How to Design an Immersive and Sustainable Travel Experience

Episode Transcript

Florence Li: [00:00:00] It’s a wonderful thing to make it into our mission for this hotel chain so that all of the staff we acquire this ability to pursue real meaning of happiness, and then we can spread this kind of positive energy to our guests. And our guests can bring this positive energy back to their place so that the whole world can be influenced with this positive energy going up.

Robin Trimingham: [00:00:33] Welcome to the Innovative Hotelier podcast by HOTELS magazine with weekly thought provoking discussions with the world’s leading hotel and hospitality innovators. Welcome to the innovative hotelier brought to you by Hotels magazine. I’m your host, Robin Trimingham. Legend has it that in an unknown place on the Qinghai-tibet plateau, there’s a mysterious kingdom called Shambhala. Here, people transcend their troubles and pains and finally realize the true source of happiness. Sounds amazing, doesn’t it? Well, believe it or not, one unique hotel chain has made it their mission to not just spread word of this wonderful place, but to actually weave a transformative travel experience into the very essence of their marketing campaign, as well as the entire experience of the guests who stay with them. Today, it’s my honor to welcome Florence Li, Director of Overseas Business Development at Sangsom Hotels and Resorts to the show to share insights regarding the creation of this next level travel experience. Join me now for a fascinating conversation with Florence. FOH is a global food service and hospitality company that manufactures smart commercial grade solutions. Headquartered in Miami, the company designs and manufactures all their restaurant and hotel products. They have showrooms and distribution centers located throughout the globe, and their products are always in stock and ready to ship from any of their distribution centers worldwide. Welcome, Florence. It’s so nice to get a chance to chat with you finally.

Florence Li: [00:02:28] Thank you, Robin. Good morning.

Robin Trimingham: [00:02:31] Good morning. I’m really excited about this because I’m from one of the smallest countries in the world and you are representing one of the most remote destinations in the world. So talk about the Internet really bringing people together for I think this is like a fascinating cultural crossroads, if you will. So to start us off today, can you give us a brief overview of the Sangsom Hotels and Resort brand and tell us a little where your properties are located? What sort of experiences do you offer?

Florence Li: [00:03:12] For sure. So our brand name is Sangsang. It means Paradise. It’s Tibetan. So we have been running for 23 years, since the year of 2000. Right now we have 16 properties and also we are DMC. But for our DMC, we only operate tools for our guests. So all of our hotels are along the ancient Tea Horse Road in Vietnam region and also in Tibet region. So it’s very rich in culture. The Asian Tea Horse Road is a part of the ancient Silk Road. The merchants in that area hundreds of years ago, they used to use caravans to carry salt and tea for trading. They get tea from Nampur and then go all the way up to trade with Tibet region in old days and also with India. So it’s a very amazing destination with our rich culture, splendid scenery as well. You see like snow mountains, you see grassland, rice, field monastery and also you see a lot of animals like yaks. Of course, it’s a rare animal in Tibet. And also you will see endangered species like goat snub nosed monkey and some pheasants. So basically the whole region, it’s very rich in culture and biodiversity.

Robin Trimingham: [00:04:28] It’s fascinating that you have a country that has both yaks and monkeys because to somebody who doesn’t know any better, that would be me. It sounds like those two animals should be from completely different places. And yet here they all are together in Tibet. I understand that Sangsom specializes in offering immersive cultural experiences that combine natural environment, traditional culture and the indigenous values of the Tibetan region. Can you explain the kind of partnerships that you have had to develop in order to make all of this possible?

Florence Li: [00:05:07] Yeah, absolutely. So actually in Yunnan Province, it’s like a state. There are more than 20 minority groups like each of them. They have their own culture and everything. So for Lijiang, it’s a famous destination in Yunnan. We will take our guests to learn local language and local painting with local art master and in some areas in very remote destination in Tibet region, we take our guests to go experience local handicraft like black pottery making. It’s like an ancient technique can be traced back to 2000 years ago and also Tibetan lacquer painting. Nietzsche. So it’s very immersive because our guests get the opportunity to sit down with a local villager, local handicraft man, and then they have this kind of connection and interaction between them and they create something, a piece of art with their own hands. And afterwards they can actually take the souvenir back. So this is how we connect with the remote destination and people in the remote lands through our curated experience.

Robin Trimingham: [00:06:18] You talk about this as if this is just the most natural way to do things, but honestly, I get to chat with everybody. And the way you guys approach cultural tourism is actually really quite unique and much more authentic than a lot of what other hoteliers are doing. So let’s try to help them out. Let’s try and help them better understand your approach and share what you guys have learned through all of this. I understand that one of the things you do is you leverage the concept of the transformative power of travel by promoting your properties as gateways to the natural environments and authentic local activities. Talk to me a little bit about how you guys do that.

Florence Li: [00:07:11] Yeah, because we think people go to a particular destination not only to stay in the hotels there, but also they want to reconnect to the nature and also connect to the local community there. So this connection with the local community sometimes can be neglected by some other tour companies because people just tend to get away from the hustle and bustle in the city and lie down on the beach or go safari to see animals instead of going to really exchange ideas and communicate actually with local communities. So honestly, we have 92% of our employees. They are from local village. They may not really very high educated, but they were born from the mountains in the mountains. We actually provide very good training for them. They become really confident about themselves and then they provide a great service to the guests and some of our local guides. They are so warm. Sometimes they can take our guests to their own house and then offer them some local butter tea or some local wine. And this is very unique and unexpected experience for our guests, and they are highly present.

Robin Trimingham: [00:08:25] I think it’s so wonderful that you guys are located in a place where the cultural heritage is naturally so evolved because it’s such an ancient culture. And this is something that sometimes Westerners struggle with because our culture, for the most part, it doesn’t go back all that far. We don’t have 2000 year old tradition means that we can draw upon that are passed down from one person to the next. So many of our listeners are going to be familiar with Tibet because of Mount Everest. We’ve all heard of that, but maybe not so familiar with Song Sam’s own mission, which is to inspire guests to understand how local people pursue and understand happiness, and perhaps even showing them how to embark on their own path of enlightenment. I mean, that is a very lofty, ambitious mission, but you guys are actually doing it. So can you talk to us a little bit about what inspired this mission and why it is so important to everything that you are?

Florence Li: [00:09:42] Great question. There is a legend says there is a piece of Hidden kingdom hidden land called Shambhala, which is actually located in the area of Shangri-La Region, which nowadays we call it Shangri-La, but in another dimension. So like there is like a sacred pathway hidden in the monastery area that you can actually, if you can manage to find a way, you can go through that gateway or tunnel and then go to another dimension. And the beings who live there, they are like super intelligent and they refrain from all the sufferings so that you can actually find it. From the ancient inscription about the Hidden Kingdom, Shambhala and most of the Tibetan people in that region. They believe in like Tibetan Buddhism and they always care about others. They always say that the way how you can pursue happiness is through giving happiness to others. And this is in their previous everyday and they are not materialistic at all. They are happy with what they can get from everyday life. Sunshine, water and very beautiful sacred mountain. This is something that they’re great for every day and it’s in their prayers every day. So my dad, he thought it’s a wonderful thing to make it into our mission for this hotel chain so that all of the staff we acquire this ability to pursue real meaning of happiness, and then we can spread this kind of positive energy to our guests. And our guests can bring this positive energy back to their place so that the whole world can be influenced with this positive energy.

Robin Trimingham: [00:11:25] The very noble endeavor. And I love the idea that happiness is the byproduct of a life well lived. It’s such a simple concept and one that in our materialistic society, in the rest of the world, maybe we have lost sight of this a little bit. How does Sangsom incorporate sustainability initiatives into their actual marketing strategy?

Florence Li: [00:11:51] Oh yeah. Actually, yesterday we officially opened one of our largest hotel in Basanto Lake, which is located in the eastern part of Tibet. So it’s a low carbon hotel. We are in partnership with Siemens and we implanted a lot of energy saving system to make it green. And it’s a kind of commitment for the brand as well that we commit to sustainability, not only preserve the heritage culture, not only to provide local community with job opportunities, but also like energy conservation and protecting the environment as well.

Robin Trimingham: [00:12:31] Established in 2002, FOH is a woman owned global food service and hospitality company that manufactures smart, savvy commercial grade products, including plate wear, drinkware, flatware, hotel amenities and more driven by innovation. FOH Is dedicated to delivering that wow experience that restaurants and hotels crave all while maintaining a competitive price. All products are fully customizable, and many are also created using sustainable eco friendly materials such as straws and plates made from biodegradable paper and wood and PVC free Drinkware F.o.h. Has two established brands front of the house focused on tabletop and Buffet Solutions and Room 360, which offers hotel products. Check out their collections today at FOHWorldwide.com. Sustainability is something that all hoteliers are having to pay more attention to. Struggling with getting their carbon footprint down and all of those kinds of things. How challenging was it to build a low energy property in such a remote location?

Florence Li: [00:13:48] Oh yeah. It’s pretty challenging because the elevation in some of the part of Tibet is pretty high. For example, we have our highest property in Yangwu elevation is around 13,000ft. So for the Lake Basel Hotel, it’s lower than that, but still high. So you have to ship everything from Shanghai or Beijing and then to Tibet. It’s quite tough. Yeah.

Robin Trimingham: [00:14:14] I would imagine because of high elevation, the ground’s frozen a lot of the year. Does that make construction challenging? Can you only build in certain seasons?

Florence Li: [00:14:24] Yes. So the coldest season would be like winter time, like January, February, March. Some of our properties we have to close and it’s not ideal timing for doing construction and other things. Yeah.

Robin Trimingham: [00:14:39] Okay, that makes sense. So I’m intrigued because I read that your brand has developed personalized luxury amenities and experiences against this austere backdrop of Mount Everest and the harsh conditions you were just speaking of. Can you tell us why that song Sam believes that the journey to these remote places is as important as being at the destination itself?

Florence Li: [00:15:10] Well, like my father, he is the founder of this brand. He used to be a documentary filmmaker. Later on, he became a hotelier because he figured out this is a great way to showcase the culture and beautiful nature. Through this platform. And he always put or choose the location of the property in the place where he put his cameras and each of the property in remote destinations. We have great view. They always say that every Samsung window, if you look out from our window, it’s like a postcard. So destination wise, people usually go to Tibet to go visit the ancient capital to visit Potala Palace and other like monumental sites or go to Mount Qomolangma. But for those destinations where we have properties are not regular destination. It’s handpicked by our team. And the reason why we pick it not only because it’s beautiful, but also each village, it’s very authentic. They still have this tradition with them, which can be traced back 2000 years ago, and people there like they are super simple and happy. And then by talking to them, by communicating with them, you can feel like how authentic it is, which can actually transform the way how you live. Many of our guests, after they spend some time in remote destination in our properties, after they went back, they feel like everything changed. They feel much lighter and not so stressful at all because normally, like people who live in big cities, they are like purpose driven. They feel like they they have to go somewhere, they have to perform something. But this is actually not the nature of life. You are not obliged to to achieve those things. When you go back to nature, when you talk to these people, they they live a very simple and very nice life for hundreds of years. So suddenly you realize that you don’t need to push yourself that much. Maybe just take a step back and then you feel like much lighter and happier. So pursue the happiness.

Robin Trimingham: [00:17:12] I’m fascinated by the idea that you are able to choose the locations for the hotels based on the beauty of the scenery and the authenticity of the town that was nearby, and yet be so respectful that you didn’t turn it into what the Westerners call a tourist trap that you’re the hotel is somehow, I’m going to say, in harmony with the local community. And it’s sort of a symbiotic relationship. It’s not one that’s feeding off and taking advantage of the people. This is very unique and very commendable. You alluded to this earlier in that many of your properties, I understand they’re essentially Tibetan style retreats and they promote meditation and spiritual healing. And I was looking at your website and you see people having meditation classes. So it’s a very different sort of experience. I’m going to say it’s a little more like a spa maybe to a Westerner than it is a traditional let’s go to the mountains vacation. Can you talk to us a little more about this?

Florence Li: [00:18:31] Yeah, we have very unique spa. We feature a very unique spa. We use a lot of local ingredients like yak butter and barley flour, those kind of thing. But also we use products from lamas. We are in cooperation with the cosmetic brand. Lama And what I want to share with you the most is our wellness program. It’s not only like massage and other things, but also like we have Tibetan Medicine Bath, We can do Tibetan yoga posture, Tibetan breathing technique. These are like very unique things, including meditation. And we have very special technique in Himalayan region for conducting the practice of meditation and other things because we focus on the training of the mind, which is crucial for our practitioners, but also normal guests if they want to actually find inner balance, holistic, living style, I think I would highly suggest they should try one of our retreats.

Robin Trimingham: [00:19:30] Okay. I have to ask, what do you do with yak butter in a spa?

Florence Li: [00:19:35] Yak butter? Actually, it’s not so good. It’s like butter, but more yak flavored than I would say. We use it as oil for aromatherapy. Oh, cool. Yeah. It’s so delicious that some of our guests, after they do the yak butter aromatherapy thing, they feel like they’re so starving they want to eat something. Like it’s fascinating. Yeah.

Robin Trimingham: [00:20:00] So I love your holistic approach to it’s basically to every aspect of a stay at one of your properties, isn’t it? It’s not just in the spa. It would be everywhere you go. Talk to me about how exploring cultural landmarks and monasteries in and around your properties becomes an integral part of the guest’s personal journey to enlightenment.

Florence Li: [00:20:28] Yeah. The kind of activity that we offer is more like soft adventures. So some of our guests, they are more into like going to the nature. But still there is a part of our guests. They want to know more about local culture and history, history in the monastery and also like philosophy of Buddhism. So normally it’s always like curated tool. We will take our guests to have a escorted private tool in the monastery and explain them about when it was founded and why it’s like this and why people are doing prayers in this way. And then sometimes we can even arrange our guests to chat with monks and they always questions like why you choose to become a monk and what kind of daily practice that you do like. Are you vegetarian? Do you have girlfriend? Why you are using iPhone? Those kind of questions like they can actually talk to the monks. Wow.

Robin Trimingham: [00:21:26] I’m a little speechless and I’m never speechless. That’s a very unique opportunity that people are having when they stay with you. So let’s talk about food. Yeah. In the West, we talk all the time in the hotel industry about creating a memorable culinary experience or the 20 mile diet or something like that. If I understand correctly, you’re not just serving food prepared with local ingredients. As you said, you’re giving people the opportunity on occasion to go into the actual home of one of the employees, one of the villagers. How has food then become an integral part of a guest transformative experience when they stay with you?

Florence Li: [00:22:17] I would say that like in the whole region, we are very rich in local produce, for example, like in July and August, it’s like mushroom season. We have more than 20 kinds of mushrooms that are edible, and this region is also famous for local ham. Yak meat. Hotpot is also one of our speciality. And so local food, I would say, is a bit like normal Chinese food, but you can get from us, but it’s a bit spicy. But also we created a lot of Western dishes with our local ingredients and I think this may give a lot of inspiration to our guests that they can actually fusion the local ingredients from Shangri-La or from eastern part of Tibet to their daily cuisine

Robin Trimingham: [00:23:03] Oh, wow. That’s very cool. We got a couple of minutes left here. I have one more question for you. You were kind enough to share bits of the song Sam Brand book with me, which I really appreciated because I do understand that book is normally only available in Chinese. And let’s just say I haven’t learned Chinese yet. And it says in your book, All the scenery along the way is a window that allows us to see how life flows and thrives in the world. Talk to me about utilizing indigenous values as the basis of a marketing campaign that attracts the imagination of potential visitors from the four corners of the world. Because you certainly captivated me with what I was able to read.

Florence Li: [00:23:53] Fundamentally, it’s like we provide a kind of platform for people from all over the world to reconnect to nature and reconnect to the Asian culture. And the Himalaya region. Beats experiencing the local handicrafts. And also actually we have a collection of antique art pieces in our properties as well. Like they get an opportunity to get a closer look to see the local handicraft and the whole immersive experience is tailor made to provide a kind of opportunity for our guests to get to know more about this region in a very authentic way. So that’s what we are aiming for.

Robin Trimingham: [00:24:34] This has been quite a conversation. If you could give a message to all of the hoteliers who come across this video and listen to the podcast, what would you tell? Does working with influencers work.

Florence Li: [00:24:50] To reconnect oneself within? It’s very important so that you don’t lose your mind with all the hustle and bustle in your daily life. And for me, like personally, the most efficient way to reconnect to yourself is via connect to the nature and also connect to ancient local heritage so that you aware that life can exist in many forms and you can actually find the ultimate happiness within yourself.

Robin Trimingham: [00:25:25] I think that’s a good place to leave it. Florence, I want to thank you so much for taking time to chat with me today. It’s been an absolute pleasure to meet you. Thank you. I’ve been watching the innovative hotelier. Join us again soon for more up to the minute insights and information specifically for the hotel and hospitality industry. You’ve been listening to the Innovative Hotelier podcast by HOTELS magazine. Join us again soon for more conversations with hospitality industry thought leaders.