A holiday list for a place that never closes
The back office can take national holidays and a few festivals off. Front office, housekeeping, kitchen, F&B, security and engineering cannot. Keep one paid holiday list for everyone and treat each holiday worked as holiday duty. In ZeniaHR the holiday list feeds attendance, leave sandwich calculations and payroll at once, so a banquet server who works on Diwali shows up as holiday duty, eligible for comp-off, while a colleague rostered off that day is paid for it without anyone intervening.
Holiday duty: comp-off or holiday pay
Decide the compensation once and apply it in every department. The usual choices are a comp-off day for each holiday worked, or holiday pay for the day. Hours worked past the shift on a holiday are paid as overtime using your holiday multiplier, and since the OSH Code puts overtime at twice the ordinary wage rate, that multiplier should be at least 2. Some hotels also give a festival meal or a small gift to staff on duty; that is goodwill, not a substitute for the comp-off.
Properties in different states
A group with a city hotel in Chennai, a resort in Munnar and a business hotel in Pune needs holidays by property. Pongal applies in Chennai, Onam and Vishu in Munnar, Gudi Padwa in Pune. In ZeniaHR you pick the branches and departments each holiday covers, so every property sees only its own list, and a regional holiday in Munnar never appears as an absence in Pune. National days can be set as recurring yearly holidays, so the base list rolls into the next year on its own.
Optional holidays for a mixed workforce
Hotel teams come from many states and faiths: a Bengali chef, a Goan steward, a Naga front office agent, a Punjabi engineer. Optional holidays let each person pick the days that matter to them, for example two from a list with Eid, Christmas, Guru Nanak Jayanti, Durga Puja and Onam, within the yearly pick limit. Since every pick is an absence, heads of department should read the optional holiday picks report before they set that week's roster.
How to set it up in ZeniaHR
- Enter the year's paid holidays in Holiday Calendars under the right categories, and make national days recurring yearly holidays.
- Apply regional holidays to the right property by branch, and to single departments where only the back office closes.
- Mark optional holidays and set a yearly pick limit, so staff choose their own festivals in My Self-Service.
- In the deduction policy, record whether holidays are paid, with a branch override for any property in a state with different rules.
- Once a festival is over, grant comp-off for the duty and approve any holiday overtime before payroll runs.
- Share the optional holiday picks report with heads of department ahead of each festival week.
Read more about holiday calendars in ZeniaHR.
Roles this applies to
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Do hotel staff get paid holidays if they work on festivals?
Yes. A paid holiday stays a paid holiday even when the employee is on duty; the hotel then owes compensation for working it, usually a comp-off day or holiday pay under your policy. Check your state's rules on holiday work, and track every holiday worked so no credit is lost.
How do hotels decide holiday lists for different properties?
By state and by property. National holidays apply everywhere, while regional festivals follow the state where each property sits. Keep one group calendar, apply each regional holiday to the right properties, and add optional holidays for staff from other regions, so every property sees only its own list.
Can hotel staff choose their own festival holidays?
Through optional holidays, yes. Offer a list of festivals and let each employee pick a fixed number, often two a year. Heads of department should see the picks early, because several people in one department choosing the same day can leave a shift short.