With already a trio of clubs open in Greater Bali – Nusa Ceningan, Gili Trawangan and Labuan Bajo – Indonesia beach club operator Le Pirate now has its sights cast on adding 20 new properties in the country and throughout Asia by 2020.
The brainchild of father-and-son team Fredo (of Ku De Ta fame) and Louka Taffin, Le Pirate has teamed up with Bill Barnett, founder of Phuket-based property consulting firm C9 Hotelworks, to grow the poshtel model beyond Indonesian shores to appeal to the millennial and Gen-Z travellers.
From left: Le Pirate’s Fredo Taffin and Louka Taffin; and C9 Hotelworks’ Bill Barnett
According to C9 Hotelworks’ most recent South-east Asia Hotel Market Trends Report, Indonesia’s inventory of poshtels skyrocketed last year with a 73 per cent year-on-year rise.
Barnett elaborated: “We are seeing poshtels across the archipelago shift outside of areas like Bali into more emerging locations like the Gilis, Flores, Rajah Ampat, and even cultural destinations like Malang. Our data shows just under 200 poshtel-type properties already operating in the country.”
Internationally, the development pipeline is focused on the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. With Le Pirate International established in Singapore, the team is working on pushing out licensing and branding models, and engaging developers who want to enter the hotel business.
The social beach club and hotel brand also wants to make a shift towards floating beach club cruisers with its Explorer Cruises, a fleet of overnight island hopping boats.
“We wanted to take one of Indonesia’s key attributes – the spectacular ocean and numerous islands – and make them more accessible in a fun, authentic and natural way,” said Louka.
