To be named as an example of sustainable best practices in Lao PDR is high praise – and that’s how the Lao PDR government introduced us to Toune Sisouphanthavong, proprietor of the boutique hotel Maison Dalabua in Luang Prabang.
The Lao PDR government recognized Maison Dalabua for its sustainable practices that significantly reduce waste and pollution. Its organic gardens, plastic-free rooms and zero-waste kitchens draw tourists from as far afield as Europe. Visitors are entranced by the hotel’s authentic, luxurious stay, which takes inspiration from Lao culture.
Tourism veteran Toune considers all this part of a job well done. “I think when you do something you love, it’s not very difficult,” she tells us. “I think it’s good to be challenged like this, because it helps make Luang Prabang a top destination for quality tourists.”
We asked Toune about Maison Dalabua’s success in maintaining an example of sustainability for the rest of the heritage site; the challenges and rewards of maintaining a sustainable business model in Lao PDR; and the high sustainability standards she promotes for the rest of Luang Prabang.
I would like to start by asking about the origin of Maison Dalabua. What was the objective behind opening this hotel?
Maison Dalabua started as a local business with 15 rooms, and first opened in 2007. The owner at that time ran it as a family business, but she found it difficult because the hospitality business is very complicated and requires great attention to detail.
When I first visited the hotel in 2011, I saw its potential for development. I could see many things that could be improved, especially the surrounding area: there were ponds and a small forest, and the location was not far from the city. So, I purchased the business.
We also decided to add more rooms, and now, we have 40 rooms in total. Our business never closed during construction, because we managed our local construction carefully. The builders didn’t use big equipment, and we tried to replicate the traditional methods local people use to build houses.
That’s why our project took so long—it took seven years. We didn’t cut any corners: our design respected UNESCO’s operational guidelines, and we asked for their permission before starting any work.
Your focus on sustainability—would you say it’s mainly about nature preservation, the environment, and heritage?
For Luang Prabang businesses, we want to set a good example for every small business here. We work very hard to keep our environment clean, especially the lily pond. We also cultivate flowers from our garden for decoration, and we try to avoid using chemicals on the plants we grow. We compost what we can and use organic fertilizer for our flowers. We need to make sure everything, even our flowers, has no chemicals.
In our rooms, we don’t use any plastic. For water, we use glass bottles. Everything in the room is 100% plastic-free—even the slippers and the toothbrush. We order wooden products wherever we can.
We also recycle. For example, guests often bring plastic with them, so we collect it and sell it to factories for recycling. The money from the factory goes to our gardener and housekeeping team. As for food waste, we compost it.
And for our vegetable waste, some of our staff have small chicken farms, so they take the vegetables from the restaurant to feed their chickens.
Did you have any difficulties in the beginning implementing sustainable practices and putting your ethics into practice?
No, because I love what I’m doing. I learned many things by myself, including learning from the internet. I think when you do something you love, it’s not very difficult.
I’m not bored! I am happy because I get very, very good feedback from customers around the world. They come to our place and say they want to spend their time in our garden. I think you can find hotels with rooms and swimming pools anywhere, but the environment around your hotel makes the difference.
How do you feel about your role as an employer in Luang Prabang – providing job opportunities and creating jobs in the local community?
We think it’s super important. When you hire local people, they stay longer with you, and you can see how they grow in their careers. Some started in housekeeping and then got promoted to reservations or became receptionists. Some were even promoted to operations manager. We are very proud of this.
We have 140 staff across three brands: the Maison Dalabua hotel, Manda de Laos restaurant, and our French restaurant, Gaspard. We run everything with a local team.
You’ve obviously achieved a lot already. But for the future, do you have any plans to start new projects or goals for this hotel? Any future plans?
First, I want to keep our hotel’s operations sustainable. I want people to always be happy when they visit. In the future, I plan to develop the garden—make it bigger or turn it into a farm. I know a farm is still a few years away, but I want something that can produce food for our kitchen.
We’ve already started; it’s been nearly a year, and some herbs come from our garden. It’s not easy to find people to work on this with me, but I believe it can be done, and I believe people, especially tourists, will be interested in farm-to-table culture.
I’m focusing my time on completing my products. Once the product is done, I think marketing will follow. I’m thinking of doing different kinds of marketing for the younger generation, because I know platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram are very strong. You can reach a lot of people and get them to come to your site and buy your products.
But for me, I don’t want people to come to my product and be disappointed. My foundation needs to be strong.
While you’re doing all this, are there any challenges you’re facing right now? Any difficulties?
Challenges? I don’t think I have any right now. We’re in a good place with the Heritage City in Luang Prabang, and we have good support from neighboring countries. The ASEAN-Japan Centre also helps promote the destination, which gives me a lot of confidence to continue without stopping. If you’re talking about sustainability, waste reuse, and recycling, I don’t have challenges because I understand what tourists are looking for.
As the president of the Luang Prabang Hotel and Guesthouse Association, would you say the other hotels are following the same sustainability trends and practices that you’re implementing at Maison Dalabua? Is it an overall trend in the industry?
Most hotels try to implement sustainable practices because they see the benefits. When they do it, they get good support. For example, my neighbor, Souvannaphoum Hotel, is the leader in trash collection, and they collect garbage every month around Luang Prabang. Most of the hotels here are trying to be sustainable.
You mentioned that being sustainable brings support. What kind of support do businesses like hotels receive? Are there any incentives?
No, we don’t have any incentives. But, you know, when businesses become more sustainable, they attract more customers.
What rubric or standard do you follow to maintain a certain level of sustainability?
Our partner businesses, like travel agencies from overseas, send us their checklists. They are very detailed. For example, they don’t just check the environment, but also technical aspects like fire alarms, the swimming pool, and other technical areas. Every year, the checklist becomes more sensitive and stricter.
Before, they would just send you a form and you’d respond, “yes, yes, yes,” but now, no. You have to take photos and even do video calls. It’s like being a student—you have to complete your checklist every year.
The checklists follow very strict standards, to meet the quality expected by our partner travel agencies from overseas. They are very strict. They say, “Before we send customers to you, you need to do this and that.” For example, the Japanese market requires hotels to have bathtubs and two beds, among other things.
At first following these standards was quite hard, but now I’ve been in this business for more than 25 years, so I know what standards they’re looking for. That’s why it’s very easy for us to cater to the market.
You probably expect that even three-star or two-star hotels can pass the exam. If more hotels in Luang Prabang can offer more rooms for travelers, it’s good for the city. You’re expecting many hotels to pass?
Yes, I expect that because when you pass the quality check, you attract the high-end market. We at Maison Dalabua want to set a good example for those in hospitality, restaurants, and hotels. When you invest money in a hotel, you need a good market. And to attract a good market, you need good standards, right?
To conclude, how do you feel about the recent trend of sustainable tourism? Everyone talks about it, but what are your thoughts on its future?
It depends on how it’s practiced. When we talk about sustainability, you have to put it into practice—you have to make it happen. If you just talk about it but don’t take action, nothing will change. That’s why I do it myself because I want to make it happen.
I believe in the future, the people who believe in sustainability won’t stop until they succeed. It’s hard for many businesses. It’s easy to talk about it, but it’s hard to make it happen. This is something I’ve learned from my experience, not from books. It takes time to do it, but when you do, you see the results. School is one thing, but practice is another.
Find out more about Maison Dalabua: visit their website maisondalabua.com, or check out their social media pages on Facebook and Instagram.
This interview article is produced in collaboration with the ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC) and the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO).