At around fourteen years old, long before Claridge’s, luxury hotels or operational leadership, Mark Golding was earning pocket money plucking pheasants and partridges for a small restaurant while still at school. “That was my first real taste of hospitality.” Soon after came work on the wash-up in a Beefeater pub....
Blog
Inside The Ned: Mairead Gleeson (Hotel Director) on Leadership, Cleanliness and Guest Experience
In Mairead Gleeson’s wonderfully varied career, from boutique hotels and private members’ clubs to now running one of London’s most ambitious hospitality operations, devil has always been in the detail – it’s what makes partnerships with Act-Clean so essential. Having held senior roles across Soho House and The Pig Hotels Mairead...
Anne Lomas (Hotel Manager, London EDITION) on leadership, the true meaning of luxury hospitality and the power of partnership
Anne Lomas never intended to run a hotel. Originally training as a sommelier, she imagined wine would define her career until a mentor encouraged her to consider a different path. “He basically mapped out two options for me,” she recalls. “Wine or leadership. And I realised leadership was the thing...
How Gillian Thomson lives Act-Clean’s values
For over two decades, Act-Clean has been responsible for some of London’s most iconic hospitality venues, from The Ritz to The Wolseley, preserving their history and lustre, night after night. At Act-Clean, values are not simply words in a handbook. They are operational commitments, lived out across every site, in...
Progression and leadership within Act-Clean, an interview with the newly promoted Victorious Acheampong, Operations Manager
Victorious Acheampong’s journey with Act-Clean began on the night shift at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park. Starting as a night cleaner in one of London’s most demanding luxury environments, he quickly learned the standards, pace and precision required behind the scenes of a world-class hotel. From there, his progression was...
What is a Site Manager?
In most hotels, cleaning is something that happens in the background. A contractor sends a team, rotas are checked off elsewhere, and if something goes wrong, managers start chasing emails to work out who’s responsible.Act Clean has taken a different route. Instead of one supervisor spread thinly across multiple properties,...
Behind the scenes with Act-Clean: Gillian Thomson’s (COO) Journey into hospitality
Picture this… as Gordon Ramsay describes it in his autobiography, Playing with Fire. It’s the end of a glamorous evening. Everyone has gone upstairs for a presentation. And yet, in the kitchen, one person is still working. Here, he found Gillian Thomson, in her early 20s, “washing up and...
“Seeing people grow… that’s what I find most satisfying about my job”: Douglas Boakye on ten years at Act-Clean, empathy as a leader and focussing on the detail
When Douglas Boakye first joined Act-Clean ten years ago as a cleaner, he couldn’t have predicted how far the journey would take him. Promotions followed, from cleaner to supervisor, to becoming Site Manager at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park and then at The Ned, two of London’s busiest, most prestigious...
Sustainability at the heart of hospitality: how Act-Clean partner with Charlie’s, at Brown’s Hotel
At Charlie’s, sustainability isn’t just a buzzword, it’s woven into the rhythm of the kitchen. From sourcing herbs in-house to working with small-boat fishermen, Executive Chef Andrew Sawyer, and the team at Charlie’s at Browns have built a food philosophy grounded in seasonality and equal respect for ingredients, for people,...
From Cleaner to Site-Manager of one of London’s most iconic hotels: Rebecca’s journey with Act-Clean
Rebecca Umukoro (Site-Manager) & Anzelica Natjazkin (Housekeeping Manager) at The Standard The Standard, London is known for its bold design, eclectic mix of restaurants and bars, and a vibrant energy that reflects a global spirit. From rooftop views to late-night parties, it’s a destination that dines out on creativity and...
