A Company Conceived-The Reunion – In this installment, Yawa-Attah decided to resign from the Tourism Authority. Her employers tried to convince her to stay by assigning her to present her department’s achievements at a 5-day trade exhibition. During the event, her interactions with participants who came through her exhibition stand indirectly inspired her to plan her next steps. A key moment was meeting and reconnecting with her former boss and mentor, Mr. Aanani, who had progressed his career in Italy after leaving the Continental hotel.
After discussing their shared ambitions, Yawa-Attah and Mr. Aanani decided to start a hotel management and consultancy company. As the partnership developed, Yawa-Attah’s husband, Kofi, felt excluded and questioned its nature, wishing to play a bigger role in her journey. He proposed a family-run restaurant that combined his culinary passion with her hospitality expertise, aiming to create a meaningful legacy.
Yawa-Attah doubted the seriousness of Kofi’s ambition for restaurant operations, creating tension between them as he pushed for the idea. To address this, Yawa-Attah reaffirmed her commitment to their marriage and supported his dream by refining his business plan and using her network. This demonstrated her dedication to his success without undermining her own goals. Reassured by her support and partnership with Mr. Aanani, Kofi ultimately abandoned the restaurant idea.
The Hotel Landscape
In the pre-colonial and colonial times, (pre-1471- March 1957), there were no commercial lodgings in Ghana. Travelers usually stayed with friends or family, while those without local connections found shelter in police stations, spiritual leaders’ homes, or chiefs’ palaces. Hospitality was a communal duty, not a business.
When Ghana gained independence in 1957, it embraced a new vision for development. The country focused on building infrastructure to meet its administrative and growth needs. To ensure transit accommodation, the government started projects to create comfortable lodging for officials and support new regional offices across the nation. Together, there were about seventeen state hotels and catering guesthouses.
The private sector, however, remained largely on the sidelines during this transformative period. The few hotels in existence primarily catered to the needs of public servants, while corporate guesthouses opened their doors solely to their staff. This marked a transformative stage, sowing the seeds of Ghana’s hospitality development.
In the late 1970s, Ghana’s hospitality industry painted a picture of modest beginnings. The skyline of the hotel landscape was dotted with locally-owned establishments, modestly equipped and operated by personnel whose skills were yet to match the growing demands of the sector. The economy was grappling with its own challenges, and tourism seemed to be a seed waiting for fertile ground to sprout.
Amid quiet struggles, change was on the horizon. New hotels emerged with hopes for a better future. Leading the way was the Accra Novotel, opened in 1976. With its elegance and international standards, it brought sophistication to Ghana’s hospitality scene. It became a refuge for business travelers and diplomats, symbolizing progress and the potential of the nation’s tourism industry.
In the 1980s, Ghana entered a new phase of economic growth. The government declared the private sector as the “engine of growth,” transforming the hospitality and tourism industries. To attract private investors, incentives and concessions were introduced, leading to the privatization of state-owned hotels and catering guesthouses. Some were revamped by private investors, while others became partnerships between the State and private entities.
New hotels appeared in Accra, Kumasi, and Takoradi, mostly owned and run by locals, with options ranging from budget guesthouses to mid-range hotels. However, the hotel industry faced major challenges. Economic difficulties and an underdeveloped tourism sector caused many hotels to struggle, forcing some to shut down.
The evolving history of the hotel industry motivated Yawa-Attah and Mr. Aanani to establish Hospitality Associates in late 1987. As a hotel and restaurant management group and consultancy, the name “Hospitality” was influenced by Yawa-Attah’s American education. Registering the business as part of the hotel industry proved challenging for the Directors. Once the name was successfully secured, early advertisements unexpectedly led to inquiries about hospital equipment—just as the Registrar General’s office had anticipated. At the time, “Hospitality” was still a relatively new term in Ghana’s hotel and food service industry.
Confident in their vision, Yawa-Attah and Mr. Aanani combined their expertise to establish a company dedicated to excellence in hotel management and consultancy services.
With youthful energy and professional insight, they identified opportunities everywhere; from managing and operating corporate and privately owned hotels, developing operational concepts and offering pre-opening services for new hotels to addressing distressed situations. In the latter, their approach focused on assessing current conditions and crafting customized solutions tailored to their clients’ needs and aimed at enhancing business performance.
Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.