«Success Story» in the framework of the USAID's FGI Project: A focus on high results and an active position of family members is the key to the success of a family guest house

«Success Story» in the framework of the USAID's FGI Project: A focus on high results and an active position of family members is the key to the success of a family guest house

A family guest house is a business in which success depends on each member of the host family. Family support, the desire to develop a hospitality business and achieve high results have become the key to success for entrepreneur Madrimov Bakhtiyar Rustamovich from the city of Khiva (Khorezm region, Uzbekistan). Bakhtiyar Rustamovich is the owner of the "Khiva Boyjon Ota" family guest house, one of the participants in the pilot project for the classification of family guest houses, implemented under the USAID's Future Growth Initiative (FGI) Project. According to the results of the classification, the family guest house "Khiva Boyjon Ota" was awarded the category "two stars".

Madrimov Bakhtiyar Rustamovich was born in the city of Khiva. In 1991 he graduated from the Yangiyul Food Technological College. Until 2019, Bakhtiyar Rustamovich was not familiar with the field of hospitality, but after learning about the ongoing reforms in the field of tourism in Uzbekistan, about the adoption of the Government Decree on the organization of the activities of family guest houses, Bakhtiyar Rustamovich had a desire to try his hand at a new field - the field of hospitality. The wife and son of Bakhtiyar Rustamovich supported his idea of developing a family business.

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“Me and my family members are interested in tourism. When we learned about the reforms carried out in the tourism sector in our country, about the adoption of the Government Decree on the organization of the activities of family guest houses, we decided to start working in the hospitality sector and open a family guest house. We started our activity in August 2019. The first guests from the CIS countries began to come to our house, located on the territory of Ichan-Kala. After some time, we began to receive tourists from the USA, France and the Netherlands. Our family guest house began to bring our family a stable additional income”, - said Bakhtiyar Rustamovich.

The family guest house "Khiva Boyjon Ota" is located on the territory of Ichan-Kala - the State Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve. Ichan-Kala - the inner part of the city of Khiva (inner city). Fortifications, palaces, mosques, madrasahs, minarets, caravanserais, etc. have been erected here for centuries. Ichan-Kala is a unique city-museum, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1990. The family guest house was named after Bakhtiyar Rustamovich's grandfather.

“Our family run guest house is named after our grandfather. In 1955-1960, there was a wasteland on the site of our garden adjacent to the house. My grandfather set up a beautiful garden on this place, invested a lot of work and care. Then my father took care of the garden. Now I work here. Our family has lived here for many years. My son is already a representative of the 4th generation”, - said Bakhtiyar Rustamovich.

After the opening of the family guest house, Bakhtiyar Rustamovich and his family began to study information about business promotion on booking sites and registered the family guest house on the Booking.com booking site. As a result, more guests from abroad began to come to them. Also, Bakhtiyar Rustamovich began to take part in training seminars, which allowed him to study the field of hospitality, service and management more deeply.

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The owner of the Khiva Boyjon Ota family guest house became a participant in training seminars for representatives of community-based tourism (CBT-tourism), implemented by Association of private tourism agencies of Uzbekistan (APTA) as part of the USAID's Future Growth Initiative (FGI) Project. In May 2023, the family guest house became one of the participants in the family guest house classification pilot project, also implemented by APTA under the USAID's Future Growth Initiative (FGI) Project. According to the results of the classification, the family guest house "Khiva Boyjon Ota" was awarded the category "two stars".

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“By participating in the family guest house classification project, we received a lot of additional useful tips and we hope that the knowledge gained will bear fruit in the development of our business. We will be able to improve our business, improve the quality of service and, in the future, get an even higher category”, - said the owner of the family guest house.

Bakhtiyar Rustamovich and his family do not stop there. The entrepreneur plans for the future to expand his business and aim to reach new heights in the hospitality industry.