Five-star hospitality facility,  Labadi Beach Hotel, has launched its year-long 35th anniversary celebration with a clean-up exercise to promote environmental cleanliness and reaffirm its commitment to responsible hospitality.

The exercise, which involved management and staff of the hotel, formed part of a series of activities lined up to celebrate the hotel's journey since its establishment in August 1991.

Led by its Managing Director, David Eduaful, and some management staff, including the Accountant, George Brobbey, as well as the Food and Beverage Controller, Vincent Kotey, the staff cleaned the environment around the hotel premises and sections of the Kpeshie Lagoon during the environmental clean-up exercise aimed at promoting a cleaner and healthier community.

Mr Eduaful said the decision to begin the anniversary celebrations with a clean-up exercise reflected the hotel's core values.

"Our business thrives on cleanliness, so without cleaning and without a clean environment, then we have already failed.”

"We are in hospitality, and we are a timeless hospitality institution.

Day in and day out, we continue to showcase excellence.

Even though it has been 35 years, when you step here today, you would think the hotel was built only yesterday because we continue to innovate and maintain high standards," he said.

Mr Eduaful said the hotel had won several awards over the years but remained committed to achieving even greater heights in the hospitality industry.

"We have achieved a lot in the industry, yet we want more.

We will continue to go higher and higher," he said.

Activities

The Head of Marketing, Ekua Zara Ghartey-Tsagli, said the clean-up exercise was only the first of several activities planned throughout the anniversary year.

She explained that the clean-up focused on the beachfront and surrounding areas, which had been affected by recent heavy rains.

"The beach has been our greatest asset since 1991. It is only right that we keep the environment clean because our surroundings are central to the experience we offer our guests," she said.

She also urged Ghanaians to make sanitation a shared responsibility, stressing: "The recent rains have shown that sanitation is a serious challenge. Let us not only talk about it after disasters occur.”

“We must all make a conscious effort to keep our surroundings clean because lives are at stake.

I remember when Ghana was regarded as one of the cleanest countries in Africa.

Let us all work together to restore that image," Mrs Ghartey-Tsagli said.

Also as part of the celebration and its corporate social responsibility programme, the Labadi Beach Hotel Head of Marketing said the hotel would donate takeaway meals to the Central Mosque at Burma Camp.

Other activities, she said, included the commissioning of a new canteen at the Wireless School in October, a thanksgiving service involving past and present staff, board members and shareholders, as well as a stakeholders' cocktail reception in December.

"We are reaching out to everyone who has supported this hotel and brand over the years because they have all contributed to our success," she said.

Wellness

The hotel's wellness partner, Ariel Donkor, commended Labadi Beach Hotel for maintaining high standards over the past three and a half decades.

She said environmental wellness was an essential part of hospitality because guests expected to feel safe in a clean and healthy environment.

"Thirty-five years in the hospitality industry is no small achievement. Labadi Beach Hotel has consistently demonstrated excellence, not only for its clients, but also for its staff and the environment," she said.

Ms Donkor said the hotel's commitment to employee well-being and environmental sustainability aligned with its broader wellness agenda, adding that she was pleased to support the anniversary activities.