Memoire Hotels & Resorts (MHR) aims to fulfil the success stories of its team members. Hence, it recently supported May Sotheavuth to climb the Mount Everest.

Sotheavuth is a Clinical Massage Specialist and Therapeutic Spa consultant who also manages Memorie Spa Wellness Centre, a subsidiary of Memoire Hotels & Resorts.

At 45, he wanted to honour the spirit and efforts of Lim Piseth, who tragically died while attempting to be the first Cambodian who climbed the summit of Mount Everest in 2012 after encountering bad weather after ascending the 4,000-meter mark.

“I have to fight off the fear and tell myself that I have a mission to complete,” said Sotheavuth, who says he is looking forward to seeing the Cambodian flag planted on the 8,848-meter summit. However, he is unsure if he’s going to be the one to do it.

Sotheavuth wants to see the Cambodian flag planted on Mount Everest’s 8,848-meter summit. Photo supplied

Sotheavuth said: “I’m just grateful to Memoire Hotels & Resorts for its sponsorship and encouragement and to my family, colleagues, supporters and friends for their support.”

He made it to the 5,380-meter mark of the world’s tallest mountain on March 22, 2019, before turning back. Despite his failure to reach the summit, Sotheavuth nonetheless set his mark as the Cambodian who climbed higher than any of his nationals.

“People like to point to one reason why they have done something extraordinary. But, for me, it was much more than that. I wanted to bring peace to the late Lim Piseth, and test my personal endurance to see if what I teach at the hotel is indeed beneficial to one’s stamina, physical and spiritual wellbeing.”

MHR founder and CEO Philip Kao says that by supporting such an activity or similar programme, MHR will also be supporting its team members’ dreams to achieve. This also aligns with its strategic directions.

One of the hotel’s decoration- using used plastic bottles. Photo supplied

“It is also part of our project to create local and international awareness as to how the company can assist and contribute to the community,” he says.

Currently, Memoire Hotels and Resorts’ mission is to support sustainable environment projects and education development projects in Siem Reap that has benefited many Cambodians.

In promoting a sustainable environment, Memoire Palace Resort (MPR) has implemented a plastic-free policy. MHR offers glass bottles of water to visitors and customers instead of plastic bottles. It has also replaced plastic straws with that made from lemon grass.

Interestingly, only glass bottles are used in its amenities room, while it will only provides glass bottles of water to employees and strictly controls the usage of plastic materials in its daily business.

MPR also exhibits ‘art pieces’ by Cambodians using recycled plastic to heighten the awareness of its employees, customers and the public.

Actively involved with different NGOs and Government Vocational training centres, MPR offers them internships, and has volunteered to train and guide student to have a better understanding of the hospitality industry.

Planting trees is just one of of MHR’s CSR projects. Photo supplied

MPR also hosts charity events to raise funds to support Angkor Hospital for Children and others whenever possible.

Kao believes that business is not just about making profits. It’s also about giving back to the community and ensuring long-term sustainable growth.

With such a strong commitment, Kao is also involved with many other organisations to advocate and foster sustainable tourism. Hence, it is no surprise that he is the president of the Siem Reap Tourism Club Association.

Bartholomew Sinos, Siem Reap