This year’s holiday season seems to be bearing early gifts for the travel industry, as average daily hotel rates seem to be trending up year-over-year, according to the same Orbitz study. However, as consumers are paying more, it becomes incredibly important for hotels to provide value that lines up with the increased prices. Various studies show that prospective guests have increased their expectations with rising costs, which can mean a variety of requests from free WiFi and continental breakfast, through various personalization and technological advancements.
To meet consumer demand at the holiday rush, hoteliers must staff accordingly to ensure a successful travel season. This can mean staffing up with temporary employees to support the seasonal rush as well as being prepared to work the busiest season of the year without many of your best employees. After all, many hoteliers must decide to offer their best employees time off for the holidays in order to retain their top talent.
This Catch-22, where hotels may need to go their busiest few days without their best employees, happens each year, and there is virtually no way to handle the situation perfectly.
However, that’s not to say steps can’t be taken to help prepare for a hotel’s busiest (and perhaps most profitable) time of year. After all, we all know that the Wednesday before the fourth Thursday in November will be a busy one, and we have a pretty good idea of when the other holidays will fall.
Below are six tips that can help hotel leaders be prepared for the upcoming season, and to recruit a top notch staff accordingly.