We just onboarded three associates at our 120-room city hotel, and I’m building a 30-day plan to coach them through 11 pm rushes, early arrivals, and the occasional overbooking without losing the warm, guest-first touch… What role-plays or quick huddles have moved the needle for your teams when the lobby’s full and patience is thin?
At 10:45, run a 3-minute “pit crew” huddle: assign Greeter (line + names), Coder (IDs/keys), and Floater (solutions/overbooks), then do a 6-minute timer drill with the exact mix — early arrival, elite, walk-in, one overbook — using a phrase card like “I’ve got you — two options, I’ll handle the details.” Track time-to-first-greet on a whiteboard and pre-tag early arrivers in the PMS before 10:30; curious what system you’re on, but this routine keeps the lobby calm?
We run a 7-minute micro-drill an hour before rush: pull the arrivals list, flag likely earlies and risky cards, then role-play three real reservations in the PMS using the “own it → offer A/B → timeline” script, 90 seconds each — preheating the oven for the dinner rush. Keep a laminated walk matrix at the desk with partner hotels, rate-protect wording, and pre-approved taxi/meal comps so no one hesitates when you’re at zero. Do you already use pre-arrival texts to pull a few check-ins forward?