Don’t have time to read the full article? Jump straight to the checklist and see how you score.
Your front desk is easing into the summer season and everything is running smoothly. Then one busy week in May hits, enquiries start piling up, guests are left waiting for replies or standing in line to arrange basic services, and the team is stressed. Sound familiar?
New research shows that nearly half of guests now expect a reply within one hour, but for many holiday parks and campsites, meeting those expectations is becoming increasingly difficult, especially at a time when staff costs are at an all-time high and fewer people are opting to work in hospitality.
That’s why preparing early matters. I wrote this article to help you assess whether your front desk is ready for summer 2026, identify where pressure is likely to build, and give you tips to ensure a successful summer season ahead (including a quick checklist at the end!).
Checklist: Are you ready for summer 2026?
There are many different elements to preparing your front desk for peak season, so let’s walk through it step by step.
Front desk pressure points
Front desk staff are busy people, especially in holiday parks and campsites where the same team often manages both in-person and online communication. One moment they are welcoming a new guest or helping a family plan their day, the next they are switching between WhatsApp, email, and booking platform inboxes, and then dealing with an on-site issue.
This constant context switching makes it hard to give each guest the attention they deserve, yet hiring more staff doesn’t always solve the problem, as the volume of work varies a lot hour by hour or day by day. It’s common to have check-in and check-out on set days only (e.g. Monday and Friday), meaning there are often hundreds of guests needing to check-in or check-out on the same day and time which adds to the stress.
Understanding when and how these pressure points occur, and how much time is taken up by repetitive communication, is an important first step in preparing for a smoother peak season.
Questions to help you assess your front desk pressure points:
- Do you know what times of the day or week your front desk is busiest?
- Are your staff able to manage urgent requests without impacting other guests’ experiences?
- Does your staff spend hours every day responding to questions online?
Frequently asked questions
What time is check-out? What coffee machine does my accommodation have? How much does bicycle rental cost? What time is the café open until? I’m sure some of your front desk staff deal with questions like these every day. And even when the information is available on your website, staff still need to respond politely and often tailor the answer to the guest’s specific booking or situation.
When answers are not clearly documented, staff are forced to rely on memory or previous messages. This often leads to inconsistent responses and unnecessary back and forth with guests, adding to workload during busy periods.
Understanding your FAQs and making sure the responses are documented, up to date, and shared across the team gives your team more time to spend with guests (or even better, you can automate the responses, but more on that later!).
Questions to help you understand whether your staff are spending too much time answering the same questions:
- Do you know your most common guest questions?
- Are FAQs documented with clear, copy-paste ready responses?
- Are answers consistent across all front desk team members?
- Are FAQs and standard responses reviewed and updated regularly?
Guest communication and experience
Some guests prefer WhatsApp, others use email or booking platforms, and many switch between channels depending on what they are trying to do. This means messages are spread across multiple inboxes, which can be time-consuming and frustrating for front desk teams to manage, especially when those inboxes are not connected to the PMS.
When relevant information is not shared proactively before or during the stay, guests are more likely to contact the front desk for simple questions. This puts additional pressure on staff, increases response times, and can lead to frustration when guests have to repeat themselves across different channels.
Making sure guests can easily access key information, continue conversations across channels, and arrange services digitally helps reduce unnecessary contact and creates a smoother experience before and during the stay.
Questions to help you assess the quality of your guest experience:
- Do you know which communication channels your guests prefer?
- Are all channels monitored by staff throughout the day?
- Do guests have easy access to information about activities and facilities?
- Can guests arrange additional services or activities digitally?
- Is key information available before arrival?
- Do guests complain about waiting at the front desk, on hold, or for replies?
- Is your average response time for each channel less than 1 hour?
- Are responses consistent regardless of who is on shift?
- Do you have a review rating of 4 stars or more?
Tools and processes
As highlighted earlier, front desk teams often spend a significant amount of time switching between tabs and applications. Systems that integrate well save time by allowing staff to action guest requests in one place, however it’s also critical that any new tools or upgrades are quick to set up and easy to integrate with existing systems.
Questions that help assess your current systems:
- Are your IT systems integrated together, such as your booking portal and PMS?
- Can your front desk quickly action guest requests directly in your PMS or guest management system?
- Do staff need to switch between multiple tools to respond to guests?
- Are highly repetitive tasks or messages automated?
Automate guest communications without losing the personal touch
It is common for things to run smoothly at lower occupancy, only to become harder to manage as your holiday park or campsite approaches full capacity. One of the quickest ways to keep things running smoothly during peak season is to automate part of your guest communication.
Runnr.ai was built specifically to support front desk teams by automating responses to guest questions and proactively sending messages via a unified inbox that brings together WhatsApp, voice, email, and in-platform messaging such as Booking.com, Airbnb, and more. It can be live within one hour, integrates with your PMS, and saves hundreds of hours per month.
Want to see how it works? Book a demo to see what it looks like, or read how over 750 holiday parks, like Beerze Bulten and Camping 't Geuldal, are using it to improve guest experience without adding headcount.
Checklist
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Front desk load
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FAQs
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Guest preferences
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Self-service
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Quality
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Systems
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Peak front desk pressure moments are clearly identified and staffed appropriately.
Common guest questions are clearly defined, documented, and reviewed regularly.
Guest-preferred communication channels are identified and supported.
Key information is proactively sent to guests before arrival.
Clear guidelines exist for tone of voice and response style across all guest communication.
Core systems such as the booking portal and PMS are connected.What your scores mean
16 out of 16: You're all set!
Your front desk is well prepared for peak season. Guest communication is under control and your systems are supporting your team effectively as you head into summer 2026.
12-15: You're on the right track
Your front desk is working well, but there are a few clear opportunities to reduce pressure and improve efficiency before peak season.
0-11: Your processes need some work
Your current setup is likely to struggle during busy periods. The good news is that focusing on a few key areas can make a noticeable difference in a relatively short amount of time.
