Exclusive interview with Bill Bensley
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Doing no damage is not good enough - leaving a positive legacy that survives for generations is needed
The properties on our site are not just luxurious and enriching for the guests who travel to them – they are also enriching to those who live around them. We look for hosts who create their businesses around a sustainable ethos and who aim to leave the world a better place than they found it.
We are only guardians of this earth for future generations and therefore, it is important to World of Glamping to share good practice when it comes to sustainability so we can all benefit. We have collected together resources from some of the most successful, influential and of course sustainable practitioners in the industry. We hope this guidance will provide inspiration to others.
Ensuring that your business has sustainability at its core; not just in its design and operation but with the landscape, the wildlife and the community around it. While every property is unique and has its own challenges, there are many ways in which we can learn from one another. Collaboration is key!
We love what iconic designer Bill Bensley has done by presenting to the world of hospitality his 'White Paper - SENSIBLE SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS' for designing better hotels to help fight climate change, incorporating over three decades of experience from designing over 200 hotels around the world. Throughout the paper, he cites examples of hotels he has designed that showcase these principles, including some amazing examples from our own collection such as: Four Seasons Tented Camp and Four Seasons in Thailand, Capella Ubud in Bali, Rosewood Luang Prabang and his co-owned Shinta Mani Wild in Cambodia. Bill wants to shout his message from the treetops for all to hear. “Those of us in hospitality – be it designers, owners or operators – have the power of reaching thousands of people through our hotels and spreading this message of purpose. We should shoulder more responsibility concerning issues such as education, clean accessible water, alternative energy, energy consumption, food waste, wildlife protection and conservation, he said. Let’s all lose the greenwash and do something real,” he says. The concise Sensible Sustainable Solutions (Bill Bensley's White Paper) outlines 20 suggestions for hotel designers, owners and operators on designing better hotels to help fight climate change, covering three core pillars:
Hotels with a strong sense of local community, educating guests and employees, creating new experiences and championing environment issues – all of this can increase profits.
Including everything from branded amenities, water bottling plants, sourcing locally and farming/landscaping in a way that is sensitive to both the community and environment.
The keys to building smart in terms of building materials and energy conservation through architecture, as well as aspects such as upcycling and using solar panels to harvest the sun.
High-end camping has already gone big worldwide. Hospitality companies are creating tented camps around the world, and gradually striving to become low-impact versions of hospitality, whiles reconnecting travelers with the great outdoors in the utmost comfort and style.
GREAT Architecture begins with an idea.
If you want that your hospitality project to truly stand out from the crowd, do what our world needs and what guests want - create authentically sustainable experiences with purpose. We strongly recommend partnering up with one of the following amazing creators in experiential travel, who are behind the creation of some of the best high-end tented camps and resorts in the world.
Design. Experiential lodging. Innovators and storytellers. Luxury Frontiers prides itself as an international expert in the design and development of experiential resorts and lodges. Beyond today’s notion of luxury, we seamlessly integrate sustainability and sophistication into iconic hospitality concepts on the world’s frontiers of travel. We call it beyond luxury. And then some. Some of Luxury Frontiers stunning projects are: Camp Sarika by Amangiri, Belmond Savute, Nayara Tented Camp, Puku Ridge, Abu Camp and many more.
Website: Luxury Frontiers
Contact: luca.franco@luxury-frontiers.com
Based in Bangkok and Bali BENSLEY is a small atelier of youthful, energetic architects, interior designers, artists and landscape architects that know no limits. Among 200+ their hotels our collection includes Bill Bensley's stunning projects: Capella Ubud, Four Season Tented Camp Golden Triangle, Rosewood Luang Prabang and Shinta Mani Wild.
Website: Bensley
Contact: bill@bensley.com
An interdisciplinary design & project development company servicing the hospitality industry with offices in the Netherlands, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and South Africa. Using a holistic approach, they create sustainable resort and residential projects that reflect a true sense of place and fit organically into their natural surroundings. as we believe that designs should serve as a bridge to connect nature, culture and people. They have worked on numerous luxury resorts, retreats and camps in far flung places, for amongst others Resplendent Ceylon, Six Senses resorts and spas, Soneva Group, &Beyond, Wilderness Safaris, African Bush Camps and Tri Lanka which you can also find in our collection.
Website: Nomadic Resorts
Contact: louis@nomadicresorts.com
Owners of glamping properties can often struggle how to find the perfect glamping accommodation for their project in the planning and development stages. If you want your hospitality project to offer guests the highest quality accommodation, we strongly recommend that you enquire about the perfect product for your project with one of the following manufacturers whose tents can be found in several of the best tented camps and resorts in the world.
Escape Nomade designs not tents, but "Luxury Tented Villas". Our tented villas are 'structural', not tension. Their foundations go underground to enable a high 170kmph wind resistance. A galvanized mild steel framework and certified 'self-cleaning fabrics' contribute to their lifespan of 25+ years and temperature tolerance from -20°C to +50°C. Sizes are 9sqm to 500sqm, with all high-end comforts-AC, Fans, Inverters, Insulation, Wood & Glass-walled Bathrooms, Wood & Composite floors & decks, Ongrid & offgrid connections and teak furniture.
We provide almost turnkey work for HNIs, owner-operators as well as large brands. Our portfolio includes work for Uma Thurman, Raffles, Bali Beach Glamping, The Beige Cambodia, Keikoku Japan and several boutique resorts.
Website: Escape Nomade
Contact: aanvi@escapenomade.com
Exclusitve Tents are most durable and luxurious glamping and eco-friendly tents, quickly becoming the standard for alternative accommodation worldwide. From the remote African safari to the five star ultra luxury island resorts, Exclusive Tents is leading the way to a new era of sustainable green living. Our collection includes several stunning projects with Exclusive Tents: Tiarasa Escapes, 4 Rivers Floating Lodge, Glamping Sandat Bali and Virgin Limited Edition.
Website: Exclusive Tents
Contact: krazy@exclusivetents.com
Whether you call them luxury safari tents or glamping tents, eco cabins or eco tents, the Australian designed Eco Structures range redefines experiential tourism accommodation. Customisable, quick to install and featuring bespoke designs, the eco tent is made up of modules that can be linked and connected together.
Our rich industry experience as tourism operators has taught a lot about the beauty of nature – and its raw power. Wind, fire, floods, drought – we’ve seen it all. That’s why every one of our products are designed uniquely around your travel concept and the environment it will exist in. Eco Structures Australia has built for customers around the world, meeting the needs of diverse environments, climates and terrain, from the red coastal cliffs of Australia, to the jungles of Costa Rica and mountains of China. Some of our projects are Sierra Escape, Ramada Eco Beach Resort, Marrramarra Lodge, Swell Lodge,...
Website: Eco Structures
Contact: sales@ecostructures.com.au
Bushtec Safari is the original luxury safari brand. Backed by more than 50 years’ experience, branches, and clients around the globe and our very own state-of-the-art, ISO certified factory - Canvas and Tent – we are perfectly positioned to collaborate on projects big or small. We have a range of luxury tents to choose from. Each designed to push the boundaries of luxury tent design and introduce a new tent concept to our range that responds to the needs of clients, environmental requirements, advances in technology and new international standards.
We are proud to have manufactured luxury tents for Telal Resort in Al Ain, Durbuy Belgium, Sesta Terra Natural Resort, the newly opened Open Sky Zion in Utah, Jack’s Camp in Botswana, and our hugely successful full-turnkey resort - Mysk Kingfisher Retreat in the UAE. Photo: Mysk Kingfisher Retreat.
Website: Canvas and Tent Group
Contact: info@bushteccsafari.co.za
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