Four hotels in Northern Ireland are amongst the 'Best Places to Work in Hospitality'

Ireland’s largest hotel operator Dalata Hotel Group plc has been included within the top six of the highly coveted 30 Best Places to Work in Hospitality 2023.

Operating 50 hotels, including Maldron Hotel Belfast Airport, Clayton Hotel Belfast City, Maldron Hotel Belfast and Maldron Hotel Londonderry, Dalata was praised by leading hospitality publication, The Caterer, in the annual showcase of the finest operators and businesses in the sector.

While the list includes 30 of the industry’s most outstanding businesses, those ranked in the top six have set a higher bar in the past 12 months and go forward as finalists for the Best Employer Award at the industry ‘Oscars’ known as The Cateys.

The gala event returns to JW Marriott Grosvenor House London on Tuesday, July 4.

The Caterer’s Top 30 list celebrates UK companies across all sectors, large and small, established or entrepreneurial. It also highlights the employers who demonstrate exceptional skill at employee engagement and those who have promoted retention through the training and development of their teams.

The rankings are decided by the employees themselves, who fill out an anonymous survey. Of the 95% of Dalata respondents who said the ‘company cares about its people’ 83% added their employer is ‘brilliant at it’.

Dalata Hotel Group’s chief people officer, Dawn Wynne, said the company is proud to have built on its previous top 10 ranking in such a prestigious list.

Dawn said: “At Dalata Hotel Group our people always come first, helping employees develop in their careers is at the heart of what we do and is always a key focus. To which provides excellent opportunities for them to grow their skills and their support this, we have made significant investments in the Dalata Academy. All of our new recruits are automatically enrolled in the academy careers.

“Other key areas of focus for us are wellbeing at work and promoting inclusion and diversity to make Dalata a fair and supportive place to work.”

With over 5,500 employees, Dalata Hotel Group’s HR team has still been able to demonstrate agility and responsiveness to their people’s needs in facing the current economic conditions.

To help alleviate rising living costs, the company decided to give staff a one-off retail voucher. This resulted in 547 staff flagging the gesture as the best thing that happened to them at work that month.

Last August the company relaunched an employee benefits package, tailoring it to the mental fitness needs of its people. It also announced it was bringing a pay increase forward with wages boosted by 6.5% from January this year.

Dawn added: “We may be a large company but we’re not too big to care about our employees and it has been hugely satisfying to be able to pivot quickly and respond to their needs during these challenging times.

“With a portfolio of 50 hotels and growing, Dalata is certainly in expansion mode and this brings huge opportunities for our people, with the chance to transfer to various locations and also avail of discounted stays across every hotel. We know just how important it is to have the right people working in our hotels and we are adept at creating the best working environment for our people to excel in.”

The people accolade comes at a time when Dalata Hotel Group announces the purchase of the Apex Hotel London Wall, which will be rebranded as Clayton Hotel London Wall. The group has an ambitious UK growth strategy and by early 2024, following a number of other acquisitions, it will operate five hotels in London.