Serviced Apartments in Phnom Penh: Investor Numbers

Quick answer: A serviced apartment is a condo with an operating business attached. The rent premium is real, at $600 to $1,200 against $400 to $700 unserviced, and roughly 30% to 40% of the gross goes straight back out in housekeeping, utilities, internet and reception before any management fee is paid.

Serviced apartments occupy an odd position in the Cambodian market. Every agent has them, every expat has lived in one, and almost nobody writes about them as an investment, because they sit between two subjects that already have their own literature: the standard condo let and short-term letting.

This page treats the serviced model as what it actually is, which is a condo with a small hospitality business bolted on. That framing produces the only question worth asking: how much of the rent premium reaches the owner after the service that justifies it has been paid for.

Demand for serviced stock in Phnom Penh comes from a genuinely durable source, and that is the strongest thing about the asset class. Corporate secondees, embassy and NGO staff, and consultants on six to twelve month engagements have to live somewhere, will not sign a twelve-month unfurnished lease for a nine-month posting, and are usually spending an employer’s housing budget rather than their own money. That combination produces serviced occupancy of 70% to 85%, comfortably above the citywide condo average, and it holds up in years when the tourist and short-term markets do not. Our analysis treats that occupancy differential, rather than the $200 to $500 monthly rent premium, as the actual investment case for the serviced model.

What is a serviced apartment and can a foreigner own one?

A serviced apartment is a furnished unit let with housekeeping, utilities, internet and usually reception folded into one monthly price of $600 to $1,200 in prime Phnom Penh districts. Foreign buyers can own one freehold where the unit is strata-titled above the ground floor, inside the cap of 70% of the total private-unit area.

Feature	Standard condo let	Serviced apartment
Furnishing	Sometimes, negotiated	Always, to a standard
Utilities	Tenant pays	Included in the rent
Internet	Tenant arranges	Included
Housekeeping	None	Weekly, sometimes daily
Reception and security	Building level only	Staffed, unit-facing
Lease length	12 months typical	3 to 12 months, more flexible
Foreign freehold	Yes, above ground floor	Yes, above ground floor

Ownership is the simplest part of this asset class and worth stating clearly, because buyers often assume a serviced unit is a different legal animal. It is not. The strata rules that govern any Phnom Penh condo govern this one, and the operating arrangement sits on top as a contract rather than as a change in title. Our underwriting therefore separates the property decision from the operator decision entirely, and prices them one at a time.

• The title is a normal strata title; the service is a contract on top.
• Ground-floor units remain excluded from foreign strata ownership.
• Some buildings are entirely serviced; some units within a building are.
• The operator may be the building manager or a third-party company.
• Eligibility detail sits in the foreign ownership guide.

What do serviced apartments rent for in Phnom Penh?

Serviced one-bedroom units in BKK1 and Tonle Bassac ask $600 to $1,200 a month all-inclusive. A comparable modern unserviced one-bedroom in the same districts asks $400 to $700, and the city-centre average across all one-bedroom stock sits near $375, which puts the headline serviced premium at roughly $200 to $500 a month.

Unit type	Monthly asking rent	Basis
Serviced one-bedroom, BKK1 or Tonle Bassac	$600 to $1,200	All-inclusive listing band
Modern unserviced one-bedroom, prime district	$400 to $700	Listing band
City-centre one-bedroom average	About $375	Cost of living surveys
Outside the centre, one-bedroom	About $334	Cost of living surveys
Serviced two-bedroom, prime district	$900 to $1,800	Listing band, indicative
Studio, serviced	$450 to $750	Listing band, indicative

Every band above is an indicative listing range rather than transacted evidence, and the spread inside each row is wide enough to matter. Our analysis re-derives a building-specific rent from comparable units in the same tower before modelling any purchase, because a $600 unit and a $1,200 unit described identically in a listing usually differ on floor, view, fit-out age and whether the service is daily or weekly.

• All-inclusive pricing hides how much service the tenant is actually buying.
• Weekly housekeeping and daily housekeeping are very different cost bases.
• Serviced rents are quoted in US dollars, per the dollarization guide.
• District bands for standard rents sit in the district yield comparison.
• Two-bedroom serviced stock is thinner and prices less consistently.

How much of the serviced premium reaches the owner?

Roughly 30% to 40% of gross serviced rent is consumed by the service itself. On a unit letting at $900 serviced against $600 unserviced, our underwriting models about $300 of monthly premium reduced to $60 to $105 of genuine additional net income once utilities, housekeeping, internet and the operator’s share are paid.

Line	Serviced at $900	Unserviced at $600
Gross monthly rent	$900	$600
Electricity, water and internet	minus $90	tenant pays
Housekeeping, weekly	minus $60	none
Consumables and linen replacement	minus $25	none
Management or operator share	minus $180 at 20%	minus $54 at 9%
Service charge, 50 sqm at $1.50	minus $75	minus $75
Rental income tax, 14% of gross	minus $126	minus $84
Monthly net	About $344	About $387

Read that final row carefully, because it inverts the intuition the whole asset class is sold on. At a 20% operator share and weekly housekeeping, the serviced version of this unit nets less than the unserviced version despite grossing 50% more. The model only wins where the premium is larger, the operator share is lower, or occupancy is genuinely better, and our analysis is that the third of those is where the real case lives.

• The operator share is the single largest variable in the whole model.
• A 12% operator share instead of 20% moves the serviced net to $416.
• Occupancy, not rent, is what usually justifies the serviced model.
• Deduction definitions and ordering follow the net versus gross guide.
• Rent tax at 14% for non-residents is charged on gross under both models.

Insider tip: ask the operator for their last twelve months of occupancy on the specific stack of units your floor sits in, not the building average. Serviced buildings routinely run high occupancy on their small units and carry vacant two-bedrooms for months, and a building-level average hides exactly the unit type you are being sold.

Who actually rents serviced apartments in Phnom Penh?

Serviced apartment demand in Phnom Penh comes from contract-length occupiers rather than tourists: corporate secondees, NGO and embassy staff, consultants on six to twelve month engagements, and regional executives. That tenant profile is what produces serviced occupancy of 70% to 85%, stronger in the centre than at the edges.

Tenant type	Typical stay	What they are paying for
Corporate secondee	6 to 24 months	Zero setup friction, employer pays
NGO or embassy staff	12 to 36 months	Security, reliability, invoicing
Consultant on a project	3 to 9 months	Flexibility without a hotel bill
Regional executive	1 to 6 months	Service standard and location
Relocating family, first months	1 to 3 months	A base while they search for a lease
Tourist	Days	Not this market; see the short-term guides

The last row is the distinction that most clarifies the asset. Serviced apartments compete with corporate housing and extended-stay hotels, not with holiday lets, and the tenant is frequently a company rather than an individual. That matters commercially because a corporate tenant pays on invoice, stays for a contract term and rarely negotiates hard on a $200 monthly difference, which is a materially better counterparty than the market our analysis sees on the short-term side.

• The payer is often an employer, not the occupant.
• Contract length rather than season drives the booking pattern.
• Occupancy data for both serviced and standard stock sits in the condo occupancy guide.
• Short-term holiday letting is a different model, in the Airbnb comparison.
• Corporate tenants value invoicing and reliability above fit-out fashion.

What does the serviced model demand operationally?

The serviced model demands a functioning operator, because the owner is selling a service rather than a space. Housekeeping schedules, utility accounts, internet contracts, linen stock and reception cover all have to exist and be delivered every week, which is why the operator share of 15% to 25% is not a management fee in the ordinary sense.

Operational requirement	Who normally carries it
Weekly or daily housekeeping	Operator, staffed
Utility accounts in the owner’s name	Owner, billed monthly
Internet contract and support	Operator
Linen, towels and consumables stock	Operator, recharged
Reception and guest handover	Operator
Maintenance response within 24 hours	Operator, cost to owner
Void marketing and tenant sourcing	Operator

Choosing the operator is therefore the investment decision, not a downstream administrative one. A building-appointed operator with a track record and a standing tenant pipeline is worth 20% of gross; an operator assembled to sell units is not worth 12%. Our underwriting scores the operator on occupancy history, tenant source mix and whether the same company would still be appointed if the developer had no interest in the outcome.

• Ask who appointed the operator and whether owners can replace them.
• Establish whether utility accounts sit with the owner or the operator.
• Confirm the housekeeping frequency actually included in the quoted rent.
• Check the maintenance response standard and who pays for it.
• Wider management options sit in the property management guide.

Which owner does the serviced model suit?

The serviced model suits an owner who wants occupancy stability more than headline yield, and who is buying in a central district where corporate demand actually exists. Our analysis puts the serviced case at its strongest above 75% occupancy with an operator share at or below 15%, and at its weakest anywhere outside the prime districts.

Owner profile	Fit	Reasoning
Overseas owner wanting minimal involvement	Strong	The operator absorbs the entire operating load
Owner in a prime district building with an operator	Strong	Corporate demand is concentrated there
Yield-maximising owner, standard districts	Weak	The premium does not survive the cost stack
Owner wanting occasional personal use	Good	Flexible terms suit part-year owners
Owner outside BKK1, Tonle Bassac or Daun Penh	Weak	Corporate tenants rarely look there

Occupancy stability rather than rent is the real product here, and it is worth stating as plainly as possible because it reframes the whole comparison. A standard let that stands empty for two months a year at $600 delivers $6,000 of gross. A serviced unit at $900 running 80% occupancy delivers $8,640 of gross, and even after the heavier cost stack that difference is what makes the model work. Our underwriting therefore treats a serviced proposal as an occupancy claim to be tested rather than a rent claim, and asks for twelve months of unit-level history before accepting it. Where that history does not exist, the correct assumption is the citywide condo occupancy figure rather than the operator’s target, and on this unit that single change removes roughly $1,700 of annual gross.

Advantages and disadvantages of serviced letting

Serviced letting buys occupancy stability and a better tenant profile at the cost of an operating load that consumes much of the rent premium. The trade is clear once the numbers are on one page, and it turns almost entirely on the operator’s share and the building’s location.

Advantage	Disadvantage
Occupancy of 70% to 85%, above the citywide condo average	Service absorbs roughly 30% to 40% of gross rent
Corporate tenants pay on invoice and stay for contract terms	Operator shares of 20% or more erase the premium
Flexible terms suit part-year owners	Owner carries utilities and internet
Fully furnished units resell to the same investor pool	Furnishing wears faster and is replaced sooner
Demand concentrated in liquid prime districts	Works poorly outside BKK1, Tonle Bassac and Daun Penh
No structure, no licence, standard strata ownership	Depends entirely on one operator’s competence

The furnishing cycle deserves a note because it quietly changes the arithmetic over a hold period. A serviced unit is furnished to a standard, used by a rotating set of occupants and refreshed on a shorter cycle than a family home, which in practice means a replacement provision every three to four years rather than every five. On a $6,000 furnishing package that is roughly $1,700 a year against $1,200 on a standard let, and it lands on the owner rather than on the operator. Our underwriting includes it as a standing line rather than as an occasional capital event, because a serviced unit that has not been refreshed drops out of the corporate tenant pool it was bought to serve, and at that point it is simply an expensive standard let.

Buyer scenarios and red flags

Three scenarios cover most serviced enquiries, and the red flags repeat: an operator share quoted without the service scope, a building average passed off as unit-level occupancy, and a serviced premium assumed in a district with no corporate demand.

Scenario	What they want	What we would recommend
$130,000, overseas, wants hands-off income	A serviced unit anywhere	Only in BKK1, Tonle Bassac or Daun Penh
$200,000, wants the highest net	The serviced premium	Compare both models before committing
$180,000, part-year resident	Flexibility and service	Strong fit; negotiate the operator share

The failure pattern is a serviced premium bought in the wrong district. An investor is shown a unit in an emerging area at $115,000, is told serviced letting achieves $750 a month against $500 unserviced, and buys on a projected 7.8% gross. What the projection ignores is that the corporate tenants who pay serviced rates work in the centre and rent within a short commute of it, that the operator has no standing pipeline for that building, and that the unit therefore runs at closer to 55% occupancy on serviced terms rather than the 80% assumed. Actual gross lands near $4,950 rather than $9,000, the cost stack is unchanged, and the owner is now running a service business at a loss on a unit that would have let perfectly well unserviced. Location is not a modifier in this asset class, it is a precondition.

• Serviced only works where corporate demand already exists.
• Require unit-level occupancy history, not a building average.
• An operator share above 20% needs a very large rent premium to justify.
• Ask what happens if the operator resigns or is replaced.
• Furnishing standards and cycles follow the furnishing guide.

Prime district context sits in the BKK1 area page and the Tonle Bassac area page. The branded alternative at a higher price point is covered in the branded residences guide, and the full asset-class map is in the commercial property pillar.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a serviced apartment in Phnom Penh? +

A furnished unit let with housekeeping, utilities, internet and usually reception folded into one monthly price. The owner or operator carries the running costs.

How much do serviced apartments rent for? +

A serviced one-bedroom in BKK1 or Tonle Bassac asks $600 to $1,200 a month all-inclusive, against $400 to $700 unserviced and a city-centre average near $375.

Is serviced better than a standard condo let? +

Only with an efficient operator. Service absorbs roughly 30% to 40% of gross, so a $300 monthly premium can net as little as $60 once utilities, housekeeping and the operator share are paid.

What occupancy do serviced apartments achieve? +

70% to 85%, stronger in the centre, which is above the citywide condo average. The occupancy data for both sits in the condo occupancy guide.

Who rents serviced apartments in Phnom Penh? +

Corporate secondees, NGO and embassy staff, consultants on six to twelve month engagements and regional executives. It is a contract-length market, not a tourist one.

Can a foreigner own a serviced apartment? +

Yes, where the unit is strata-titled above the ground floor, on the same terms as any condo, inside the 70% total-area cap.

Can you model a specific unit? +

Send the building, unit size, purchase price and the operator's proposed terms. We model serviced and standard letting side by side.