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Passion in school years for history, geography and foreign languages, professional education in the field of tourism and family are the components that have become an important help in the development of a family business in the field of hospitality for Ashurova Sabina Sobirovna, who grew up in the ancient city of Bukhara, located in the Bukhara region of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

At present Ashurova Sabina Sobirovna is the owner of a family guest house of the "two stars" category – «Koh-i-noor» (translated from Persian as «Mountain of Light»), located in the city of Bukhara, as well as an active participant in training programs and pilot projects in community-based tourism through the USAID's Future Growth Initiative (FGI) Project.

In 2014, Sabina Sobirovna got married and, according to the Uzbek tradition, moved to live in her husband's house, from these happy events in the life of Sabina Sobirovna that the story of creating a family business begins.

Living in the house of her husband and his parents, Sabina Sobirovna becomes interested in the history of the house and learns from her mother-in-law AshurovaRosia that the house has its own unique history. In the 18th century, the house belonged to a tea master (teahouse owner), who held this position at the court of the Emir of Bukhara. This fact is confirmed by one of the inscriptions made at that time by the master in the guest room. After translation from Persian, the owners determined the exact date of construction - 1788. This information played an important role in the further decision to work in the hospitality industry.

After the birth of children, Sabina Sobirovna wanted her work to be not only interesting to her, but also to allow her to be close to her family. So the first thoughts about creating a guest house appeared.

The final decision to become a member of the hospitality industry was made at the end of 2018. Once, walking along the narrow streets of the Old Town, Sabina Sobirovna drew attention to the signs "Family Guest House" on the facades of private houses. At this moment, all parts of the idea formed into a single system - the unique history of the house, the hospitality industry and the family business. On the same evening, the family council discussed the issue of opening a family guest house. Everyone liked the idea, Sabina Sobirovna was supported by her husband, her husband's parents, as well as her relatives. The decision to develop a family business in the hospitality industry was unanimously adopted.

On May 3, 2019, the opening of the «Koh-i-noor» family guest house took place. On the opening day, Sabina Sobirovna already met the first tourists who came from Fergana. Hospitality, good service and attention to the guests did not go unnoticed. Positive reviews about «Koh-i-noor» began to attract new tourists. In the same year, the family guest house «Koh-i-noor» was awarded by the Khokimiyat of the Bukhara region as the «Best Family Guest House of the Year».

“I remember well the case when tourists from Bosnia and Herzegovina came to us. They read the reviews of the guests and wanted to see the owner of the house! For me it was unexpected and very pleasant. One of the guests hugged me and said that she had long wanted to meet me. This was another impetus for further business development,” said Sabina Sobirovna.

In 2021, Sabina Sobirovna became an active participant in seminars and trainings conducted by the Association of Private TourismAgencies of Uzbekistan as part of the USAID's FGI Project: «Effective management of a family guest house» (2021), «Classification of family guest houses – as an effective tool for attracting tourists» (2022). Thanks to these training programs, Sabina Sobirovna was able to improve her competencies in the field of management, service, marketing, promotion, etc. Thanks to the knowledge gained, the owner of Koh-i-noor began to actively study the competitor market and promote her services on social networks: Instagram and Facebook.

In 2023, the «Koh-i-noor» family guest house became a participant in a pilot project for the classification of family guest houses, also implemented under the USAID's FGI Project. Following the classification process, «Koh-i-noor» was awarded a two-star category. «Koh-i-noor» - became the first family guest house in Uzbekistan, which was assigned a category.

The productive activity of the family guest house was noted at a high level. In March 2023, the «Koh-i-noor» family guest house was visited by the Ambassador of the United States of America to the Republic of Uzbekistan, Jonathan Henick.

At the moment, Sabina Sobirovna continues to cooperate with the Association of Private Tourism Agencies of Uzbekistan in the framework of the USAID's FGI Project. «Koh-i-noor» has become a platform for filming educational videos for family guest house owners.

«The main thing for me is my family, my relatives. My husband, my parents and my husband's parents supported me from the very beginning. Thanks to this support, I believed in myself, in my strength and my dream of opening a family guest house became a reality. My work allows me to develop as an entrepreneur, improve my professional skills, communicate with people who come to our house from all over the world, and most importantly, it allows me to always be close to my family,» said the owner of «Koh-i-noor».

Sabina Sobirovna and her family have plans for the future to expand their business. Now the owner of the house is thinking about building a hotel. But that's not all. Sabina Sobirovna has a cherished dream of opening a summer camp for children, where they can not only relax, but also learn national traditions and customs, get acquainted with the culture of the country.

Of course, Sabina Sobirovna is an example for women entrepreneurs, for families who wants to open a family guest house and for the owners of family guest houses. An example of how activity, the desire to learn new things and constant work on yourself help to achieve your goals.