Hotel group opens Shared Service Centre in Cork city

Dalata group financial controller Stephen Clarke,chief executive Dermot Crowley, and Shared Service Centre head and Edel Conran at the new SSC offices on Parnell Place, Cork city.

The Dalata Hotel Group, parent company of the Clayton and Maldron Hotel chains, has officially opened a renovated Shared Service Centre (SSC) in Cork city.

The refurbished office occupies a previously unused space within a building that has formed part of the Maldron Hotel since 2019.

The SSC, established in early 2017 with just one employee, has since grown to a team of 20, with the new office providing capacity for more than 45 people.

Currently operating as a finance transformation hub, the SSC will oversee centralisation of all the group’s finance administration works across Ireland, the UK, and Europe.

It will provide additional scalability and improved control and data gathering for each of the 56 hotels in the Dalata Hotel Group’s ownership.

A spokesperson for the group said the change comes as they needed a new space to facilitate growth into the future.

“The change came about as we needed to be able to facilitate our ambitious growth plans, [and] our CEO wanted to look at ways that we could be more effective and efficient in supporting our hotels,” they said.

“The expansion of the shared service centre has evolved gradually as the business grew and the team had outgrown the office that they had within Maldron Hotel.

“Planning took time as the building is listed, [and] we expanded the office to be able to facilitate a team of 45 as we wanted the scope to be able to grow the team and recruit in the future.” 

Dalata chief executive Dermot Crowley said the opening of the SSC in Cork “marks a proud milestone in the Dalata journey”.

“From its beginnings in 2017 as a one-person operation, it has grown into a dynamic, high-performing team that plays a vital role in how we operate today,” said Mr Crowley.

“The SSC team brings expertise, agility, and an incredible team spirit to everything they do — helping us deliver on our growth ambitions across Ireland, the UK, and Europe.

“Congratulations to everyone who has played a part in this success — and wishing you all the very best in this exciting next chapter.”