Running Hotels: Hasmik Asatrian and Yin Myo Su
"I love complaining guests because they helps us upgrade." Two women running hotels in remote parts of Armenia and Myanmar share stories of challenging guests and strange requests
Hasmik Asatrian runs the Basen Hotel in Sisian. The business was owned by her husband's family, but Hasmik took over the management and day-to-day running in 2010. She transformed a rundown, Soviet-style complex with communal bathrooms and a leaky roof into a modern hotel that attracts tour groups and independent travellers who come to Armenia to discover the country's ancient history and culture. Hasmik's success won her Armenia's Young Businesswoman of the Year award in 2013.
Yin Myo Su runs the Inle Princess hotel, located on the shore of Inle Lake, in Myanmar. Su was raised in the hotel industry and says she was trained to work in it from an early age - her earliest memories are being taught how to cook, clean and entertain the guests. She says her strangest request was when a guest asked for his wife to be woken up by a flock of ducks quacking outside her window. Su won the Goldman Sachs & Fortune Global Women Leaders Award in 2013.
Left: Hasmik Asatrian / photo credit Sirun Snetcunc
Right: Yin Myo Su / photo credit Moethida Aye
Last on
Clips
![]()
Fix the leaky roof or "I quit"
Duration: 00:53
![]()
"Can we have 100 or 200 ducks to wake her up in the morning?"
Duration: 01:57
Broadcasts
- Mon 14 Mar 201600:32GMTBBC World Service except News Internet
- Mon 14 Mar 201603:32GMTBBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean
- Mon 14 Mar 201605:32GMTBBC World Service Online, Europe and the Middle East, East Asia, UK DAB/Freeview & South Asia only
- Mon 14 Mar 201607:32GMTBBC World Service Australasia
- Mon 14 Mar 201618:32GMTBBC World Service Australasia
- Mon 14 Mar 201619:32GMTBBC World Service except Australasia & News Internet
- Sun 20 Mar 201601:32GMTBBC World Service Australasia
The best of The Conversation
Podcast
![]()
The Conversation
Two women from different parts of the world share the stories of their lives





