Renovating a wing, a floor or the restaurant changes how much work there is in your hotel for months. If you do not plan for it in advance, you first have a team with too little to do and then too few people when the rooms reopen. Read how to work out what you need per week and per department, who you redeploy to other tasks and how to be back at full strength in time.
24 October 2026
During a renovation the focus is usually on the contractor, the schedule and the cost. Staff come later, once it becomes clear that there are fewer rooms to sell. By then the options are limited: rotas are made, leave has been requested and good people are already looking around. So bring staffing into the plan as soon as the renovation dates and phasing are known, even if they may still move.
List per week how many rooms, covers and meeting rooms are available, and what you expect to sell. A renovation usually runs in phases, so capacity differs per period. Put that expectation next to your normal rota based on the occupancy forecast. That shows how many hours each department really needs per week, rather than one average for the whole period.
When a wing is closed, housekeeping work drops almost immediately. Reception and the night shift often stay about the same, because the hotel remains open. If the restaurant closes, the work may shift to a temporary breakfast in another room. The maintenance team sometimes has more to do during a renovation, with handovers, checks and faults. So look per department and per role, not only at the total.
Part of the freed-up hours can be used well. Think of setting up and cleaning renovated rooms before handover, updating work instructions, stocktakes, training and learning to work in another department. Choose tasks that genuinely move the hotel forward and that fit the role and the agreements with the employee. See also cross-training hotel staff.
A quieter period is a logical moment for staff to take accrued leave, provided you plan it in good time and by agreement. With flexible contracts, on-call staff and temporary workers, less work calls for clear agreements on the number of hours. What is allowed and what is sensible depends on the country, the collective agreement and the individual contracts. So talk to your HR or employment law adviser before you change hours or contracts.
If you normally work with agency staff or an external partner, that is often the first place where you can scale down. Do agree how and when you will scale up again, so that the same people or a similar level are available when the rooms come back. Read more about temporary staffing for hotel operations.
Staff will hear about it anyway, often first through a rumour. So tell them early what is going to happen, which period it covers, what it means for their department and what is not yet known. Uncertainty about hours and income is the main reason good people leave in a period like this. A fixed moment when you update the plan, for example every two weeks, helps more than scattered messages.
The staff who can most easily find work elsewhere are often the ones you will need most after reopening. Talk to them personally about what they can expect and what you can offer them: fixed hours, a different role during the renovation or a role in the reopening. See also stay interviews and keeping a core team in quiet months.
Seasonal staff, on-call staff and people whose contracts end during the renovation can be valuable again after reopening. Keep their details up to date, let them know when you expect to hire again and get in touch in good time. Read also about keeping a candidate pool warm.
After a renovation there is often more capacity or a new concept, such as extra rooms, a refurbished restaurant or a spa. Hiring in hospitality takes weeks to months, and new people still need to be trained. Count back from the reopening date: when do vacancies need to open, when do the first people start and when does the team do a trial run? See also hiring staff for a new hotel opening.
Renovations regularly overrun. So do not plan everything around the target completion date. Let new staff start in phases, keep a few weeks of margin and agree with an external partner that the start date of extra staff can move. That way you avoid hiring people for rooms that are not yet ready.
Renovated rooms, new equipment and different walking routes take some getting used to. Before reopening, plan a few days in which the team gets to know the new spaces, practises the way of working and housekeeping measures the time per room again. Use those figures as the new standard instead of carrying over the old times.
• Do you know per week how many rooms, covers and spaces are available during the renovation?
• Have you worked out per department how many hours you really need?
• Are there meaningful other tasks for the permanent team that fit their role?
• Have you discussed leave, hours and contracts in advance with your HR or employment law adviser?
• Does the team know what is happening and when you will update the plan?
• Have you spoken personally with your strongest people?
• Have you counted back to when hiring for the reopening must start, with margin for delays?
AXXAZ Hospitality supplies reliable hospitality staff to hotels across Europe. During and after a renovation we help you scale down temporarily and get back to full strength in time, with candidates for housekeeping, reception, kitchen and service. It starts with a clear staffing brief. Get in touch.
Plan staffing as soon as the renovation dates are known, look per week and per department at what you need, give the permanent team meaningful other tasks, arrange leave and hours in advance with your adviser, tell the team early what is happening and hire with margin, counting back from the reopening.