WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO GO GREEN WITH YOUR HOTEL?
Being green is a part of myself. Doing business is a reflection of who you are and I want to stay true to myself. [Being environmentally conscious is] also a growing trend among the younger generation. Bangkok Tree House is not for everybody. Other hotels beg you to come but we're something else. It's for people who want something different and we try to make that clear so the guests know what they will get. I recommend everyone to look us up first so they know what we are.
HOW GREEN IS IT?
We use less electricity and emit less waste. All of our nighttime outdoor lights run on solar and wind energy. For every booking we receive, we collect one kilogramme of garbage in the area. We hire local people to work for us to support the local economy. We buy pineapple peel from an auntie who lives next door and turn it into detergent that is used for cleaning fabrics. Some materials can be viewed as either trash or treasure. For example, driftwood that washes up onto our property is turned into art installations. Wood from construction workers' camps is turned into fences or counters. We also have a water treatment system so we don't dump grey water in the river. We also try to source organic ingredients for our restaurant. We do have air conditioning in the bedrooms, though.
HOW HAVE GUESTS RESPONDED TO THE HOTEL?
They either love it or hate it. Some Thai guests didn't look us up before coming so they weren't prepared for what we offer and what we don't. There's no road access, for example, so you can't drive a car right onto the property [access is via ferry]. We don't have air-conditioning in the public spaces of the hotel. We don't fumigate so at certain times of the year you will get some ants in the room because we want to respect the animals. On the other hand, people have complimented the unique design, the location and the surrounding nature [such as dense mangrove palms, coconut trees, kingfishers and butterflies]. Guests who love nature appreciate what we're doing.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES OF RUNNING A GREEN HOTEL?
It costs a lot to install solar cell panels and wind turbines. Our break-even point is at least 20-25 years away. It doesn't make any business sense but, as a business, you want to be accountable for your actions. We have to find the right guests because we are not a mass product.
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT TO RUN A BUSINESS?
When you start your own business, you shouldn't do it to please the market. Make it a reflection or extension of yourself. Doing what the market wants is basically copying everyone else. You can make your business stand out if you make it unique and nothing is more unique than being true to yourself.
FACTBOX
Jirayu "Joey" Tulyanond, 36, is not your average hotelier. He is very conscious about the green, but not the kind you take to the bank. He runs Bangkok Tree House (www.bangkoktreehouse.com) in Samut Prakan with a passion to make it as friendly to the environment as possible. Billing itself as "the last place in Bangkok where people still live at a sedate pace in blissful greenery", the 11-room hotel is in its soft opening phase until Oct 31 with rates currently 20 per cent lower than usual.
