The Croke Park Hotel may be best known for its amazing location right next to the stadium, but it’s also a popular location for business meetings and events. The hotel has a whole suite of multi-purpose conference rooms, each of which can hold accommodate up to 50 delegates.

With the hotel so busy with meetings and events, it takes a super team of organisers behind the scenes to make sure everything runs smoothly. Here, we talk to Sarah McCabe, Reservations Agent at the Croke Park Hotel, to see what her average day entails. 

I’ve been working at the hotel for almost 9 years now. I start work at 8am on Monday to Friday, but if I’m working on a Saturday then I would start 9am. The first thing I do in the mornings is check my emails, the hotel’s main mailbox and then I’ll log into our reservations system.

There are also a number of reports that need to be completed and sent by a certain time each morning. Also, the post needs to be sorted and sent to the relevant departments. I will then liaise with the Concierge and Duty Manager to go through all of the meetings and events that are due to take place on the day, to make sure everything is set up properly and everyone is aware of their requirements. 

The average morning usually runs quite smoothly but no day is the same when working in a hotel! You just never know what could happen. If everything is going too well, then we worry that something could be wrong… or it might just be a really good day!

I would interact with guests most of the day, over the phone and through email. When I have a show around or a meeting with a booker, this would be done face to face outside the office. Also, when the bar or front desk get very busy, I would always lend a hand and get to interact with the guests in person, as most people do in the hotel!  

When I think back to my time at the hotel, my very first day really stands out. It was the day Ireland played rugby against England in Croke Park Stadium. At the time I was working in my local pub and didn’t think it would be much harder. I was so wrong though! I had never seen anything like it, it was crazy busy from start to finish. I think I worked about 14 hours that day, but to be honest, I didn’t even notice the time passing because it was so much fun.

I tend to take a break when the food is ready in the staff canteen. It is very rare that I would have lunch outside of the hotel. I love their pasta carbonara and shepherd's pie!

I would usually finish at about 4.30pm each day, but sometimes I could be here a little later if it was an extra busy day or there was a late event or meeting taking place.  

I try to finish up the day by making sure I know exactly what has to be done the following day and try to make a plan so everything gets done. Most of the time though, this never goes to plan! You just have to go with the flow.

After work, I enjoy going for a run and cooking for the family, but not every day. After a particularly crazy day, I would have a glass of wine that evening. And on a Friday, I like to meet up with the girls for a catch-up.