It all started as personal interest projects for Emilie Roell who embarked on small restorations and urban regeneration activities while working in development cooperation with the European Commission, and later with the United Nations in Myanmar in 2013.

“I was helping some Yangon families I had befriended to restore empty parts of their homes and rent it out. I was struck by the incredible heritage this city contains and how [only a] few historic building owners were aware that they owned a treasure; that with a little support they could unlock and benefit from it,” said the 34-year-old from the Netherlands. 

In time, Roell's work expanded as more families approached her, resulting in the establishment of Heritage Homes, a platform featuring historic properties in Myanmar, the Philippines and Georgia. Designed and launched by Doh Eain (“our home” in Burmese), Heritage Homes is also a participatory design practice with 38 staff members dedicated to making cities better.

Emilie Roell with Gulam, a team member and one of the first homeowners whose apartment was restored by Doh Eain.

Creating livelihoods

One of Doh Eain’s earliest informal restoration involved a team member’s apartment in a historical building on Bogalay Zay Street in Yangon in 2015.

His family faced financial troubles when their mother fell ill. Doh Eain helped with financial and design support, upgrading the apartment to modern standards and renting it out to a new tenant. The renovation cost was paid over time by the family, thanks to a solid monthly income. This success drew other family members and friends who owned heritage spaces to Doh Eain for restoration help.

Doh Eain focuses on financing restoration for heritage homeowners, along with technical and project management services to help rent out their properties, whereas Heritage Homes supports private homeowners to look after their historic properties.

The aim is to contribute to cultural preservation as well as environmental sustainability, family livelihoods and local economic development.

While there is a lot of cultural heritage around Asia and other parts of the world, some are publicly owned, with conservation efforts typically concentrated on large public buildings or monuments. However, a majority of historic buildings are in private hands.

“Many of the heritage homeowners, especially in lower-income countries or low-income families, struggle to look after their properties as they lack awareness, financial resources and technical know-how,” Roell said.

Impactful travel for tour operators, DMCs

Heritage Homes works as a membership model with a free and premium paid tier for homeowners. Members can access Heritage Homes’ network and resources such as technical guides, consultations with conservation experts, listing management and marketing support, and financing. “We also take a small commission on the bookings and rentals we help them broker," said Roell.

It is divided into two categories: stay and rent. Under the stay category, travellers can book online to stay for few or more days whereas the rent category allows tenants to stay for one month or longer. “Some homeowners offer their properties across both categories, or switch between the two depending on the season," shared Roell.

Meanwhile, Heritage Homes also collaborates with tour operators, destination management companies (DMCs) and digital nomad collectives so that they can offer members’ properties to their clients or networks, or work with them and their homeowners for further heritage experience.

It also wants to enable “impact travel” or “philanthropic contributions”, where travel itineraries could include visits to ongoing restorations or a house museum with tour proceeds used to support the property.

Heritage Homes feature beautiful features that reflect the culture and architectural styles of the Philippines, Myanmar and Georgia.

Regional expansion

Since its establishment, Heritage Homes has grown beyond Myanmar, working with homeowners in Georgia (Europe) and the Philippines, with expansion planned in Southeast Asia, starting with Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Thailand.

An additional category on places of interest and experience will be introduced in the middle of 2023 as some members own properties such as restaurants, shops or museums.

Currently, there are about 200 members across Georgia, Myanmar and the Philippines, and a joint listing of nearly 700 rooms or homes, dating back to the 1800s and early 1900s.

“The properties range from entire homes or apartments to one to two rooms in a home that can be booked, or rooms in small heritage hotels. When it comes to guesthouses or hotels, we like to focus on smaller family run places, typically with 10 to 20 rooms,” Roell said.

In Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Thailand, hundreds of properties are being eyed, given their incredible heritage. The plan is to lock in around 300 rooms or homes by the end of March.

Roell opined that their impact travel or philanthropy model is a good way for tourism to contribute to preservation and to make tourism more inclusive, particularly in countries like Sri Lanka, where, although there is already strong heritage tourism, the homes are dominated by wealthier companies and people. “With our work we hope to empower lower income families to participate and benefit from heritage travel.”

As travel bounces back in Southeast Asia, Roell observed that interest is rising in slower, more sustainable and immersive travel post Covid. People want their travels to be meaningful and are keen on leaving a positive impact on the places they visit.

“We believe our heritage homeowners have great places and experiences to offer, and we are here to help them be successful.”