A coach with forty guests checking in at once puts more pressure on your team in fifteen minutes than an ordinary afternoon. If the group is only planned on the day itself, guests wait and individual guests stand in the queue. Read how to estimate what a group asks of each department and when to schedule extra people.
2 November 2026
With individual guests, arrivals and departures spread across the day. A group comes all at once: the same time at the desk, the same rooms that must be ready, the same breakfast slot and often the same departure time. The total workload is not always much larger, but it falls into a short window. With groups, the peak matters more than the number of rooms.
For each group, list when they arrive, when they eat, when they leave and what happens in between. Look at the busiest hour per department: the front desk at arrival and departure, housekeeping on changeover day, breakfast on the first morning, service at a shared dinner. Put those peaks next to your regular rota based on the occupancy forecast so you can see where it gets tight.
Most waiting at the desk disappears when the work is done before arrival. Ask the tour operator or group leader for a rooming list with names and room types in good time, assign rooms in advance and prepare keys and registration. Agree who pays for what, so there is no discussion about extras at check-in.
With good preparation, one person can handle the group leader while a colleague keeps serving individual guests. Without it, you quickly need two or three people. Look at how you cover normal check-in and check-out peaks and plan at least one extra person, or an overlap between two shifts, around the group’s arrival time.
Groups often want their rooms early or to leave late. If the previous guests check out at eleven and the group arrives at two, many rooms must be ready in a short time. Work out how many rooms need cleaning in that window and compare it with rooms per attendant. Put the group rooms first in the cleaning order and agree with the group leader what happens if not everything is ready on time.
A group often wants breakfast at the same time, especially on departure day. Ask for the preferred time in advance and agree two time slots if needed. Add people for replenishing and clearing in the busiest half hour, and check whether your regular morning team can handle that peak or needs an extra pair of hands.
With a group, a lot of luggage arrives and leaves at the same time. Decide where suitcases go, who takes them to the rooms and where the coach can stop. At departure it helps to collect luggage at a fixed time. Even without a dedicated porter, one extra person for an hour is often enough.
If the group eats together, it resembles a small event. Agree a set menu or a limited choice and plan service per shift on the number of guests at the table, not on the average of a normal evening. For larger numbers the same applies as for banquet and event staffing.
Groups often change at the last minute: a different arrival time, fewer guests, extra rooms. Agree a date with the organiser by which final numbers are fixed, and ask for the group leader’s phone number for arrival day. Allow for a delayed coach in the rota, so extra staff do not start too early.
Tell every department in advance who is coming, at what time, how many rooms and what is special, such as dietary needs or guests with limited mobility. A five-minute briefing at the start of the shift stops the front desk promising something the kitchen does not know about. Colleagues who know several departments can be deployed where the busy hour needs them.
You can often absorb a single group by shifting shifts or asking a colleague to stay longer. If groups come regularly, or fall in a week when your team is already fully booked, overtime soon becomes expensive and tiring. Read when overtime and when an extra person is the better choice.
After each group, note how long check-in took, how many rooms were ready on time and where the team fell short. With that information you plan the next group better, and sales can judge more realistically what is feasible on busy days.
How many rooms make a group? Many hotels use ten rooms or more. For staffing, what counts is how many guests arrive or leave at the same time, even with fewer rooms.
Do I need extra staff for every group? Not always. With good preparation, an overlap of shifts around arrival is often enough. Extra people are mainly needed for large groups or when the group coincides with other busy periods.
What if the group arrives much later than planned? Agree that the group leader tells you on the way when the coach will arrive, and only start the extra shift once the arrival time is clear.
• Have you mapped the group’s busiest hour per department?
• Is a rooming list in on time and are rooms pre-assigned?
• Can the front desk serve the group without individual guests waiting?
• Does housekeeping know which rooms have priority?
• Are the group’s breakfast times agreed in advance?
• Is it clear who handles luggage and where the coach stops?
• Have you agreed a date for final numbers?
• Have all departments been briefed in advance?
AXXAZ Hospitality provides hotels across Europe with reliable hospitality professionals. If a group lands in a week when your team is already stretched, we look with you for experienced staff for the front desk, housekeeping or breakfast. Read when temporary staffing fits and start with a clear staffing brief.
Plan a group around each department’s peak, do as much work as possible before arrival and add extra people only for the hour your own team cannot cover.