Opened in December 2018 , Bensley ’ s Shinta Mani Wild in Cambodia is located in the remote jungle terrain of the South Cardamom National Park .
You have to love renowned interior designer Bill Bensley ’ s passion and belief that the future of the hotel industry includes everyone doing more of the right things .
“ Being an environmentalist , we have to start solving the problems . I ’ m going to be an optimist and say hospitality is going to save the world ,” he told HOTELS during a recent telephone interview from his “ jungle-like ” Bangkok office .
The man who drives a VW , has five dogs , a very happy relationship and has designed everything from Four Seasons ’ Tented Camp Golden Triangle in Thailand and the Rosewood Luang Prabang in Laos to his own Shinta Mani retreats in Cambodia wants to bring a bigger heart to hospitality . “ I ’ d really like to see everyone bring heart and feeling into what hospitality should be ,” he says . “ Providing warmth and a friendly place to stay when not at home .”
It ’ s not that the hotel industry doesn ’ t already do that , Bensley acknowledges , but he thinks the industry isn ’ t going deep enough on sustainability efforts and suggests the vast majority of projects are all about making more money .
“ Anything that anyone says about ecology is mostly a bunch of greenwash ,” he says . “ We don ’ t use plastic straws but we will serve it to you in a plastic cup — it gets me so pissed off sometimes … So many problems in the world could be improved through hospitality . Hospitality can help society .”
Bensley warns that hoteliers should be more aware of the innate value of Mother Nature . Perhaps that explains the development of his Shinta Mani properties , in Siem Reap and the remote South Cardamom National Park in Cambodia , as well as the Shinta Mani Foundation , which seeks to enhance the lives of the individuals in the communities where the resorts operate by increasing their human capital and providing them the tools to overcome the constraints of poverty . To that end , his school has graduated some 300 hospitality students .
His next goal is to create a night school for Cambodians in entry-level management positions to help them reach upper management . “ For me , later in life , the greatest luxury is being able to give and make other ’ s lives better .”
Among other Shinta Mani projects in the works : a samurai safari camp in Okinawa and 300 high-end tents on an old eucalyptus grove called World Wild in China , part of a “ zoo ” where he says the animals will roam free .
THE THREE ES What truly works for Bensley is any project that incorporates his 3 Es : environmental , educational and experiential .
Whether it is the physical or social respect for the environment , building in places of great natural beauty with minimal intervention is an imperative . “ If you can ’ t get that right you are not going to get anything right ,” he says .
The educational component is delivered through storytelling , Bensley adds . “ In any hotel you can find interesting stories ,
November / December 2019 hotelsmag . com 19