Holiday Season Prep Kit | Thanksgiving & Christmas Planning for Dog Boarding & Daycare

Plan the holidays now, before the rush plans them for you. 🦃🎄

Thanksgiving and Christmas are the most profitable weeks of the year for a boarding business, and the most stressful. Every holiday I've run a boarding business, the weeks that went smoothly were the ones I planned for in October.

This kit is that plan: the policy, the messages, the staffing, the safety sheet and the marketing, all ready to make your own.

WHAT YOU GET: 6 EDITABLE FILES + A START HERE GUIDE

• Holiday Booking & Deposit Policy: holiday dates, holiday surcharge, non-refundable deposits, minimum stays, vaccine deadlines, holiday hours and waitlist rules
• 12 Holiday Client Messages: ready-to-send emails and texts for bookings opening, early reminders, deposit requests, confirmations, waitlists, "we're full," open spots, vaccine reminders, packing lists, holiday hours, pickup reminders and review requests
• Holiday Staffing Plan: time-off and blackout rules, staffing ratios, a holiday schedule, a 5-minute daily huddle and a quick-train sheet for extra holiday help
• Holiday Safety & Health Sheet: dangerous holiday foods, decoration hazards, stress colitis and illness watch, peak-season cleaning and emergency contacts. Post it for staff.
• Holiday Marketing Calendar: 8 weeks of posts and emails, 12 ready-to-post captions, and gift card and promo ideas
• Holiday Capacity Planner (Excel): type in your bookings, and it shows open spots, staff needed and estimated revenue for every day of Thanksgiving and Christmas
• Start Here guide with a week-by-week holiday countdown, plus a "starting late?" plan

STARTING LATE? THAT'S OK.

Post the booking policy and send the first message today, fill in the planner tonight, and post the safety sheet before your first holiday guest arrives. The rest can catch up.

BUILT FOR

• Dog boarding facilities and pet resorts
• Dog daycares that board over the holidays
• New facilities heading into their first holiday season
• Established facilities that are tired of winging it every December

Word files also open in Google Docs. The planner works in Excel and Google Sheets. Everything you need to change is highlighted in yellow.

These are templates, not legal or veterinary advice. Review the safety sheet with your veterinarian and check your local rules.