The first booking of the season is thirty days away. The property has been closed since October. The mattresses are covered, the water heater is off, and somewhere in a drawer is the list of what broke last year and "we will fix it over the winter".
Thirty days are enough if the work is split into weeks. This is the list we suggest, from staff to the last test on the eve of the first arrival. Adjust it to your size: a property with five rooms will get through some points in half an hour.
Days 30 to 22: staff, prices, channels
Staff
- Who starts and when. Fix start dates for housekeepers, reception and maintenance. The first wave is needed before the deep clean, not after.
- Hiring paperwork. Contracts, ERGANI declarations and the digital work card are handled by you or your accountant. Talk to them now, not the day before, so you know what is needed before each person's first working day.
- Access to the apps. In the housekeeping app each housekeeper logs in with a personal PIN, no email needed. Create PINs for new staff, deactivate those who are not coming back, and set which rooms each one usually cleans.
Prices and availability
- Check that 2027 prices are loaded for the whole season, with minimum stays and cancellation policies.
- Make sure the dates before opening are closed and availability opens exactly from the first operating day.
- Open Booking.com, Airbnb and your own website and search for your property in the first week. Are the prices and restrictions you see the ones you set?
Days 21 to 15: maintenance and locks
- A room-by-room walk with the technician: air conditioners, taps, cisterns, bulbs, TVs, insect screens. Every fault becomes a ticket on its room, with a photo and an owner. That way you see what is closed and what is waiting, without scraps of paper.
- Water and hot water. Turn on, check pressure, solar heater or boiler in every room.
- Wi-Fi. The routers spent the winter closed too. Check the signal in every room. If you change the password, note it: you will need it in week two.
- Smart locks. Change the batteries in all of them, not just the ones showing low. Make sure the gateway is online and close to the locks. Test every door with a staff code that has an end time, from the Smart Locks page. If the code arrives and the door opens, the first guest's PIN will arrive too.
Days 14 to 8: cleaning and texts
Deep clean
- Assign the rooms to housekeepers in the app, with a note for the deep clean: curtains, mattresses, wardrobes, balconies.
- If you used the app last year, look at how long a departure room took on average. With that number you can work out how many people you need on days with many departures. More on the app in The cleaner has no email. She has a PIN.
- Inventory: sheets, towels, bathroom amenities, paper goods, detergents. Order now, not when they run out in July.
The texts guests read
- Pre-arrival email. Check-in and check-out times, directions, parking. Has anything changed since last year? New breakfast, new entrance, roadworks?
- Digital card. New Wi-Fi password, new hours, new photos. One change on the card updates the page the guest opens from the QR code at once.
- Door code email. If you have smart locks, read the template again. Are the entrance instructions right?
Days 7 to 1: test run and team
- A test booking. Make a booking on your own booking engine for one of the first nights. Did the confirmation arrive? Did it appear on the calendar? Did availability close on the channels? If you have locks, did it get a PIN? Then cancel it and check that everything reopened and the PIN was deleted.
- A day with the team. Half an hour with reception on the calendar and the inbox. Half an hour with the housekeepers in the app: a room turns "dirty", the housekeeper cleans it and taps "clean", reception sees it ready.
- The inbox. Answer the messages that piled up over the winter. Many guests ask before they book.
- The day before. First-day arrivals list, rooms in "inspected" status, keys or codes ready, and a phone that gets answered.
The short version
- Day 30: staff, accountant, PINs in the housekeeping app.
- Day 25: 2027 prices, opening date, check on the channels.
- Day 20: maintenance walk with tickets, water, Wi-Fi.
- Day 15: lock batteries and gateway, test every door.
- Day 12: deep clean, inventory, orders.
- Day 8: emails, digital card, door code template.
- Day 5: test booking and cancellation.
- Day 2: team training, inbox.
- Day 1: arrivals, rooms inspected.
Frequently asked questions
When should I open bookings for the new season?
As soon as you have prices and policies. Availability can be open months before opening, as long as the days before the first operating day are closed.
Do I need to set up the locks again every year?
No. The TTLock connection and the lock-to-room mapping stay. You need batteries, an online gateway and a test.
Does Bookmatrix.com send the ERGANI declarations?
No. Staff declarations and the digital work card are handled by you or your accountant.
Opening this year with a new system? Start the free 14-day demo with your own rooms at bookmatrix.com/demo, no card needed. Or leave your details at bookmatrix.com/form and we will call you on the next working day. You can also call us at +30 2351 151525.