It's April. In ten weeks the phones start ringing. In twelve, the rooms fill up. By the second week of July the hotels that prepared for the rush are running at 90% occupancy, and the ones that didn't are answering panic calls from owners who waited too long.
The summer rush isn't won in July. It's won in May.
Here's a practical list of what to do between now and mid-June so the calendar fills up on your terms.
1. Open summer bookings now. Announce it loudly.
If you haven't opened up July and August on your booking form yet, do it this week. The clients that book earliest are your best ones: long stays, repeat visitors, predictable. Waiting "until things calm down" means you miss them.
Then tell people. Post on Instagram. Send an email to last year's summer clients. Add a line to your website. The clients who already know you book within 48 hours of the announcement. That's free occupancy.
2. Set your peak-season prices. Publish them.
Summer isn't November. Your nightly rate should reflect that, and your clients should know what to expect before they ask.
A 15-25% bump for July, August, and the first week of September is normal. So is a minimum stay over the peak weeks. So is a surcharge on bookings made less than 14 days out. Publish the rates on your site so there are no awkward phone conversations where you quote higher than last year.
If your current system makes it hard to run different rates for different weeks, that's a sign it's holding you back more than the summer rush itself.
3. Ask for a deposit on every summer booking.
Summer is the season of "I'll book just in case". Hotels that don't take deposits end up with rooms blocked by clients who had another plan all along. That's lost revenue you never see.
A 20-30% deposit, non-refundable within two weeks of check-in, filters that out. The people booking three months ahead for a specific date are serious. The ones clicking "maybe" don't pay the deposit and don't block your calendar.
4. Plan staffing week by week, not month by month.
"I'll sort out July when July comes" is how owners end up doing ten-hour check-ins on their own because a helper called out and no one else was available.
Look at last year's data if you have it. Map each week of July and August to how many rooms you expect full and how many hands you'll need. Line up your helpers now, confirm dates in writing, and build in at least one backup person per week. Staff plan beats staff panic.
5. Write your cancellation and no-show policy. Put it in the booking form.
The pattern every summer: a client cancels three days before check-in, the room stays empty, nobody else can fit the dates. Without a written policy, you eat the loss and feel bad charging for it.
Write it down. 72 hours out, no refund. 7 days out, 50%. Two weeks out, full refund minus the booking fee. Pick numbers you'll actually enforce. Put them on the booking form so the client agrees at checkout, not after a phone argument.
6. Reach out to last summer's clients.
The cheapest booking is the one you already had. Pull a list of everyone who stayed with you last July or August, and send a short email: "We're opening up summer dates. If you want the same week again, reply by the end of May and we'll hold it for you."
This costs you twenty minutes. It fills rooms at your best prices with the clients who already trust you.
What AnimalAdmin does for the summer rush
Every item above gets easier when the booking system matches how a pet hotel actually runs. AnimalAdmin lets you open peak bookings on an embedded widget, apply season-specific pricing rules automatically, take a deposit at the moment of booking, and pull a list of repeat clients with two clicks.
The first seven days are free, no card required. If your summer planning is still in spreadsheets, this is the week to move it.
If you have questions, feel free to schedule a short call or write to dawid@animaladmin.com.