New Zealand public holidays and your booking page

Public holidays are easy to forget until a client books one. A booking on Waitangi Day when you are at the beach, or on Labour Day when the whole family is away, means an awkward message and a disappointed client. A few minutes closing the holidays you take off, once, saves all of that.

The holidays to think about

New Zealand's national public holidays include New Year's Day and the day after, Waitangi Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day, King's Birthday, Matariki, Labour Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Each region also has its own anniversary day, such as Auckland Anniversary Day or Canterbury Anniversary Day, which falls on a different date depending on where you are.

Matariki is the newest, and its date moves each year with the Māori lunar calendar, so it is the one most often missed when people set up their year.

Holidays also affect the days around them. Many clients take leave either side of Easter, Labour Day weekend or the summer break, so your bookings may be quieter or busier than usual on those days. Look at last year's pattern if you have it.

Suggest and close holidays in a click

In your availability settings, BookAndGo can suggest New Zealand public holidays for you. Review the list, choose the ones you take off, and they are closed on your booking page. Clients simply see no times on those days.

Check your regional anniversary day yourself as well. Because it depends on your region, make sure the date you close is the one your area observes.

After closing holidays, open your booking page and look at the weeks around them. Seeing the closed days as a client would is the easiest way to be sure you closed the right ones.

Mondayised holidays

When some holidays fall on a weekend, the day off moves to the following Monday, a practice known as Mondayisation. Waitangi Day and Anzac Day are the best known. Christmas, Boxing Day and the New Year holidays also shift when they land on a weekend.

If you work weekends, think about which day you actually take off in those years. You might be open on the Saturday and closed on the Monday, or the other way round. Close the day you are really away, not just the date on the calendar.

A useful habit is to look at the year's holiday dates as soon as they are confirmed, and decide then which Mondays and which weekends you will work. Deciding early means your booking page is right before anyone tries to book.

Working some holidays

Many service businesses do some of their best trade on public holidays, when clients are off work. If you open on a holiday, consider whether your usual hours suit it. You might open later, close earlier or run only some services.

You can set one-off special hours for a single day, so a shorter holiday opening does not mean changing your normal week.

If you open on a holiday, consider whether your team wants to work it. A holiday roster agreed in advance, with each person's calendar set to match, avoids a last-minute scramble.

Plan the year in one sitting

Early in the year, or before your booking horizon reaches the next few holidays, sit down with your calendar and close every holiday you will take. Add your own planned breaks at the same time: school holidays, a summer break, a conference.

Then tell your regulars. A quick note that you are closed over the Christmas and New Year break, with the date you reopen, helps them book ahead rather than finding the page empty.

If a client asks about a holiday you have closed, the waitlist is a useful answer. They can join it for the days either side, and you can fit them in if a time opens.