Why the low season is a retention risk
In many hotels occupancy falls sharply after the summer or after the ski season. Fewer guests means fewer shifts, and for staff on a flexible contract or a small fixed contract that means less income straight away. Anyone who can no longer cover their fixed costs looks for extra work or a different job. Your best people are usually the quickest to find something else. You see the result a few months later: in spring you recruit again, train new people and start the busy season with an inexperienced team.
First decide who you need all year
Do not start with the roster but with the question of which team you want back in spring:
• The core team per department: which roles must be covered all year, such as reception, night reception, housekeeping and the kitchen?
• Key people for next season: who carries knowledge of guests, systems and ways of working, and who will train new colleagues?
• People with growth potential: staff you want to give a bigger role next year.
• Who would rather work less: students, retirees or people with other commitments who are happy with a quieter period.
That shows you where hours are needed most and for whom a drop carries the highest risk of leaving.
Share hours fairly and communicate early
Uncertainty drives people away faster than a few hours less. What helps:
• Publish the winter roster early: let staff know as soon as possible roughly how many hours they can expect, so they can plan.
• Share hours deliberately: give the core team priority and do not put a few people on zero while others work full weeks.
• Plan leave in quiet weeks: encourage staff to take their holiday in the low season, so they are available in peak season.
• Look at annual hours arrangements: some hotels use an annualised hours model or a time bank, where extra hours in peak season are balanced out in quiet months. Whether and how that is allowed depends on the country, the collective agreement and the contract. Have HR or an adviser check it.
• Be honest when hours go down: an employee who knows where they stand makes better decisions than someone who has to wait and see week by week.
Put the quiet months to good use
A quiet week is not a lost week. Hours you do not spend on guests can often be spent on the team:
• Training and cross-training: teach reception staff breakfast service, or housekeeping the basics of reception, so you are more flexible in busy periods.
• Courses and certificates: think of food hygiene, allergens, first aid or a language course, depending on what is common or required in your country.
• Projects: deep cleaning, stocktaking, maintenance, new work instructions or preparing a new menu.
• Onboarding new colleagues: people you hire now can learn calmly before it gets busy.
• Discuss growth: use the time for stay interviews and agreements about a bigger role next season.
Staff who notice they learn something in the quiet months see the low season less as a period to sit out.
If you genuinely need fewer people
Not every hotel can keep the whole team working all year. Then the way you part ways makes the difference for next season:
• Be clear about the end date: say well in advance when a seasonal contract ends and why.
• Agree the return concretely: tell people you would like back next season, and when you will get in touch.
• Stay in contact: a short message in winter or an invitation to a team evening keeps the relationship warm.
• Check the rules: rules on successive fixed-term contracts, notice periods and unemployment benefits vary widely between countries. Check what applies to your situation before making agreements.
Signs that you will lose people in the low season
Watch for changes that often come before someone leaves:
• Repeated requests for more hours: a sign that their income no longer adds up.
• Less availability: staff who suddenly cannot do their usual days sometimes already have a second job.
• Requests for references or employment letters: often a sign of an application elsewhere.
• Quieter team members: less involvement in meetings or planning.
Have the conversation in time. A different split of hours, a course or a concrete agreement for spring can often still make the difference.
Checklist for HR, department heads and general managers
• Do you know per department who belongs to the core team you want to keep all year?
• Do staff know the winter roster in good time?
• Are hours shared deliberately, with priority for the core team?
• Do you plan leave and training in the quietest weeks?
• Are there agreements with seasonal staff about returning and staying in touch over winter?
• Have the rules on contracts and hours in your country been checked?
When AXXAZ Hospitality helps
AXXAZ Hospitality supplies reliable hospitality staff to hotels across Europe. In the low season you can work with a smaller core team and bring in extra people only for busy weekends, events or holidays, so your own staff keep their hours. In the run-up to peak season we help bring the team back to full strength. That is based on a clear staffing brief. Get in touch.
In one line
Decide who you want to keep all year, share hours fairly and early, use quiet weeks for training and make concrete agreements about next season.
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