Hotel Pre-Opening Checklist Template

Owned by the pre-opening general manager. Enter the opening date, the day the first paying guests arrive: every due date counts from it in working days. This template plans 24 weeks (120 working days) before opening and about 30 days after it. The due dates are the latest that keep the opening on time, so start earlier where you can. Answer the questions about the type of opening, the brand, food and drink and any pool: they add the tasks this hotel needs. At a reflag, enter the changeover date as the opening date and mark tasks that do not apply Not applicable.

• Record the hotel, the opening date and the opening team — the hotel and its address, the number of guest rooms, the opening date that every due date counts from, the type of opening, the brand, food and drink, any pool or spa, and the eight people this checklist assigns
• Confirm the scope and who does what — the room types and counts, the outlets, meeting space and facilities, the guests the hotel is for, and what the owner, the brand or operator and the contractor each deliver under their agreements
• Get the brand’s opening requirements — the brand standards that apply to this hotel, the brand’s opening timeline and approvals, the systems and suppliers it requires, any brand inspection before opening, and the dates in the franchise or management agreement
• Set the hotel’s own standards — the room and bathroom specification, the service standards for each department, the look and tone of the hotel’s brand, and the main suppliers, written down so every department trains to the same standard
• Build the pre-opening budget — pre-opening wages, recruitment and training, sales and marketing, OS&E, systems and licences, insurance, fees, opening events and a contingency, with how each is funded and who approves spending; this template keeps it apart from the building and FF&E budget
• Build the critical path to opening — the dates for the licence applications, the building handover, systems, recruitment, training, OS&E deliveries, mock stays and the go/no-go, with an owner for each and the steps each one depends on
• Owner approves the pre-opening budget and the opening date — the owner’s representative alone approves the budget and confirms the opening date before money is committed; a date that leaves too little time for the licences, the handover or training is moved now

Each licence, permit and registration has its own lead time, so the applications go in first. Which ones apply depends on the country, state or council and on what the hotel offers; the notes give UK and US examples. Ask each authority how long it takes and plan back from the opening date.

• List every licence, permit and registration the hotel needs — each one with the authority that issues it, how long it takes, what it needs from you, who owns it and when it must be in place, from building sign-off and fire safety to food, alcohol, lifts, any pool, signs, music, guest records and taxes
• Apply for the alcohol licence — the licence to sell alcohol in the bar, the restaurant, the minibars and at events, applied for early with the plans, the hours and the person who will supervise sales
• Apply for consent for the hotel’s signs — the signs on the building, at the entrance and by the road, checked against the planning rules and any brand sign standards, with any consent or permit applied for before the signs are made
• Arrange the hotel’s insurance — cover for the building (property and contents where the agreements make it yours, business interruption and public liability) from the day the hotel team takes it over, and employers’ liability or workers’ compensation from the day the first person is employed, with the certificates filed
• Register for the taxes the hotel will charge and pay — VAT or sales tax on rooms, food and drink, any occupancy or visitor tax where the hotel is, and business rates or property tax, with the rates set up so the PMS and POS charge them correctly

The sales and marketing manager sets the rates and opens the hotel for bookings well before opening day. The systems lead then builds and tests the systems that take those bookings, charge guests and open their doors. Test with made-up bookings, not real guests’ details, until each system is live.

• Set the room types, rates and booking policies — room types and their descriptions, rate plans and packages, deposits, cancellation and no-show terms, check-in and check-out times, and the rules on children, pets and accessible rooms, within any brand standards
• Set up where the hotel can be booked — the brand’s central reservations system or your own booking engine and channel manager, the online travel agencies you will use, and how room types, rates, photos and the accessible rooms’ features reach each one, with the privacy notice shown on every channel, the data protection fee paid where it applies, and online deposits taken only through a payment provider that confirms its PCI DSS status
• Open the hotel for bookings and start pre-opening sales — the website or brand page live with the opening date, bookings open, group and corporate accounts approached, the launch publicity planned, and what guests will be told if the opening date moves
• Build the property management system (PMS) — rooms, room types, rates, packages, taxes, guest registration fields, departments and users with their access, set up from the agreed rates and policies, with the reports the night audit and managers need
• Set up the point of sale (POS) and card payments — outlets, menus and prices in the POS, charges posting to guest folios in the PMS, card terminals and the payment provider, deposits taken online, and who may refund or void
• Set up the door locks, Wi-Fi, TVs and phones — key cards encoded from the PMS, master and staff keys by level, guest and staff Wi-Fi kept apart, TVs, phones and voicemail in every room, and any music or TV licences the hotel needs
• Test every system end to end — a test booking from each channel reaching the PMS, a key card cut, a charge posted from the POS, a card payment and a refund, the night audit run and its reports produced, with each failure fixed and tested again
• Set up guest records and data protection — the registration card or online check-in, how long guest records are kept and who can see them, and the privacy notice set up when bookings opened checked against what the systems now hold

Department heads join first so they can hire and train their own teams. The teams are hired in waves, with time to train in the building before the mock stays. The employer registrations and the right to work checks come before anyone starts.

• Register as an employer and set up payroll — the employer registrations, payroll, pensions or benefits, contracts and the staff handbook ready before the first hire starts; at a reflag, check the operator’s existing registrations cover this hotel
• Hire the department heads — front office, housekeeping, food and beverage, engineering, sales and HR, each with a start date that leaves time to hire and train their team, and each person’s right to work checked before they start
• Recruit the teams in waves — headcount by department from the staffing plan, adverts, interviews and offers, and each person’s right to work checked before they start
• Onboard every new starter — contracts signed, uniforms, lockers, ID badges and system logins, the handbook and policies, and a first-week plan for each department
• Train each department in the building — front office, reservations, housekeeping, food and beverage, engineering and security trained on their standards, the systems and the guest journey, in the rooms and areas they will work in
• Train every team member in fire safety and first aid — the fire procedures and evacuation, including guests who need help to leave, first aid cover on every shift, safe use of chemicals and equipment, and the security and lost property procedures

The hotel team takes over the building from the contractor, or from the outgoing brand or operator at a reflag. FF&E (furniture, fixtures and equipment) is checked as it is installed. OS&E (operating supplies and equipment, such as linen, crockery and guest amenities) is ordered early and received into stores after handover.

• Order the OS&E — linen and towels, guest amenities, crockery, glassware and cutlery, cleaning equipment and chemicals, uniforms and back-of-house equipment, with par levels per room or cover, lead times and delivery dates after handover
• Agree the handover programme with the contractor — the handover date or sections, the commissioning and witness tests the hotel team attends, training on the building’s systems, and the documents due at handover
• Agree the exit from the outgoing brand or operator — the changeover date, bookings and deposits already taken and how they move, which guest data may move and on what basis, systems access, the brand items and signs to remove, and any staff who will transfer
• Transfer or change the licences and registrations — the alcohol licence, the food business registration, the fire risk assessment, insurance, card payments and other accounts moved to the new operator or name, timed to take effect on the changeover date
• Check the FF&E room by room as it is installed — furniture, fittings, beds, TVs and safes in every room and public area checked against the specification or brand standard, with damage, missing items and defects listed for the contractor or supplier
• Take handover of the signed-off building — the building signed off for occupation, the keys, the documents agreed in the handover programme, and the outstanding works listed with dates
• Receive, check and store the OS&E — each delivery checked against the order, stored by department, set to par in rooms and outlets, and shortfalls chased
• Snag every room and public area — every guest room, corridor, outlet and back-of-house area walked, each defect logged with a photo and an owner, fixed and checked again, and rooms that are not ready kept out of sale in the PMS until they are

Before guests sleep in the building, the lifts, water systems, fire precautions, any pool, the accessible rooms and security are checked and recorded. The rules differ by country, state and building; the notes give UK and US examples.

• Get the lifts examined before they carry people — every passenger and goods lift thoroughly examined after installation and before it is put into service, the report filed, and the next examination booked
• Assess and flush the water systems — a legionella risk assessment of the hot and cold water systems, outlets flushed and temperatures checked before guests arrive, and the routine checks scheduled
• Complete the fire risk assessment for the finished hotel — every floor, guest room type, kitchen, plant room and escape route assessed, with sleeping guests and anyone who needs help to escape in mind, and every action closed before opening
• Test the fire alarm, emergency lighting and fire doors — the fire alarm and its links to door holders and lifts, emergency lighting, fire doors and their closers, extinguishers and signs tested with certificates, and the evacuation plan and assembly points set
• Get the pool or spa ready to open — the water treatment commissioned and tested, the pool rules, supervision and emergency procedures written, the plant room and chemical store safe, and any permit or inspection the pool needs
• Check the accessible rooms and features — the accessible guest rooms and bathrooms, step-free routes, signs, hearing loops and alarms for deaf guests checked, and the accessible features described in every booking channel
• Set up security, keys and guests’ valuables — CCTV and its signs, master key and key card control, the safe deposit or in-room safes, lost property, and the night security routine

Applies only when the first task says the hotel serves food or alcohol. The food and beverage manager registers the food business, puts the food safety system in place and gets the alcohol licence ready to use. A hotel restaurant with its own concept can also run the New Restaurant Opening Checklist.

• Register the food business or get the food permit — the kitchens, bars, room service and banqueting registered or permitted before any food is served to guests
• Put the food safety system in place and commission the kitchens — written food safety procedures for every kitchen and bar, equipment commissioned and holding temperature, suppliers approved, cleaning schedules and records ready, and food hygiene training for food handlers
• Prepare allergen information for every menu — each dish’s allergens recorded from the recipes and suppliers’ specifications, shown on menus or given on request as the law where you are requires, and staff briefed on handling requests
• Get ready to sell alcohol — the licence granted and its conditions met, the person who supervises sales named, the licence summary displayed, and bar staff trained on age checks and refusing service

Mock stays test the hotel as a guest would, before real guests arrive. The general manager reviews readiness, and the owner’s representative alone gives the go/no-go. Nothing after the go/no-go can be completed until the owner’s representative completes it, which they do only with Go or Go with conditions; Not yet is set and left open. Not yet hides Phase 9 and shows the task to put things right.

• Run mock stays in every room type — team members or invited guests book, check in, sleep, eat, use the facilities and check out, and report every fault, from the booking confirmation to the bill
• Fix what the mock stays found — each fault assigned, fixed and checked, and anything that cannot be fixed before opening listed with a plan
• Review readiness to open — licences and certificates in place, the building signed off, systems tested, every department trained, rooms ready to sell, the mock stays done and the opening-week rota set, with a recommendation to the owner’s representative
• Put right what held up the opening and agree a new date — Not yet only: each gap the owner’s representative named fixed and checked, guests already booked told of any change, a new opening date agreed and entered on the first task, and the go/no-go asked for again
• Owner’s representative gives the go/no-go to open — Go, Go with conditions or Not yet, with the conditions or the reasons, completed by the owner’s representative alone

Applies only when the go/no-go is Go or Go with conditions. The first paying guests arrive on the opening date. This template holds a daily debrief in the first week and a review with the owner 21 working days after opening, then closes the project.

• Meet the owner’s conditions before opening — Go with conditions only: each condition the owner’s representative set met and recorded before the first guests arrive
• Open to the first guests — the first arrivals checked in, every department on duty, the general manager on the floor, and any issue logged with an owner; at a reflag, the first day under the new brand or operator
• Hold a daily debrief in the first week — each morning: guest comments and complaints, faults, staffing gaps, system errors and occupancy, with each issue owned and closed
• Review the first 30 days with the owner — occupancy, average rate and revenue against the budget, guest reviews and complaints, open defects and warranty claims, staffing and training gaps, and the pre-opening spend against its budget, with actions agreed
• Close the pre-opening project — the pre-opening budget closed and reconciled, the lessons recorded, the end of the defects period diarised, and the hotel handed to normal operations