Entrepreneurship
Promoting a Unique Bamboo Guesthouse through Online Marketing
For nature lovers and adventure seekers, a stay at the Bamboo House Riverside Guesthouse located in Kg. Notoruss, Panampang, Sabah, will surely be a satisfying and delightful experience. Only an hour drive away from Kota Kinabalu, this retreat that is nestled in a rainforest setting promises fun and adventure, and will surely excite the one who stumbles upon it. The retreat is only accessible using a 4-wheel drive that has to be maneuvered down a steep slope followed by a slightly flooded wooden bridge. Alternatively, one can reach there via a hanging bridge from the nearby village. It all started in 2012 when Florence’s father, Johnny Gantasim who is a housing contractor, decided to build a bamboo guesthouse for family get-togethers and visiting friends. The design was modeled after the traditional bamboo house of the Dusun community. Being a contractor, Johnny was able to get his workers to collect bamboos from the deep interior to build the house.
From a single traditional bamboo house when it first started, the facility later grew with the addition of a modern 4-bedroom building, a kitchen, a dining hall and also a swimming pool. There was a growing need for guesthouses among the community especially during events like weddings, the harvest festival and school holidays. By 2014, the family decided to accept guests who wanted to rent the place. It was named Bamboo House Riverside, Kg Notoruss, with Florence, assisted by her sister and mother, given the responsibility to manage and look after the place.
Online Promotion
The Celcom Internet Centre at Pekan Babagon is situated near the guesthouse. Its manager, Emily Makaji, is a graduate in Environmental Science from Universiti Malaysia Sabah. Being a neighbour and also a personal friend of Florence, Emily told her about the online entrepreneurship course conducted by the centre and also its fast internet service. Convinced, Florence made the important decision to enrol as a member at the centre to enable her to attend the entrepreneurship course and also learn about photo editing. Now, she is a frequent visitor at the centre where she can enjoy fast-speed internet service to manage and update her Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram accounts that she use to promote her business.
A Growing Business
With greater awareness through her online marketing effort plus word-of-mouth recommendations, the Bamboo House Riverside Guesthouse is now attracting not only Malaysians but also customers from Brunei, China, Japan and even Hungary. This hidden sanctuary has so many attractions to offer. It has a natural and unspoilt rainforest environment, rivers flowing from the nearby mountains filled with the protected kelah fishes, a hanging bridge that connects the guesthouse with the main village, the Tagal Tinopikon Park nearby, and the opportunity to get to know the friendly Dusun community in the village. With continuous and more aggressive promotion, it’s just a matter of time before the business really takes off to new heights.
Florence Johnny, 27
Bamboo House Riverside Guesthouse,
Kg Notoruss, Panampang
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Served by Celcom Internet Centre
Pekan Babagon, Sabah
