Guest room at Outpost in Ubud , Bali
So far , properties range from 20 to 30 rooms and the group has friends and family seed money , as well as an equity fund , mostly to develop its tech platform and grow the team as opposed to acquire real estate . Outpost has a JV partner to further develop in Sri Lanka , further opportunities in Bali , bigger key count deals cooking in Bangkok and Abraham sees some unique opportunities for management because of the way the brand monetizes properties with locals coming in to work and spending on F & B and other career-related amenities .
About 75 % of people that use Outpost workspaces don ’ t book rooms and are higher spenders on F & B and amenities like Skype rooms and sound booths . “ We become more of a community center where people are coming in and out ,” Abraham adds .
Most of the demand to date has been driven by word of mouth and Outpost is realizing some stickiness via its website . “ People come to our site and look at six , seven , eight pages when the average is two ,” Abraham says . “ People want to learn more about us and the brand promise .”
Abraham says he is also very excited about the potential of B2B demand and Outpost has partnered with KPMG to see how it can work alongside corporations to offer a product that allows their employees another way to live and work . For example , Indonesia unicorn Gojek is already using Outpost facilities in Bali to attract talent from overseas . “ We still need to add more inventory to be effective in the space , but that is what really excites us today ,” Abraham adds .
Outpost is also in expansion conversations with a few other property partners in Asia and has received queries coming out of Central America . However , until it grows its team and further
establishes its position in Asia , considering Latin markets is not quite in the cards .
“ The potential is global and we ’ re already speaking to people outside of outside of Asia ,” Abraham adds . “ But we have to make sure we have the right team ready to expand .”
The key to success , based on Abraham ’ s experience to date : Pick your countries well and develop strong relationships with your real estate partners .
“ In Asia , you have to prove it in each location ,” he adds . “ But the conversations , I ’ ll tell you , are a lot easier in 2022 than they were in 2019 .”
The co-work scene at the Outpost in Ubud , Bali
20 hotelsmag . com July / August 2022