Christmas might still feel a little way off, but for hospitality businesses, event venues, hotels, restaurants and caterers, the festive season starts much earlier.

Christmas parties, corporate events, festive dining, race meetings, sporting fixtures and seasonal attractions can all mean a significant increase in footfall and a significant increase in the number of people you need on your team.

If you know you're going to need extra hospitality staff this Christmas, now is the time to start planning.

 

Need temporary hospitality staff for Christmas?

The festive season is one of the busiest times of year for the hospitality industry. Your permanent team may be perfectly sized for normal trading, but Christmas can be a different story.

Extra bookings and larger events can quickly leave businesses needing additional:

• Temporary chefs and relief chefs
• Waiting staff
• Bar staff
• Front of house staff
• Kitchen porters
• Catering assistants
• Event and hospitality staff

Using temporary hospitality staff gives you the flexibility to increase your team during your busiest periods without permanently increasing your headcount.

Whether you need one temporary chef to strengthen the kitchen for a busy weekend or an entire team of temporary catering staff for a large Christmas party, planning ahead can make the festive period considerably easier.

 

Don't wait until December to find Christmas staff

December rotas have a habit of looking manageable, until the Christmas bookings start coming in!

A corporate party is added here. A private function there. Then there are Christmas lunches, festive menus, sporting events, staff holidays and the inevitable last-minute changes.

By talking to your hospitality recruitment agency early, you can start identifying the dates when you're likely to need additional support and make plans before the Christmas rush really begins.

At CSI, our branches are already preparing for the festive season and speaking to businesses about their Christmas staffing requirements.

So if you already know your busiest dates, tell us now!

 

Christmas party and event staff

Large Christmas parties and corporate events can require a substantial number of people for a relatively short period. This is exactly the situation where flexible staffing can help.

CSI works with hospitality businesses, caterers and venues that need additional Christmas event staff, including chefs, waiting staff, bar staff and other front and back of house team members.

Whether you're hosting one large Christmas party or have a calendar packed with festive events, we can work with you to identify where additional staff could take the pressure off your existing team.

 

Staffing festive sporting events and busy venues

Christmas isn't just about parties. The festive calendar can include major sports events, football and rugby fixtures, Christmas markets, seasonal attractions and other events that can bring thousands of additional visitors through the doors.

For venues, caterers and hospitality operators, that can create sudden peaks in demand for experienced temporary catering staff.

CSI has extensive experience supplying hospitality staff for busy events and venues, including racecourses, sporting grounds and large-scale hospitality operations.

We understand that event staffing needs can change quickly. Having a recruitment partner who already understands your business can make it much easier to scale your team when you need to.

 

Need to hire chefs for the Christmas period?

Chefs are often one of the most important festive staffing requirements.

If you're expecting increased covers, additional functions or a packed events calendar, adding temporary chefs or relief chefs to your brigade can provide valuable extra capacity without committing to another permanent member of staff.

CSI can help businesses hire chefs at different levels, alongside kitchen porters and catering assistants, to support existing kitchen teams through busy periods.

And because our consultants come from hospitality backgrounds themselves, they understand the pressures of a busy Christmas service and the importance of finding people who can step into a team and get to work.

 

Flexible staffing for an unpredictable season

One of the biggest advantages of using a hospitality staffing agency at Christmas is flexibility.

You might need additional waiting staff for one evening, extra chefs across several weeks, a larger team for a major event or emergency cover when somebody unexpectedly drops out.

Our network of branches across the UK helps hospitality businesses find the additional people they need, when they need them.

Planning early also gives us the opportunity to understand your venue, your standards and your likely requirements before the busiest weeks arrive.

 

Start planning your Christmas staffing now

The festive season can be hugely rewarding for hospitality businesses, but only when you have enough people to deliver the service your customers expect.

So don't wait until the Christmas rush is already underway.

If you're expecting a busy November and December, speak to CSI now about your festive staffing plans. Whether you need temporary chefs, waiting staff, bar staff, front of house staff, event staff or temporary catering staff, we can help you build the additional team you need.

 

Looking for Christmas hospitality staff?

Contact your local CSI branch today and tell us what you've got planned. From one-off Christmas parties, to weeks of festive events, we'll help you prepare for your busiest time of year.