The holiday season is here, and hotels are buzzing with increased travel this time of year meaning increased bookings for lodging. In an ideal world, hotels would remain fully staffed at all times. However, it’s common that demand outweighs supply when it comes to hotel staff – especially around the holidays. This time of year is stressful for everyone, but even more so for those in a workplace that is customer service oriented. Thus, it’s a common time for burnout for hotel workers. To avoid this and thrive the season, hotels and their leadership teams must implement effective strategies for supporting and guiding hotel teams to success.
Bring on Seasonal Staff
Hotels can’t always predict how busy they will be, but the holiday season is one period during the year in which they can expect increased business. Hotels depend on permanent/year-round employees to be the backbone of their operations – as much of the expertise around those operations is learned over time. However, seasonal staff can be incredibly valuable as well. Many hotels choose to bring temporary or seasonal employees for a couple of months to help keep up with increased holiday guests. Often, seasonal staff are paired with veteran employees so they have the guidance needed to succeed during their time with the organization. In turn, the increased workload to do the busier-than-normal season isn’t left for permanent employees to handle alone.
Cross-Train Employees
The concept of cross-training individuals refers to preparing them to be successful in roles other than their main job within the organization. Those might be other roles within the same team or jobs within other organizational functions or departments. Ideally, hotels should prioritize cross-training team members across different roles or teams within the organization. However, this is especially useful during the holidays when absences – planned or unexpected – are even harder to accommodate. Having employees cross-trained in multiple roles means they can jump in where needed in a greater capacity. Managers with the ability to float employees into multiple roles have more flexibility in scheduling and can better set the team up for success.
Offer Competitive Wages & Incentives
A hotel’s strongest employees are more likely to remain with the company long-term – even through stressful holiday seasons – when they feel adequately compensated for their dedication and hard work. Offering competitive compensation rates and packages should be a focus of hotels year-round. However, ensuring employees feel valued during the holidays is key to keeping morale high and burnout low. One way of doing this is through seasonal bonuses or increased hourly rates for those working on holidays. Some incentives can be tied to key performance indicators (KPIs) the team hopes to achieve to further increase motivation among staff to reach those. Individuals are motivated in different ways, so it’s important for managers to make an effort to understand those motivations and tailor any incentive programs or offerings with them in mind.
Remain Flexible and Embrace Change
The employer-employee relationship is give-and-take just like any other healthy partnership. Within hotels, both employees and leadership must embrace a dynamic working environment and remain flexible in the face of changing needs. What does flexibility look like on each side? For managers, offering flexibility around scheduling to allow employees to build in time for holiday celebrations is a great start. Being proactive aids in this as well. Experienced managers build contingency plans into holiday schedules to allow for unplanned staff issues to occur without much-added stress on the rest of the team.
It’s equally important that individuals on a hotel team also remain flexible and team-oriented throughout the holidays. It’s inevitable that conflicts arise or that a hotel team will be short-staffed at some point. The most successful teams are those where individuals and their leaders are willing to jump in when needed for the good of the organization.
Communicate Clearly and Regularly
Strong communication within a hotel team is essential no matter what season. However, the buzz of the holidays can blur lines of communication due to the increase in responsibilities (and stress). Circumstances within a hotel can change rapidly during this period, so managers must prioritize keeping their teams informed and supported through those changes. Regular check-ins (1-1s or team meetings) and ample access for employees to provide feedback, ask questions, or pose concerns can help continuously improve operations and keep wheels in motion this holiday season.
Finding a Seasonal or Permanent Hotel Job
For those looking for a hotel role this holiday season or those looking to transition into a new full-time position – there are opportunities abound! In fact, we have over 50 locations nationwide looking for enthusiastic individuals to join their teams – from housekeeping to the front desk. Our jobs database makes it easy to find those opportunities in locations nearest to you.
New to the industry? We welcome those new to the world of hotels and hospitality and offer training programs for those individuals prior to stepping into their first hotel positions. These programs provide the background and operational knowledge to understand how a hotel functions and what is needed from its team to be successful. If you’re interested but still unsure or have questions, we encourage you to reach out to a member of our human resources team who’d be happy to assist!