Who this is for: general managers, revenue managers and front office managers at independent hotels, hotel groups and resorts who need a clear plan for the busiest weeks of the year. Go through it with your team, tick each item when it is done, and keep it for next year.

The festive season is one of the busiest times of the year for hotels. Small mistakes, like selling your busiest night too cheaply or running short of staff on a holiday, can quickly become big problems. This checklist splits the work into five simple steps, from planning 8 to 12 weeks before the season to looking back once it ends.

What's Included in This Checklist

• 42 numbered tasks across five simple steps
• Timing for every step, from 8 to 12 weeks before to after the season
• Quick tips on early offers, clear payment rules, event plans and guest self-service
• Header fields for hotel name, season, person in charge and date checked
• A notes section for next season: what worked and what to change

Step 1: Plan Your Prices and Offers (8 to 12 Weeks Before)

Set your rates and offers early, before guests start comparing hotels.

Know your busy dates

• Pull last year's festive occupancy and rate reports from your hotel system
• Mark local holiday events and your busiest dates on your rate calendar

Set your rates and rules

• Create festive rate plans for every room type
• Set the lowest and highest price your rates are allowed to reach
• Turn on rate tracking for the hotels you compete with
• Add festive deposit and cancellation rules to each rate plan
• Check that rates and free rooms match on every connected booking site

Build your offers

• Create festive packages on your booking engine, like a room with breakfast
• Add extras guests can buy when they book, like late check-out
• Set up gift vouchers that people can buy as holiday presents

Get seen

• Add a festive banner and your offers to your hotel website
• Make sure your direct price shows on Google next to other booking sites
• Email past guests a festive offer for booking directly with you

Quick tip: Get your offers out early. Many guests plan their holiday trips weeks or even months ahead. Put your festive prices and packages online early, so they book with you before they look at other hotels

Step 2: Prepare Payments, Dining and Your Team (4 to 6 Weeks Before)

Get your payment rules, event plans and staffing in place before the busy weeks start.

Take payments safely

• Set the date when non-refundable festive bookings are charged
• Test your card machine and online payments before the busy weeks

Make the rules clear

• Show festive cancellation and no-show rules in every booking confirmation
• Update your website and booking engine with festive cancellation rules
• Add festive check-in and check-out times to guest confirmation emails

Restaurant and events

• Open early table bookings for Christmas and New Year's Eve
• Plan New Year's Eve security and noise rules

Plan your team

• Publish holiday shift schedules and cover every busy night
• Set an early deadline for holiday time-off requests
• Create system logins with the right access for seasonal staff

Train your team

• Train seasonal staff on check-in, check-out and taking payments
• Brief the front desk on festive rates, packages and cancellation rules
• Share a contact list for who to call when something goes wrong

Quick tip: Fewer surprises at check-out. When charge dates and cancellation rules are in every confirmation, guests know what to expect, and there are fewer payment disputes after the season

Quick tip: Write the plan down. Put dates, events, contacts and what to do if something goes wrong on one page. Then anyone on shift can answer questions, even on Christmas Day

Step 3: Get Ready for Guest Arrivals (1 to 3 Weeks Before)

Answer the most common guest questions before guests reach the front desk.

Before guests arrive

• Schedule pre-arrival messages with your holiday events and parking details
• Turn on mobile check-in to shorten lines at the front desk

During the stay

• Offer room upgrades and festive extras at check-in or in your guest app
• Update your phone answering with holiday hours, events and policies

Quick tip: Let guests help themselves. Mobile check-in and pre-arrival messages answer the most common questions before guests reach the desk, so your team has more time on the busiest days

Step 4: Run the Season (During the Season)

Keep a short daily and weekly routine so busy nights stay under control.

Every day

• Check the arrivals and departures report each morning
• Review new bookings, cancellations and no-shows
• Adjust prices for nights that are still unsold
• Keep room status up to date between the front desk and housekeeping

Every week

• Check that rates and free rooms still match on every booking site
• Compare how fast your dates are filling with last year

Step 5: Look Back and Plan Next Year (After the Season)

Use this year's results to make next year's festive season easier.

Check your results

• Compare rooms sold, average price and income with last year
• See which booking sites and packages brought the most bookings
• Read and reply to every guest review

Plan for next year

• Send festive guests a thank-you offer for a return stay
• Set next year's festive budget using this year's results
• Save this year's notes and settings for next season

How Do You Use This Hotel Festive Season Checklist?

Work backwards from your busiest date, and give each step one owner.

• Fill in the hotel name, season, person in charge and date checked at the top of the checklist.
• Mark your busiest dates, then count back 8 to 12 weeks to start Step 1.
• Give each step one owner and go through the items together with your team.
• Tick each item when it is done and write the date in the date checked box.
• After the season, add what worked and what to change to your notes, and keep the checklist for next year.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Selling your busiest night too cheaply because last year's reports were never checked.
• Putting festive prices and packages online late, after guests have already booked somewhere else.
• Leaving charge dates and cancellation rules out of booking confirmations, which leads to payment disputes after the season.
• Letting rates and free rooms differ across booking sites, so the same night sells at different prices.
• Running short of staff on a holiday because shift schedules and time-off deadlines were set too late.
• Skipping the review after the season, so next year starts from zero.

How roommaster Helps You Run the Festive Season

During the festive season, prices, payments, staffing and guest questions all move at once. Jumping between separate tools makes each of those tasks slower, and the busiest weeks leave little time for it.

roommaster helps you complete the tasks on this checklist from one simple system, built by hoteliers, for hoteliers, with real people ready to help day or night. The roommaster PMS runs reservations, front desk, housekeeping and payments. The Booking Engine takes commission-free bookings on your own website, with festive packages and vouchers, and the Channel Manager updates your prices and available rooms on every booking website at once. AI Revenue Management follows demand so busy nights never sell too cheaply, the guest management system (GMS) handles mobile check-in, digital keys, messages and upsells, and the AI Concierge answers every call, day or night, and books rooms.

The outcome is a team that spends the busy weeks looking after guests instead of switching between tools.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. When should a hotel start preparing for the festive season?

Start 8 to 12 weeks before your busiest dates. That is when this checklist begins, with rates, offers and your rate calendar, so everything is online before guests start comparing hotels.

2. What should a hotel festive season checklist include?

It should cover prices and room rates, direct bookings and offers, payments and cancellation rules, dining and events, team and training, the guest experience, daily and weekly routines during the season, and a review afterwards.

3. How do you avoid selling your busiest nights too cheaply?

Pull last year's occupancy and rate reports, mark your busiest dates, set the lowest and highest price your rates may reach, and track the rates of the hotels you compete with. Then adjust prices for unsold nights each day during the season.

4. Who should own the festive season checklist?

One named person in charge, usually the general manager or revenue manager, with one owner for each of the five steps. The checklist has a box for the person in charge and the date checked.

5. Can I use this checklist for other busy periods?

Yes. The five steps of plan, prepare, get ready, run and look back work for any peak period. Swap in your own dates and events, and keep the notes for the next one.