Our Community
European Guesthouse holidays makes a difference
At European Guesthouse we have made a commitment to look after Cambodia and its people. We are dedicated to give our guests a relaxed, friendly and clean accommodation option that helps benefit and develop the local community.
Environment
- – We recycle all cardboard, bottles and cans.
- – We compost old leaves and grass cuttings
- – We use low energy lighting
- – Staff are trained on being mindful of electricity usage
- – All water is filtered
- – We do gray water recycling
- – All waste water is properly treated and no unsafe water is released into the environment.
- – We minimize our use of any pesticide. Those we do use (mosquito control) meet international standards.
- – We are training our local team on environmental issues and encouraging them to participate in waste reduction.
- – All managers are trained to ‘think before you print’ reducing our use of paper. Any paper is kept and used for scrap note pads etc, after this it is recycled.
- – Towels and sheets are cleaned on check out and request only
- – We use fruits, vegetables and herbs grown from our own organic garden
- – All food is bought at the local market
- – We do not run large group tours
- – We provide information for customers on the challenges Cambodia faces and ways in which they can help
- – Donations from guests are directed to Build your Future Today Centre and Angkor Hospital for Children.
Recruitment / Employment
Our team of Khmer staff are European Guesthouse’s greatest asset. We pride ourselves on helping them develop their skills and capabilities for the future. We actively recruit from the local community with an emphasis on female employees. We focus on providing an opportunity for entry level staff to train in other departments, and move through our organisation. We pride ourselves on being a fair pay, equal opportunity employer.
All staff receive free meals at work
We actively recruit & develop females and provide programs to help expand career options – including helping with English and computer classes. We promote from within and actively develop staff from entry level positions. We operate to always comply or provide better conditions than specified by Cambodia’s labour law. We provide leave for study, and are as flexible as possible to always enable students to continue their education. We provide regular training throughout the year for most employees We provide substantial monthly bonuses to reward commitment and loyalty. 100% of our staff are local employees. We are an equal opportunity / fair pay employer. We employ local Cambodian Guides and assist in developing ‘driver’s’ to become guides, which expands their career prospects, and increases the salary available to them.
Community Relations
We are business members of ConCert an NGO which helps support well run NGO’s across Cambodia. We work with a number of community organizations and support them through providing links to customers. The two main organizations that we support are Sangkheum Center and Angkor Hospital for children. Both of these NGO’s we recommend for volunteers, donations of items, and site visits. We help facilitate contact with willing volunteers / donations We incorporate community focus into any group packages we provide We actively seek and use local suppliers where possible We completely avoid corruption and refuse to use commission schemes.
Cultural Information
Each room includes an information book which details information on Cambodia, sights and attractions as well as providing information on ways visitors can get involved. Our reception team is able to provide customers with information on local NGO’s, orphanages and other ways in which they can help. We provide information on ways customers can donate and help the people of Cambodia.
Purchasing
We purchase locally wherever possible & aim to use as much Cambodian grown produce as possible We seek local operators wherever possible We avoid corruption / bribe schemes
Continual Improvement
We are continually reviewing our performance in being a responsible tourism operator. We have an ongoing commitment to staff education on environmental and socially responsible practices.
*Information provided was to the best of our knowledge correct at the time of writing. Dated October 16th 2013.