What a hotel or tour agency should do when tourist season multiplies its phone calls
Sado AI team · · 4 min read
In short
In season (Navruz, the May holidays, summer and before New Year) hotels and tour agencies get several times more calls; lines are busy and callers try somewhere else. Before the season, update prices and answers, agree who takes which calls, and count the share of missed calls every day. Let the first line take simple questions and booking requests while staff handle confirmations and difficult cases. An AI operator answers more than ten calls at once, with no queue.
When calls rise in travel
Each business has its own peak. Usually it looks like this:
| Period | Who gets more calls |
|---|---|
| March–May: Navruz and the May holidays | Hotels in Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva; domestic tours |
| June–August: summer holidays | Mountain resorts, Charvak, beach tours abroad |
| September–October | Historic cities, agencies working with foreign tour groups |
| December–February | New Year tours, ski resorts, Umrah before Ramadan |
Open last year’s call history: which weeks had the most calls? Prepare for those weeks in advance.
A checklist before the season
- Put season prices, free dates and special offers on one sheet and give it to all staff.
- Collect last season’s frequent questions and write a short answer to each.
- Agree which call goes to whom: group bookings to a manager, complaints to the senior administrator.
- Ask your phone operator how many calls your number takes at once: with one line, the second caller hears “busy”.
- Before raising ad spend, decide who answers: every unanswered call is ad money wasted.
- Set a callback routine for missed calls: who, when and how many times.
What missed calls cost
The sum is simple: missed calls × the share that would have booked × the average booking.
For example, on a season day 150 calls came in and 45 went unanswered. Say one call in four becomes a booking and the average booking is 1.2 million so‘m: 45 ÷ 4 ≈ 11 bookings × 1.2 million = about 13 million so‘m in a day. These numbers are only an example: work out yours in the calculator. More: what missed calls cost.
How to split the work in season
- The first line takes every call at once: price, free dates, address, check-in time, booking request.
- Staff check the booking chart, send confirmations and take deposits.
- Difficult cases (groups, complaints, changes) go straight to the person responsible.
- At the end of the day, review the list of missed calls and unconfirmed requests.
- Write down one number every day: the share of missed calls.
A sample call: the eve of Navruz
Sado: Assalomu alaykum, Ko‘k Gumbaz hotel, Malika speaking.
Caller: Hello. I need two rooms for 20–23 March; we’re coming as a family.
Sado: Fine. How many of you, any children?
Caller: Four adults and three children.
Sado: I can offer two family rooms with breakfast. Over the holiday a room is 900 thousand so‘m a night. Shall I note it?
Caller: Yes, please. My name is Nodira.
Sado: Done, Nodira. The administrator will check the free rooms and send the confirmation and deposit details within an hour.
The price and dates are an example. If season prices change, the operator’s facts must be updated the same day.
Getting through the peak with an AI operator
An AI operator for incoming calls answers more than ten calls at once, with 0 seconds of waiting. Even on the busiest day each caller gets an answer on the first ring, in Uzbek or Russian, in your company’s name. Booking requests land in Requests, and your staff stay busy with confirmations.
After the season the bill falls too: no monthly fee, only 800 so‘m per talked minute. Compare it with hiring seasonal staff: AI operator vs call center.
Hear it yourself before the season starts: try it live or call 78 778 01 23.
Questions
Should we hire seasonal staff, or is an AI operator enough?
The AI operator takes simple questions and booking requests; staff handle confirmations and difficult cases. You can combine them: size the team for the confirmation work, not for the call peak.
What do we pay after the season?
There’s no monthly fee: fewer calls, smaller bill. Only talked minutes are paid, 800 so‘m a minute.
How many calls can it answer at once?
More than ten at the same time, with no queue. How many calls your number can take at once also depends on your phone operator’s lines: check this with the Sado team when connecting.