At just age 22, Sama Trinder took over her parents’ run-down bed & breakfast in Richmond, a town in southwest London. But the legacy began in 1984 when her English father, Bill Trinder, and Kenyan mother, Ruth, purchased a set of struggling townhouses. They were once a literary hub in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, home to the poets and lovers Edith Cooper and Katherine Bradley, who wrote under the pseudonym “Michael Field.”
At that time, the B&B was 12 ramshackle bedrooms. “It was losing money,” Sama recalls. Growing up, her parents also owned a chain of nursing homes, which was often discussed during mealtimes. In many ways, she was being initiated into the very foundations of hospitality long before she realized it.
“My parents were always working; they often went and stayed in hotels and they always took me with them,” she says. “So I would just be taking in the details: ‘Where did they get the plates from?’
In 2001, Sama transformed the B&B into a boutique hotel and later a members’ club, becoming the UK’s only Black female-owned hotel and members’ club.
Under her guidance, the hotel became one of the first B Corp-accredited hotels in the UK in 2024. Today, nestled along the banks of the River Thames and a winner of the Marie Claire Sustainability Award, Bingham Riverhouse is a cherished wellness haven committed to community and sustainability.
In earlier years, there was a quiet instinct to downplay the hotel’s Black ownership. “It was never really talked about,” she says. “My mum was almost like, ‘Let’s not say it,’ you know? We didn’t even want to bring attention to it.” Beneath that silence was the reality of navigating an industry where representation was rare.
When Sama took over the hotel at 22, an age when most are still figuring out where life might lead, she wasn’t expecting it to be her reality. “I sort of thought I was gonna be a journalist, actually. I loved English, I loved writing, and that was always my dream to be a journalist,” she reminisces.
With that career pivot, the early years were less about vision and more about survival, learning the rhythms of hospitality, understanding guests, navigating uncertainty, and building something sustainable from the ground up. But over time, the Bingham Riverhouse began to transform, shaped by Sama’s growing belief that hotels could be more than places to stay.
In 2020, she decided to transform the hotel into a certified B Corp, a designation awarded to businesses that meet rigorous standards of social and environmental responsibility. “It took us like 3 years,” she recalls. Changes were implemented, including volunteer days for the team, supplier changes, relaunching their restaurant, and going zero-plastic. “There are a lot of people jumping on the sustainability green bandwagon, but you have to have your eyes open. Just because something says it’s green or sustainable, it’s not always,” she says.
Bingham is not defined solely by sustainability. Taking over a family business at such a young age meant navigating expectations, financial pressures, and responsibility long before most of Sama’s peers faced similar challenges. “I took everything very personally,” she says. “I would get very, very stressed. I hated having complaints, and because we were changing, we were going from a B&B, Fawlty Towers, to making it a luxury boutique hotel.”
Over time, she began to center her vision on wellness and community, adding a membership club. “It just makes sense to create a place where our local community can come, connect, meet each other, and work,” she says.
For Sama, creating this atmosphere has never been about perfection. It has been about authenticity in building a place that reflects her values and invites others to pause, reflect, and feel at ease.
That sense of purpose extends beyond the walls of Bingham. Representation, once something quietly downplayed, has become part of a broader mission. “We need to see more (of us),” she says. “People of color and women, all genders, owning and operating businesses.”
Bingham Riverhouse is a destination that reflects its owner’s belief that hospitality can nurture, inspire, and foster a sense of belonging. Under Sama’s guidance, it has become a home for travelers seeking more than a stay, and a space for connection, community, and thoughtful experiences. Here, luxury and sustainability coexist, serving as a gentle reminder of intention and perseverance.