Vacation season isn’t just busy. It’s fast-paced and demanding for airlines and hospitality brands. With 51 per cent of Americans planning summer trips and many booking more than they did last year,¹ customer expectation are on the rise. Travellers want quick answers, real-time support, and a seamless service. When they don’t get it, they’re quick to complain or take their business elsewhere.
Even a single poor interaction can have lasting effects. In fact, over 52 percent of customers stop using a brand after just one bad experience.² That’s why effective travel industry seasonal call center staffing is crucial during peak season—every moment counts. A well-prepared call center helps you meet demand, protect your reputation, and support your team under pressure.
What Your Call Center Is Up Against
Vacation season brings unique challenges for the travel and hospitality industry:
- Flight delays and cancellations
- Overbooked hotels and lost reservations
- Last-minute schedule changes
- Inquiries from global travelers in different time zones
- Upset customers who need real-time, human support
Each issue can trigger a wave of calls, emails, and social media messages. Handling them effectively requires trained agents who can remain calm, act quickly, and communicate clearly across all channels.
Yet staffing remains a challenge. According to the American Hotel & Lodging Association, 67 percent of hoteliers still face labor shortages.³ Many call centers are stretched thin, and even fully staffed teams can struggle when seasonal call volumes spike.
In these moments, customer service matters most. The person on the other end of the line can either protect or break customer trust.
5 Smart Strategies to Manage Seasonal Surges
Getting through peak travel season takes more than extra hands. It requires flexible staffing strategies that adjust to demand while maintaining service quality.
Here’s how to achieve that:
1. Build a Bench of Pre-Vetted Seasonal Agents
One of the best ways to stay ready is to plan. Keep a pool of trained seasonal agents who already understand your systems, service tools, and hospitality standards. That way, they’re ready to step in fast.
Why it works:
- Shorter training time
- Faster onboarding
- More consistent service during peak periods
Instead of rushing to hire last-minute, you’re staying ahead. At Salem Solutions, we help travel and hospitality clients maintain a bench of experienced agents who are ready when the demands of the travel season hit.
2. Use Remote and Hybrid Staffing Models
Remote and hybrid setups help call centers scale quickly by tapping into a wider talent pool. They’re especially useful when local hiring is tough or when you need coverage across several time zones.
The benefits of these flexible staffing models include:
- Hire experienced agents from different regions
- Cover weekends and evenings more easily
- Offer flexible shifts (weekend, part-time, etc.) to handle peak periods
- Extend hours without extra facilities
However, successful remote operations require more than flexible locations. Remote teams need secure systems, clear workflows, clear performance goals and feedback, adequate training, and regular check-ins to stay engaged and on track.
With the right structure, remote agents can match or even exceed on-site performance, especially during high-volume seasons like summer travel. That extra flexibility can give your team an edge. More flexibility means faster response times and better service when it counts.
3. Use Data-Driven, Flexible Shift Schedules
If your call volume spikes in July but your staffing looks the same as in March, your team might get overwhelmed. To prevent this, adopt smart scheduling. Smart scheduling helps you stay ahead without overworking your agents and keeps service steady.
To build a flexible scheduling plan:
- Review past call data to find peak days and hours
- Use split shifts or short blocks to boost coverage without extending agents’ hours
- Crosstrain agents to handle different call types
- Start shifts at different times to reduce call volume surges at once
When staffing matches demand, agents are supported, and customers don’t face long wait times. This reduces burnout and helps maintain service quality during peak season, improving customer experiences.
4. Support Global Travellers with Multilingual, Culturally Aware Service
Travelers today come from many countries and cultures. To serve them well, your team needs more than language skills. They need cultural awareness and empathy. Customers want to feel seen, heard, and respected. Meeting those expectations builds trust and resolves issues faster.
Multilingual support helps:
- Avoid confusion that slows down resolution
- Build stronger connections with international travelers
- Show inclusivity in high-stress moments
To strengthen your team:
- Hire bilingual or multilingual agents for common languages in your market
- Recruit from diverse communities that reflect your customer base
- Work with staffing partners that specialize in language-specific roles
- Train agents on cultural awareness to improve empathy and respect
Travelers remember the brands that make them feel understood. That connection often starts with the voice on the line.
5. Use Technology to Strengthen Customer Service
Customers want fast help, but they also want to feel heard. The right tools help your agents deliver both.
That’s where AI and automation come in. Not to replace your team, but to make them more effective. When agents don’t have to repeat the same answers, they can focus on the issues that need human attention. That’s the kind of service customers remember.
Think about how often your team answers:
- “What’s your cancellation policy?”
- “How do I change my flight?”
- “What time is check-in?”
An automated FAQ or chatbot can handle these in seconds. That frees your agents to handle more urgent or sensitive issues like a delayed flight or a lost reservation.
Here are more smart ways to support your agents with technology:
- Use skill-based routing to get customers to the right agent the first time, reducing wait times and avoiding frustrating transfers.
- Track call volume with real-time dashboards, allowing you to shift resources before long wait times accumulate.
- Use scheduling tools to adjust shifts quickly when calling traffic spikes, especially if you’re working with a lean team.
With the right tech and staffing, your team stays focused, responds faster, and delivers a service that earns customer loyalty.
Why Partnering with Salem Solutions Gives You an Edge
Implementing these strategies requires time, skill, and focus. And during peak season, time is your most limited resource. That’s where having a specialized staffing partner like Salem Solutions makes a difference.
Salem Solutions helps travel and hospitality businesses stay ahead by:
- Recruiting and vetting skilled agents year-round
- Building custom talent pipelines based on your needs
- Supplying agents trained in air travel, hotel systems, and customer care
- Expanding your team quickly without lowering service standards
Partnering with Salem Solutions gives you an edge by helping you set up a system that performs under pressure and protects your customer relationships when it matters most.
Turn Vacation Season into a Competitive Advantage
Vacation season comes with delays, cancellations, and high-stress customer issues. But it’s also a chance to build trust, strengthen loyalty, and stand out through exceptional service.
With the right staffing, tools, and support, your call center can stay fast, calm, and consistent, protecting your brand and keeping customers coming back.
Want to Staff Up for the Travel Rush Without Losing Service Quality? Partner with Salem Solutions!
Salem Solutions connects you with skilled call center agents who understand how to handle tough calls, high volumes, and high expectations. If you’re preparing for a busy season, get ahead of it with a team that’s ready to deliver.
Reach out today!
References
1. Accenture, Oxford Economics, STR/CoStar Group, & AHLA Platinum Partners. (2025, February). 2025 State of the Industry Report. The American Hotel & Lodging Association. https://www.ahla.com/sites/default/files/25_SOTI.pdf
2. McDermott, A., & Eggemeier, T. (2025, February 24). CX Trends 2025: Surge ahead with human-centric AI. Zendesk. https://cxtrends.zendesk.com/
3. Hireology. (2025, February 20). 65% of hotels surveyed report staffing shortages. American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA). https://www.ahla.com/news/65-surveyed-hotels-report-staffing-shortages
