Every hospitality professional knows the chaos of Christmas week—fully booked rooms, festive dining events, and staff working overtime to deliver exceptional guest experiences.
But what happens on December 26th when the decorations come down and guests check out?
Most properties experience a dramatic occupancy dip that creates the perfect opportunity for critical maintenance work.
This five-day window between Christmas and New Year's—affectionately known as "Twixmas" in the UK hospitality industry—represents one of the most underutilized maintenance periods of the entire year. While properties rush to prepare for New Year's Eve celebrations, they often overlook the strategic advantage of this midweek lull.
Not all low-occupancy periods offer the same operational value. Unlike traditional shoulder seasons or off-peak months, the post-Christmas week combines predictability with urgency—two things maintenance teams rarely get at the same time.
What makes this window uniquely effective:
Occupancy data reinforces the opportunity. According to STR, hotel occupancy during the week following Christmas consistently dips compared to peak holiday demand, creating operational breathing room that’s difficult to find at any other point in the year.
In December 2024, occupancy fell to 53.2%, significantly below Christmas-week levels—an ideal condition for essential maintenance without major guest disruption.
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Many hospitality managers view the post-Christmas period as recovery time—a chance for staff to catch their breath before the New Year's rush. While understandable, this passive approach carries significant hidden costs.
What actually happens when this window is ignored:
The financial pressure is growing. The American Hotel & Lodging Association’s 2025 State of the Industry Report shows that property operations and maintenance costs rose by nearly 5% in 2024, outpacing revenue growth. In this environment, failing to use predictable maintenance windows isn’t just inefficient—it magnifies cost, stress, and operational risk over the year ahead.
This window is ideal for the hotel maintenance you've been putting off because "we can't afford to take rooms offline."
Your heating systems have already been under sustained load since November—and January and February will test them even harder. December 26–30 is the last low-risk window to ensure systems are operating efficiently before winter demand peaks.
Priority actions:
A single HVAC failure during peak winter occupancy creates a double hit: a room taken offline and a dissatisfied guest. Preventive maintenance during this window reduces both risk and cost before winter pressure intensifies.
Burst pipes and water leaks are among the costliest hotel maintenance emergencies, with average incidents causing damages per occurrence, not counting lost room revenue or guest compensation.
Priority actions:
January cold snaps cause plumbing failures. Prevention now saves thousands later.
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First impressions matter in hospitality, and nothing kills ambiance faster than flickering lights or malfunctioning outlets.
Priority actions:
Energy efficiency directly impacts your operating costs and guest comfort. Winter weather exposes every weakness in your property's envelope.
Priority actions:
While guest rooms are critical, your common areas create the first and last impressions. December 26-30 gives you access to these high-traffic zones during lower-traffic periods.
Maintenance opportunities:
These amenities remain popular with business travelers and families extending their stays, but off-peak usage allows for strategic maintenance windows.
Priority actions:
Elevators are your property's circulatory system. Problems here affect every guest.
Priority actions:
The systems guests never see determine whether your property runs smoothly or crashes during peak periods.
Even if your restaurant is closed or operating on reduced hours, your kitchen equipment needs attention for optimal performance.
Priority maintenance:
Your laundry equipment works hardest during full occupancy. Give it attention now before January business picks up.
Priority actions:
January brings predictable hospitality challenges: business travel picks up, winter weather creates property stresses, heating systems face their toughest test, and guest expectations remain high despite challenging conditions.
Properties that use December 26-30 strategically report:
When your HVAC systems work flawlessly through January cold snaps, when no pipes burst during winter storms, when every room functions properly during high-demand periods—that's when you see the ROI of proactive December maintenance.
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Don't limit your thinking to just these five days. Use this window to set yourself up for quarterly success in hotel operations.
Schedule preventive maintenance calendar: Book your regular maintenance contractors now for January, February, and March. Lock in dates while their schedules are still flexible. This proactive approach to facilities management prevents costly emergency repairs.
Audit and order supplies: Review maintenance supply inventory. Order replacement parts, cleaning supplies, and common repair items while you have time to shop competitively.
Document property conditions: Take photos of your property's current state. This documentation helps track deterioration, plan renovations, and provide evidence for insurance if needed.
Train and update staff: Use slower periods to refresh maintenance staff on safety protocols, introduce new equipment, and review best practices for hotel maintenance management.
Successful execution requires planning that begins months before Christmas.
Hospitality operates on tight margins, demanding schedules, and constant pressure to deliver exceptional guest experiences with limited resources. In that reality, the December 26–30 maintenance window represents a rare operational advantage.
Properties that treat this period as strategic time—not downtime—start the new year with fewer emergencies, stronger systems, and more confident teams. Small issues are resolved before they escalate, assets are stabilized ahead of winter stress, and maintenance shifts from reactive to preventive.
How these five days are handled can quietly shape your property’s performance, costs, and guest satisfaction for the year ahead.
Even the best maintenance plan falls apart without clear execution, visibility, and accountability.
Snapfix gives hospitality teams a simple way to manage high-impact maintenance windows like December 26–30. Issues are reported with photos in seconds, work is prioritized clearly, and every task is tracked from start to finish—without spreadsheets, paper logs, or endless follow-ups.
With Snapfix, you can:
If you want the work done between Christmas and New Year’s to deliver real, measurable impact throughout Q1, Snapfix helps you turn a short window into long-term operational gains.
Book a demo with Snapfix and see how leading hotels bring structure, speed, and clarity to preventive maintenance—when it matters most.
Focus on areas with lowest guest impact and visibility. Nighttime shifts can accomplish HVAC, system testing, and equipment inspections while guests sleep. Prioritize critical safety systems, then schedule aesthetic work during your next shoulder season.
Guest safety and satisfaction issues require immediate attention. Non-functional heating, kitchen equipment failure, or water damage cannot wait. However, minor issues like single flickering lights or worn carpet in low-traffic areas can be documented and addressed December 26-30.
Cross-trained housekeeping can: replace standard light bulbs, tighten loose furniture screws, identify and report maintenance needs, test in-room electronics and replace remote batteries, clean refrigerator coils, inspect and report damaged fixtures, and perform basic carpet spot-cleaning.
If occupancy allows, yes. Properties below 60% occupancy can cluster guests on certain floors, leaving entire floors available for intensive maintenance. Amenities like fitness centers or pools can close for 24-48 hours—December 27-28 is optimal as guests are least likely to complain.
Use CMMS platforms like Snapfix for before-and-after photos, time and cost tracking, contractor invoices, work order completion rates, and asset performance metrics. Create summary reports for ownership highlighting: rooms prevented from emergency downtime, guest satisfaction improvements, cost savings from preventive versus emergency maintenance, and contractor feedback on property condition.