Namibia.
Jolie and Brad Pitt’s daughter, Shiloh, was born on 27 May 2006 in Swakopmund and enjoys citi­zenship of the country.
The two confirmed Zannier projects are a lodge on a huge 9 000 hectare re­serve outside Windhoek, focused on elephant and rhino conservation, and a 6 000 hectare project in the south, near the famous sand dunes of Sos­susvlei, where he plans to open a tent­ed lodge. The first lodge will open in June 2018, followed by the second one in September.
“Namibia was an incredible discov­ery for me – I was so impressed by the nature and the fact that you are com­pletely cut off from the outside world,” Zannier said.
But before the Namibia projects, Zannier Hotels is opening 1898 The Post in the Belgian city of Ghent, where Zannier and his company are based.
The hotel will be the first manage­ment contract for the group, which Zannier added could be a future ave­nue of development.
“I wasn’t even sure that was the direction we were going in as such a young company, but the developer was very keen to work with us, so here we are,” Zannier said.
“It’s a very exciting concept – there is nothing else like this on the hotel scene in the city. And Ghent itself is really coming of age – it’s where Antwerp was 10 years ago. Lots of businesses are based there, it’s full of history and amazing architecture – which the local government is investing in – and it’s the number one student town in Bel­gium, which all make it very exciting I think, plus, it’s becoming a real foodie destination.”
The hotel has 38 rooms and is inside a former post office building, with the heart of the hotel being The Cobbler, a bar and dining area.
Also in the pipeline for the brand is a 71-room hotel north of Nah Trang in central Vietnam. The resort sits on a pristine stretch of Bai Tram beach and will have three restaurants, kids club and space for up to 45 residential villas.
Zannier added a hotel in Myanmar would also be of interest in the future and has not ruled out any further man­agement opportunities on projects.
“It’s just about opportunities,” he told TTG. “We’re a small team and we manage what we can at the moment, but if the right projects come along, we are always open to them. But we do also now have someone in the business who is proactively seeking opportuni­ties.”
Zannier is part of a fashion dynasty (now known as Kidiliz) that focuses on children’s wear – and also created a shoe brand of his own, N.D.C, while the Zannier family has also created and funds two orphanages in Cambo­dia, home to Arnaud’s Phum Baitang hotel.
“That hotel has performed incredi­bly well which makes us happy as we managed to create something very new and different,” said Zannier. “In Siem Reap, you have all the luxury names there, you know – Belmond, Raffles, Sofitel, Park Hyatt and Aman. So for us to come in as an unknown, as a young brand, was something very challenging.
“But we also knew we could posi­tion ourselves higher in terms of rate – as others should be, given the level of product there – and we now are the number one in Siem Reap for ADR and occupancy. People are genuinely surprised when they come to stay with us, but the key thing is the great feed­back we get about the staff.”
– ttgmedia.com