SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2021

GRIFID Hotels | GOLDEN SANDS | MAY 2022

GRIFID Hotels
OUR COMMITMENT

We at GRIFID Hotels realize the importance of the environment and its preservation for the existence and development of our business and for future generations.
We as Holiday service providers are pursuing a policy that protects and preserves resources and strives to manage our business in a way that reduces the harmful impact of our operations on the environment by using good practices and modern methods in our work.
We at GRIFID Hotels engage all our employees in our efforts to operate a sustainable and green business.
We work in several key directions that help us in our goal of running hotels that along with their successful performance also contribute to protecting the environment.

Our main areas of work are:

ENVIRONMENT:

- Conservation of natural resources through saving and management of energy and water consumption
- Minimizing waste and carbon dioxide emissions
- Use of alternative renewable energy sources - e.g. solar panels
- Raising awareness among employees and customers for the importance of sustainability and the impact of travel on the environment

LOCAL CULTURE:

- Our operational activity is closely related to the destination and the local culture - employees, partners, and community. We offer our guests an insight into the local culture, heritage, and environment and the experiences associated with them
- We are a Bulgarian hotel group and have established lasting ties with local producers, communities, and partners. This allows us to conduct an effective policy by involving staff, local society, and guests in the events and initiatives we organize to protect the environment
- We are actively working with all employees to make everyone aware of and contribute to the goals that our management has set for the sustainable development of our business
- We take care of the working conditions and the welfare of our employees

RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS:

- We are aware of and respect the laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment and the reduction of the negative impact of our operational activities on nature
- All our actions towards sustainable development are traceable and registered

GRIFID Hotels - WHO ARE WE

GRIFID Hotels is a Bulgarian hospitality brand. Our first hotel was opened in 2001 and the trademark was established in 2006.
The group operates seven 4-star and one 3-star hotels located in Golden Sands Resort near the city of Varna.

GRIFID Hotel Arabella

The first GRIFID Hotels: which opened in 2001 set the beginning of our very successful experience with the All-Inclusive formula. Over the years we have continuously built, developed and perfected our hospitality product, added new restaurants, a bar, a patisserie, gym with a panoramic view, and renovated the accommodation and the common areas of the hotel.
Today GRIFID Hotels  Arbella has stylish and modern design rooms overlooking the sea, 4 restaurants, 3 of those a la carte, a lobby bar, bar lounge, pastry, mini club, 2 outdoor pools, and an indoor pool, spa, multifunctional playground.
GRIFID Hotels  Arbella has all it takes to be the perfect choice for a family holiday.

GRIFID Hotel Bolero

It is the second GRIFID Hotels opened in 2005. This hotel is the perfect choice for a relaxing holiday in terms of location and facilities, a huge variety of recreational and entertainment options, an excellent ULTRA All Inclusive formula, sophisticated specialties, cozy and comfortable rooms and a fun team of animators, as well as courteous service, sports opportunities, evening entertainment, a rich daytime animation program, cozy and relaxing atmosphere. The hotel offers to its guests 2 buffets and 3 a la carte restaurants, a bar lounge, a pool bar, and a relax bar, it has extensive outside areas with classic shaped and landscaped outdoor pools, an indoor pool, an aquapark with over 400 meters of water slides, designed for children and adults with 3 additional beautiful pools and situated in close proximity to them a children's complex with a mini club and a children's playground.

GRIFID Hotel Vistamar

Joined the family of GRIFID Hotels in 2011. It has an extremely attractive direct beachfront location and deservedly adopted its new name Vistamar. The majority of its hotel rooms offer unrivaled sea views. Grifid Vistamar embodies GRIFID Hotels' desire to rediscover and revive traditions, reconstruct, change, develop projects that have a history. During the winter season of 2018/2019, the hotel was renovated, and one of the blocks of the hotel was recently built, which features a modern reception block with a la carte restaurants and a lobby bar, a new buffet restaurant located on the second floor with breathtaking sea views and modern furnished new rooms. The old rooms of the hotel are also completely renovated.

GRIFID Hotel Metropol

Was presented in the brand GRIFID Hotels first in 2013 as an extremely ambitious, categorical, different, and modern project - PREMIUM All Inclusive, adults only, all-inclusive with a la carte service in all restaurants and bars on the grounds of the complex, Fusion restaurant with gourmet cuisine, 9-course Degustation Menu, Molecular Cuisine, extremely individual service and Concierge care, Grifid Beach with Lounge Bar and reserved access of Grifid Metropol's Guests, incredible Sky Bar, Bio Pool with natural stones - this project became our little gem! We found and developed the adults-only concept - for over 16 years - for those of our guests who are looking for and prefer peace and privacy during their holiday. Here our staff is extremely discreet and unobtrusive to create an atmosphere of relaxation, intimacy, and undisturbed personal space. Challenge for us who create these unique products and reward our distinguished guests!

GRIFID Encanto Beach

Joined the group only in 2016 as a result of the acquisition of a competitive business in financial difficulties. This is our last completed project - completely renovated in 2017/2018. This lovely hotel with a great location has modernly furnished rooms, most of them with wonderful sea views restaurant is located on the second floor with a direct sea-view terrace, a spacious foyer with a lobby bar, an infinity pool on the 5th floor, and an indoor pool. It has the widest and cleanest beach in the resort, with a beach bar and a modern restaurant. Through the hotel-based medical center, GRIFID Hotels Spa entered a new market for health and recreational tourism.

SENTIDO Marea

Although marketed under a brand owned by REWE GROUP (who bought it after the bankruptcy of the leading European tour operator Thomas Cook) is actually operating and being run as part of our own GRIFID Hotels chain. This hotel also joined GRIFID Hotels as a result of the deal for the acquisition of competitive hotels in 2016. In the same year, we started a major reconstruction of the hotel, completely renovating its appearance. We built a new modern and bright reception block, having completely changed the entrance of the hotel to improve the safety and peace of the holidaymakers. The accommodations, common areas, and exterior areas were completely renovated. Today the hotel has a main restaurant located directly facing the beach, a la carte restaurant, 4 bars including beach and pool, 3 swimming pools, one with wonderful water facilities for children, and next to the beach.

GRIFID Foresta

It is our smallest hotel, opened in 2016 as a brand new hotel in place of a former car repair service base. Today it functions as a small boutique hotel, scattered on the outskirts of the Golden Sands Resort. In addition to its accommodation, the hotel operates outside of the tourist season as a training center for hospitality professionals and a qualification center for our staff. During the season there is also our own laundry facility, as well as auxiliary production workshops for confectionery and butcher production.

We hoteliers are much more than offering accommodation and meals. We work with the idea of constantly improving ourselves by offering experiences, emotions, care, unforgettable moments, sensations, delight, imagination...we sell memories...and this is our biggest responsibility!
The realization of all these projects is possible thanks to our main asset - our employees. We have the pleasure of working with young and ambitious people, generators of new ideas and determined to discover new horizons, who work with heart and enthusiasm. We are aware of the fact that the care of our staff is the care of our guests - we develop a favorable social policy, every year in the off-season we organize language courses and qualification courses, incentive managerial trips to high-class hotels abroad and cruise ships. We also opened our own staff training center, our Grifid Academy.
We are confident that an investment in our staff is an investment in the satisfaction of our guests.

GRIFID Hotels - WE PRACTISE SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

We at GRIFID Hotels engage all our employees in our efforts to lead a sustainable and "green" business. We observe strictly all the norms of the Bulgarian and European legislation as regards the protection of the environment, working conditions and human rights, health, financial norms, and requirements.

We always set and reach new goals, not only in terms of the satisfaction of our guests but also those that aim at reducing the consumption of electricity, gas, water, environmentally hazardous detergents, etc.

We inform, invite and encourage our guests and employees how to save electricity and water, throw away their garbage separately, and engage in cleaning and environmental protection activities. Use more than once the towels in their rooms to reduce the influence of detergents. Additional information about the development of sustainable tourism is provided by inviting leaflets in the rooms and on the information boards in lobbies and common areas in each of our hotels.

The rooms and common areas of our hotels are equipped with energy-saving lighting units, motion sensors and shut-off sensors of the AC for open doors. All showers, sinks, toilet cisterns, etc. have minimal water consumption.
Since 2012 we have gradually replaced our hotel air conditioning systems with modern multi-unit highly energy efficient VRF(variable refrigerant flow) HVAC systems with very high COP (coefficient of performance) values exceeding 5, all using the R407 refrigerant, which is so far the safest for the planet's ozone layer.

Since 2011 all our newly purchased faucets have to comply with a max 5,9 l/ min consumption (standard ones 10-11 l/ min), sanitary systems with 3 & 6 l/ min consumption (standard ones 8&9 l/ min), head & hand shower 9,5 l/ min (standard ones 15 l/min)
Established in 2015 GRIFID Hotels Laundry is equipped with machines with the highest class of energy efficiency and low consumption of water and detergents.

The detergents that we use in our kitchens, restaurants, bars and hotels are environmentally friendly - quickly and completely degradable.
Separate collection and waste separation of paper and paper packaging, metal and metal packaging, plastic and plastic packaging, glass and glass packaging, biodegradable and household waste is organized.
All goods are delivered in large packaging to minimize packaging waste.
To reduce carbon dioxide emissions from cars for all employees, we provide organized company transport to and from the workplace.
Apart from our guests, employees are equally important to us. Grifid Hotels, hire approx 1050 people in an active season, and strives to offer some of the best working conditions:
All of the  7 hotels of the group are located in the Golden Sands resort. Besides, from and to the city of Varna, the company provides transport to other towns in the area, such as Dobrich, Beloslav, Izvorsko, Stozher, Lyuben Karavelovo, Dulgopol, Provadia, etc..

The company provides uniforms and safety clothing.

In the off-season, workers can take advantage of company-paid language courses depending on their needs.

Since 2015 Grifid Training Center has been open. It is dedicated to training candidates for the professions "Waiter", "Cook", "Ship cook", "Baker", "Bartender", and "Maid". Upon completion of the theoretical part of their training, the students receive the right to practice at GRIFID Hotels. The Center is licensed under Bulgarian law and the diplomas awarded are internationally recognized.

We from GRIFID Hotels organize and participate in social and charity events, donations, and more in order to improve the tourist infrastructure and cultural and natural resources of the Varna region.

We ensure that the food products we purchase for our restaurants are from local producers. We encourage our tens of thousands of visitors to visit more cultural and natural tourist sites during the summer season.
We use e-mail as a means of communication to reduce paper correspondence and information.

GRIFID Hotels - ACCOMPLISHMENTS - MAY 21 - APRIL 22

ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION POLICY

It is a shared commitment of the management and owner of GRIFID HOTELS to ensure sustainable environmental protection during the management of the operation of the holiday product.

What are the main objectives of our environmental policy:
- To Comply with all applicable environmental laws and regulations;
- To educate staff about environmental protection so that employees understand the role they play in achieving our goals
- We invite our guests to support our efforts to reduce waste in the environment;

Some of the activities we have done:
- Due to the increased number of car tourists, Grifid Hotels rented parking spaces outside the Golden Sands complex and moved the car traffic and the corresponding gas emissions out of the complex.
- We hand over waste such as batteries, TVs, air conditioners to authorized companies for this type of waste
- Contracts have been concluded with external companies for separate garbage collection and removal of waste
- Action cleaning the beach - several times during the season with the participation of staff from different units and guests of the hotel