Colombia High Season and Long Weekend Planning

Set a sales limit your operation can deliver

Planning for Colombia’s high season and long weekends means aligning sellable nights, pricing, staffing, cleaning and supplies. Do not open availability just because a unit looks empty on the calendar. An empty unit is not the same as a ready unit.

Physical capacity is the accommodation you have. Operational capacity is what you can hand over clean, checked and supported by available staff. Occupancy tells you how much you sell, not how much you earn. A booking can add occupied nights while leaving little after the costs of serving it.

Name one owner for the whole plan, with separate leads for pricing and inventory, reception, housekeeping and maintenance. Each lead must confirm actual capacity, not simply promise to cope.

Before releasing more nights, check:

• Offered units can be delivered in the agreed condition.
• Pricing accounts for the costs of serving the booking.
• Staff coverage and handovers are confirmed.
• Cleaning capacity and supplies cover planned arrivals.

Tip: If capacity is missing, decide what to block or adjust before accepting another booking.

Which units remain blocked? Who covers each handover? Does published availability match what you can actually deliver?

Build a demand and preparation calendar

1. Verify dates before marking demand peaks

Map long weekends, December and January, mid-year school holidays and local events. Not every Colombian public holiday moves to Monday. To check dates, search Colombia’s official government portal, GOV.CO, for the public holiday calendar for the relevant year. Check the publishing authority, year and national scope. An office closure calendar is not the same as a national public holiday calendar.

Consult education secretariats’ school calendars for the places your guests travel from. For local events, check announcements from the mayor’s office or official organisers. Record each source and when you checked it.

Separate event dates from potentially affected booking nights. Earlier arrivals and later departures remain assumptions until enquiries and reservations support them.

2. Test dates against comparable demand

1. Find historical bookings for comparable periods, accounting for location, unit type and event duration.
2. Compare bookings on the books at the same lead time, not a completed period against one that has only just opened for sale.
3. Review cancellations from those bookings and the nights ultimately occupied.
4. Separate current confirmed reservations from enquiries and pending requests.

Do not assume a festival fills every neighbourhood. If its venue or audience has changed, record the difference before relying on historical results.

3. Bring the year’s peaks into one calendar

Copy this table and complete the bracketed fields. Add a row for each event or period. Split December and January if their booking patterns differ. Preparation fields are review points you agree internally, not universal deadlines.

4. Assign owners and decisions to each milestone

Apply this sequence to each calendar entry. Set review points around booking lead times, staff availability and replenishment needs.

Ask: is demand rising in confirmed bookings or only in expectations? Does it affect every unit type? What signal would justify extra support? If enquiries dominate, keep monitoring and assign the next review before committing resources.

Tip: A public holiday is a date. A demand peak needs evidence. Keep the two separate in your calendar.

Set prices and restrictions without shutting out good bookings

1. Check inventory, booking pace and contribution

Before opening rates, work through these steps:

1. Match bookings and blocks against available physical units. Two listings for one apartment do not create two sellable apartments. Check surrounding nights too: selling Saturday can leave a Friday that is difficult to fill.
2. Compare active bookings at the same lead time for equivalent demand periods. Separate cancellations and check that unit types and lengths of stay are comparable. Do not compare last year's final long-weekend result with bookings currently held for the next one.
3. Assess what each option contributes using observed costs and actual contract terms, not a generic percentage.

Keep these amounts separate:

• Published rate: the price offered under specific conditions. Check what it includes and how each channel displays it.
• Accommodation revenue: the amount attributable to lodging, separated from taxes, extras and third-party charges under your recording method.
• Contribution: accommodation revenue less attributable variable and selling costs, including turnover cleaning, laundry, consumables, commissions and payment processing where applicable.

Contribution is not net profit. A higher rate can leave less if it brings higher selling costs or additional work.

2. Match the adjustment to the evidence

For every adjustment, record who approves it, the affected dates and units, the reason and when it will be reviewed. Do not increase every night equally or turn a narrow exception into a season-wide change.

3. Test the conditions as a guest

Search for an actual stay on each affected channel. Review minimum stays, arrival dates, cancellation terms and displayed conditions, including adjacent nights. Repeat the search after the change: a visible rate does not prove that the stay is bookable.

Worked example: a two-night gap in unit 402

In this illustrative example, unit 402 has a two-night gap between confirmed bookings. A three-night minimum stay prevents it from being booked.

• Keep the restriction: the gap remains unsellable under that rule. Do not count on moving confirmed bookings to fit another stay. Any change requires a verified agreement.
• Allow an exception: compare the incremental contribution from selling those two nights, after all attributable costs, with leaving them empty and with other feasible options. Confirm operational capacity and limit the exception to that unit and those dates.
• Accept the gap: leaving it empty may be better if selling it worsens the incremental result or compromises delivery.

Cleaning and laundry have already been deducted in contribution. Do not deduct them again. Ask what demand you would actually displace: a longer stay cannot fit while the surrounding bookings remain fixed.

Tip: Compare feasible options by incremental contribution, not just the rate or the desire to fill the calendar.

Avoid copying restrictions across units with different gaps, cutting prices before identifying the booking barrier, and leaving exceptions active without review.

Choose how to track changes and availability

Choose a method you can keep current across shifts. Compare access, control of simultaneous edits and the evidence each option retains. No tool replaces checking the sales channels themselves.

1. Requested: authorize before making changes

Choose one reference source that every shift can access. Name who may change rates and inventory, along with their backup. Use the unit-to-listing mapping established during your inventory review. Track progress in the final shared control sheet rather than creating a separate change log.

2. Applied: establish what was executed

The authorized person makes the change and marks it as applied in that sheet. Coordinate edits so colleagues do not act on conflicting instructions. If an integration carries the update, check its status. Saving a change does not prove that every channel received it.

3. Verified: check the result in each channel

Check the affected dates, availability and conditions in every relevant channel. Add closure evidence to the same sheet. If confirmation is missing, keep the task open, assign an owner and hand it over to the next shift. Decide whether to restrict sales while resolving the discrepancy.

Tip: Keep requested, applied and verified separate. Sending an instruction is not the same as confirming availability.

Staff for arrivals, departures and actual workload

Build your rota around workload and time windows, not occupancy alone. An occupied unit with no departure creates different work from a same-day turnover. Separate reception, departures, cleaning, inspection, maintenance and late arrivals. If someone covers several functions, do not count their time twice.

1. Turn bookings into tasks

1. Map departures and arrivals into time windows using the agreed times.
2. Separate tasks by function. Include travel between units, linen handling and maintenance issues.
3. Use measured durations for each unit type and condition. If records are missing, flag the uncertainty before committing capacity.

2. Calculate coverage before approving more sales

Use this procedure for each time window:

1. Count tasks by function and add their measured durations. Multiply task volume by duration only when the tasks are comparable.
2. Confirm approved leave, holidays, rest periods, handovers and support with each team lead.
3. Calculate productive time for people qualified to do the work: available time minus breaks, handovers and other assigned duties.
4. Calculate the gap: required time minus confirmed productive time. A positive result means uncovered work.
5. Check the actual schedule for overlaps. Enough total hours cannot resolve simultaneous tasks assigned to the same person.
6. Confirm support, reassign work or limit sellable capacity before approving additional sales.

Check applicable working hours, rest periods, premium pay and hiring arrangements with Colombia's Ministerio del Trabajo and your labour adviser. Do not assume everyone can extend their shift.

3. Record demand and capacity

Copy this illustrative table. Fill the fields using your own records and a consistent time unit. Use separate rows for functions with different owners.

Add maintenance where work is planned and assign someone to handle emerging issues. A proposed name is not confirmed capacity.

4. Resolve the clash: worked example

In this illustrative example, several departures fall at 10:30. The housekeeping lead must prepare unit 402, handle reception and inspect another unit. Even if the shift has enough total hours, those tasks cannot all happen at once with one person.

Keep reception with its assigned owner, confirm who will inspect and sequence cleaning around agreed arrivals. If coverage is short, secure support or limit sales. An offer to help is not a delivery commitment.

Tip: approve additional capacity only when every critical task has an owner, allocated time and confirmed backup.

Secure linen, supplies and maintenance before the peak

1. Count what you can actually use

Walk through the stock with your housekeeping lead. Separate clean, usable linen from damaged items, dirty laundry and items still with the laundry service. Count consumables and spare parts too. Check that parts match the equipment installed, not just the description on the box.

Keep three statuses distinct: stock on record is what your records show; available stock is what you can use when needed; a confirmed order is something the supplier has agreed to deliver but you have not received. Do not count the same items twice.

2. Calculate needs through the next replenishment

1. Start with occupied units and expected linen changes before the next feasible delivery.
2. Estimate consumption from your own comparable stays and cleaning records, rather than a universal stock multiplier.
3. Add a reserve based on the risk of delays, rejected linen or supplier closures.
4. Subtract usable stock available for that period. Track pending deliveries separately and confirm their arrival arrangements.

For example, the housekeeping lead finds enough clean linen for unit 402, but the sets needed for subsequent departures are still at the laundry. Clean does not mean available. Confirm transport, receipt and inspection before relying on those sets.

Tip: A delivery promise is not available stock. Arrange a fallback before you depend on it.

3. Fix what prevents a safe, usable stay first

Prioritise access failures, leaks and equipment essential to using the unit. Remove a unit from sale if you cannot provide safe access, usable facilities or necessary linen. Assign someone to verify the repair before releasing it again.

For safety issues, check manufacturer recommendations, property procedures and guidance from local authorities or Bomberos. Do not improvise repairs to preserve a booking.

Check before the peak:

• Main and backup suppliers have confirmed holiday availability.
• Someone can receive deliveries and access the storeroom.
• Compatible spare parts and a qualified technician are available.
• Damaged linen is separated and someone owns each shortage.
• Withdrawal and return-to-service criteria are clear.

Avoid three common mistakes: treating damaged items as reserve stock, assuming suppliers will open and buying a spare part merely because it looks right.

Coordinate arrivals and release each unit with evidence

A sent message is not a resolved arrival. Confirm that the guest understands the arrangements and identify who authorises handover.

1. Confirm arrival arrangements

Send the agreed times, location, channel for access instructions, arrival contact and limits of included services. Record changes and ask for confirmation. Do not promise early access before inspection.

Copy and complete this message. Keep codes and identity documents out of the shared operational template:

Subject: Your arrival at [property]
Check-in: [agreed time]. Checkout: [agreed time].
Location: [address or directions].
You will receive access instructions through [agreed channel].
Arrival contact: [operational contact].
Included services and limits: [details].
Please confirm your expected arrival time: [expected time].
Early access requires confirmation after inspection.

Request only necessary information through appropriate channels. Do not store identity documents or access codes in shared operational sheets.

2. Assign an owner to each status

1. Departure confirmed: reception checks that the guest has left and alerts housekeeping.
2. Cleaning in progress: the assigned cleaner records the start and reports defects to maintenance.
3. Inspection pending: cleaning is finished, but cleanliness, equipment and access still need checking.
4. Ready for handover: the authorised person records approval, the time and resolution of outstanding issues. Reception checks that evidence before granting access.

For example, if unit 402 is clean but its lock still needs checking, keep its status at inspection pending.

Tip: Release on inspection evidence, not pressure from a waiting queue or an estimated cleaning finish time.

3. Check records and complete handover

For your Colombian operation, verify the applicability and management of the Tarjeta de Registro de Alojamiento (TRA) with MinCIT and the Sistema de Información para el Reporte de Extranjeros (SIRE) with Migración Colombia. Check invoicing with DIAN and personal data handling with the Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (SIC). Also verify the applicability, validity and scope of the Registro Nacional de Turismo (RNT) with MinCIT and Confecámaras.

• The guest has confirmed the updated instructions.
• Inspection approval identifies the responsible person and time.
• Outstanding issues affecting handover are resolved.
• Access works and the guest knows whom to contact.

Avoid treating cleaning completion as release approval, or sent instructions as successful entry. Confirm closure without copying unnecessary personal information into shift handover notes.

Respond when the peak-season plan breaks

When something fails, contain the problem before moving bookings. An empty unit is not an alternative until you confirm that it is ready for handover and available for the entire stay.

Tip: Give the incident one owner and agree on the next update with the guest. If you do not yet have a solution, explain what you are checking rather than making a promise.

Illustrative example: the guest arrives before unit 402 is inspected

The guest is at reception, but the team has not confirmed that the unit can be handed over.

1. Contain and assign. Keep the handover on hold. Reception owns the response. If you are short-staffed, activate confirmed backup without skipping inspection.
2. Verify alternatives. Check whether inspection can be completed or another ready unit covers the entire stay. If laundry is missing, count usable clean linen. If access fails, request authorised support rather than improvising entry.
3. Agree and close. Explain the problem, offer only verified options and agree on the next update. Record what the guest accepts and who will deliver it. Close only after confirming the actual handover and working access, not after sending a message.

Before deciding on compensation, a refund or relocation, review the accepted terms, channel rules and internal approval. Also check applicable obligations with Colombia’s Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio and an appropriate adviser. Commercial terms alone do not determine the response. Do not promise automatic remedies.

Illustrative example: a cancellation opens a gap while another unit goes out of service

A cancellation releases dates just as maintenance takes a unit with an expected arrival out of service.

1. Identify and contain. Block the affected unit in your main record and verify the change on every channel. Do not assume all listings already reflect it.
2. Assign and check. The reservations owner compares the opening against the existing commitment: full dates, capacity, features and terms.
3. Decide from evidence. Is the released unit ready and available for the whole stay? If not, check alternatives before reselling the gap. For a double booking, identify the affected commitments and real options without quietly displacing another guest.
4. Communicate and record. Present the workable alternative and review the relevant terms and applicable obligations before agreeing. Record acceptance, the responsible person and required changes.
5. Confirm closure. Check the booking changes, published availability and final handover.

For a safety risk, stop using the affected space or equipment, follow the property protocol and contact qualified help. Check guidance from Bomberos, the local fire service, or the relevant local authority.

Make the night handover actionable

Complete this record in your authorised internal channel. Keep identity documents, unnecessary personal details and access codes out of it.

Booking reference: [reference]
Unit: [unit]
Current status and active block: [verified situation]
Incident owner: [name or role]
Verified alternative: [option and availability]
Guest agreement: [agreement or pending]
Next update: [time and owner]
Evidence needed for closure: [required check]

Avoid three mistakes: treating silence as acceptance, marking the incident resolved without checking, and moving the guest into an unverified unit.

Measure the whole result, not just occupancy

A full long weekend can leave little contribution and plenty of unfinished work. Review sales, costs and delivery using the same reporting cutoff. Records are not just a shield. They are a steering wheel.

1. Set the basis before calculating

Count unit nights, not bookings. For this review, exclude documented out-of-service nights from available nights and report them separately with their causes. Do not remove nights from the denominator simply because they went unsold. Keep this treatment consistent across periods and show total physical inventory alongside it so lost capacity stays visible.

Separate accommodation revenue from taxes, extras and third-party charges according to your records. Use that same revenue basis for both revenue indicators:

• Occupancy: sold unit nights divided by available unit nights, multiplied by 100.
• ADR: accommodation revenue divided by sold unit nights.
• RevPAR: accommodation revenue divided by available unit nights.

If a denominator is zero, mark the indicator as not applicable rather than reporting zero.

2. Check delivery alongside sales

Add these measures and make their underlying bases explicit:

• Booking pace: nights booked for the peak at the same lead time before arrival, using comparable inventory.
• Cancellations: cancelled bookings from a defined cohort divided by all bookings in that cohort. Specify booking creation dates, stay dates and the observation cutoff.
• Contribution: accommodation revenue minus identified costs, such as commissions, cleaning, laundry, consumables and attributable extra cover. State what you include. This is not net profit.
• On-time readiness: units inspected and ready by the agreed handover time divided by planned handovers.
• Supply shortages: incidents by item, affected units and additional work caused.

Tip: Before celebrating higher RevPAR, check out-of-service nights, contribution and late handovers.

3. Turn each finding into a decision

1. Compare long weekends with similar duration, events, inventory and booking lead time. Do not credit or blame pricing for every change: channel mix, cancellations and stay patterns also matter.
2. Identify what sold out first, what remained empty, what broke and which unplanned tasks appeared.
3. Ask whether the constraint was demand, actual availability or operating capacity before deciding to discount or sell more.
4. Give each finding an action, an owner and evidence required for closure before the next peak.

For an illustrative example, suppose unit 402 remained empty because of a repair. Do not classify that as weak demand. Assign repair verification to the maintenance lead and require a recorded inspection before offering the unit again.

Avoid comparing revenue on different bases, counting bookings instead of nights or ending the review with “improve coordination.” Without an owner and closure evidence, that is not an action.

Copy a single peak-readiness and follow-up sheet

Use one sheet to bring together decisions, owners and evidence, not to enter every booking again. Each row should cover a preparation task you can verify or an issue that needs follow-up. Split tasks when they have different owners or different conditions for completion.

Template to copy

The rows below are illustrative. Replace bracketed fields with confirmed details. A backup is someone who can take over the task, not simply another name in the sheet.

1. Update tasks without duplicating bookings

1. Reference the internal identifier you need. Check availability and bookings in their designated source of truth; do not build a parallel reservation calendar here.
2. Agree who updates each row. Record the change, when it happened and the next action if something becomes blocked.
3. Use clear statuses: pending, in progress, blocked or closed. A sent message is not completion evidence.
4. Keep only necessary operational evidence. Do not store personal documents, unnecessary guest details or access codes. Restrict sheet access according to team responsibilities.

Tip: Close a row when you can verify the outcome, not when someone says they have requested it.

Operational release checklist

• Sellable inventory checked against capacity to prepare, inspect and hand over each unit at the agreed time.
• Rates and restrictions verified in the relevant channels.
• Shift coverage and backup confirmed.
• Supplies received and usable, not merely ordered.
• Access tested without exposing codes in the sheet.
• Escalation route understood by the team.

After the peak, retain the rows and document outstanding shortages or blockers. Use that evidence to decide what needs to change next time. Keep the previous outcome visible rather than replacing it with the next task.

Finish preparation with decisions you can verify

Approve the plan in dependency order, not against a universal deadline. Every approval needs an owner and evidence. Assigned is not the same as resolved.

1. Confirm readiness before selling more

1. Validate the calendar and demand. Identify the peak you are preparing for and the bookings supporting your forecast. An announced event is not confirmed demand.
2. Check operational capacity. Match sellable units against available cleaning, inspection and maintenance capacity. If capacity falls short, decide what to block or which arrivals to adjust before accepting more bookings.
3. Approve commercial terms. Name who can authorize rate changes, restrictions and exceptions. Check that each channel displays the approved conditions.
4. Confirm coverage and supplies. Get confirmation of shift handovers, backup coverage and available stock. An outstanding purchase order does not solve a shortage.
5. Rehearse an exception. Ask the team to explain what happens if a unit is not ready: who decides, which alternative they verify and who updates the guest.
6. Schedule the review. Assign someone to gather results, incidents and unresolved tasks so they become changes for the next peak.

Tip: When a dependency remains unresolved, reduce what you promise before increasing what you sell.

2. Run the final readiness check

• Who can authorize changes, and where are they recorded?
• Which unit cannot be sold, and is it blocked on the relevant channels?
• Which shift still lacks backup, and what capacity must you adjust?
• Who confirms each outstanding task is closed, and what evidence is required?

If an answer is still missing, record the constraint and who must resolve it before additional capacity is approved.