World’s Second Best Hotel is an All-Cambodian Affair

[geovalin]

By Naomi Collett Ritz

Last week, the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards for 2016 named Siem Reap’s Shinta Mani Resort the second-best hotel in the world – behind only India’s Umaid Bhawan Palace Jodhpur – and that praise is being heaped on an all-Cambodian team.

The 39-room, four-star boutique hotel also topped the Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards in 2015, earning the top spot in Cambodia and number nine globally. The TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards that year put Shinta Mani at number three.

“That has never happened before,” Shinta Mani’s General Manager Christian de Boer said, “that a hotel is on that list for two years in a row. It reflects a change in the demands of the world’s travelers. People want experiences.”

But what Mr. de Boer is most proud of is his staff. Of the 274 teammembers, all are Cambodian. And all benefit from Shinta Mani’s unprecedented stance on worker-treatment.

read more: http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/20572/world---s-second-best-hotel-is-an-all-cambodian-affair/

[luckyman]

Tripadvisor ? Do they have knowledge about hotels now too? What a joke. Its all a fraud these awards are up for sale since ages!

[TheKnave]

Tripadvisor ? Do they have knowledge about hotels now too? What a joke. Its all a fraud these awards are up for sale since ages!

Possibly some, but TripAdvisor actively solicits opinions of guests, and publishes the results.

I wrote reviews of a couple places around SEA, and they are always bugging me to write more. I get the impression that they need customer reviews badly.

If you read the linked story, however, it makes a very interesting, and, to my thinking, valid point: take care of your employees exceptionally well, and you will reap real benefits.

Growing up in SoCal, I was always amazed at seeing the same faces at several restaurants around LA, in some cases for 20, 30 years or more. These restaurants are fixtures in LA, and pay their staff a very comfortable living wage.

I'm 65 now, and I still see the same cook I saw at The Pantry when I was in my 30's. Same waitress at Philippe, too. Many more examples...

In Thailand, the NANA Hotel is a good example. Many of the same staff are there now, as when I checked in the first time 30+ years ago, including the bellman. Say what you will about its class (or lack thereof), the place fills its niche, and is inarguably successful, and has enabled many families of their employees to be successful, too.

Good for the guy who runs that resort in Siem Reap.

[natway09]

There will be a lot of negative comments on this forum on this, but as an ex Hotelier all I can say is

Well Done to him & his team. Keep up the good work.

Thailand should aim for more of this quality & attract "the quality tourist" not just some of the Chinese rubbish

[luckyman]

There will be a lot of negative comments on this forum on this, but as an ex Hotelier all I can say is

Well Done to him & his team. Keep up the good work.

Thailand should aim for more of this quality & attract "the quality tourist" not just some of the Chinese rubbish

Are you kidding ? And you call yourself an ex-hotellier? Which country, what city, how many stars you worked at?

Thailand has lots of hotels that are truly amongst the best in the world, The Oriental, Shrangri-La and Banyan Tree in Bangkok, Trisara in Phuket and the list goes on and on.

[luckyman]

Tripadvisor ? Do they have knowledge about hotels now too? What a joke. Its all a fraud these awards are up for sale since ages!

Possibly some, but TripAdvisor actively solicits opinions of guests, and publishes the results.

I wrote reviews of a couple places around SEA, and they are always bugging me to write more. I get the impression that they need customer reviews badly.

If you read the linked story, however, it makes a very interesting, and, to my thinking, valid point: take care of your employees exceptionally well, and you will reap real benefits.

Growing up in SoCal, I was always amazed at seeing the same faces at several restaurants around LA, in some cases for 20, 30 years or more. These restaurants are fixtures in LA, and pay their staff a very comfortable living wage.

I'm 65 now, and I still see the same cook I saw at The Pantry when I was in my 30's. Same waitress at Philippe, too. Many more examples...

In Thailand, the NANA Hotel is a good example. Many of the same staff are there now, as when I checked in the first time 30+ years ago, including the bellman. Say what you will about its class (or lack thereof), the place fills its niche, and is inarguably successful, and has enabled many families of their employees to be successful, too.

Good for the guy who runs that resort in Siem Reap.

Good indeed, but the hotel rates itself 4 stars only, Siem Raep is visited mostly by backpackers and low-budget tourists and everybody knows the best hotel in the world is located in the Emirates. Lastly, the problem with Tripadvisor, is that it allows reviews from guests without checks by experts, a hotel owner can easily offer his guest incentives in exchange for a good rating.