For hotels, restaurants, event planners and retailers, the festive season in India, particularly Diwali and Dussehra, engenders busy stores, crowded restaurants and the need for hospitality staff. The challenge is ensuring that hotels and restaurants, event operations and retail can cope with the demand for service during this time. The answer is to strategically seasonally hire for Diwali and Dussehra hospitality staffing through planning.  Planning hospitality staff hiring for Diwali recruitment and Dussehra recruitment in India can promote business, ensure happy customers and set up the next holiday.

In this guide, we will share hospitality recruitment best practices and strategies for finding your seasonal workforce in planning for the festival season 2025.

1. Assess Staffing Needs in Advance

The first step to successful Diwali staff hiring and Dussehra recruitment in India is to evaluate your specific business needs. Consider the following:

• Which departments will see the highest increase in demand? (e.g., front desk, kitchen, delivery, housekeeping)
• What skill sets are required to keep the service level high with the volume of customers to service?
• How many temporary staff will be needed to create an employee level during peak hours?

A comprehensive staffing plan weeks ahead of time will allow HR teams to forecast demand appropriately and avoid a rush to create staff right before a busy holiday period.

Pro Tip: Historical sales and customer volume traffic during previous festivals will help you predict staffing needs more accurately.

2. Initiate the Hiring Process Ahead of Time

Hiring for festival season is competitive, and waiting too long can mean that skilled applicants will be in short supply. Starting your festival seasonal hiring at least 4–6 weeks before Diwali and Dussehra is advisable.

Key steps are:

• Advertise the job vacancy as broadly as possible—for example, through LinkedIn, Indeed, and local job boards.
• Utilise social media channels—such as Instagram, Facebook, and X (Twitter)—to attract younger or more seasonal talent.
• Partner with staffing services that specialise in restaurant/hospitality recruitment.

Starting the recruiting process early means more candidates, and with more candidates, you are more likely to have the opportunity for a hiring/training and orientation process that can involve training employees before the peak event season.

3. Write Attractive Job Descriptions for Seasonal Roles

An attractive job description helps filter applicants and attract qualified applicants. Attractiveness depends on two components:

First, making it very clear to the applicant what they are applying for:

• Operating hours and responsibilities
• Involvement during the festival (if applicable) (e.g. "2–3 weeks in the festival season") 
• Pay and any bonus opportunities
• Any experience or skill that is required (if applicable)

For instance, a restaurant hiring temporary waitstaff might want to accentuate that they will be paying a festival-time bonus, providing free meals, and having flexible hours (quick shifts, multiple shifts scheduled, etc.). The better the advertisement is to the targeted employee, the better overall quality employees (and less turnover) you will have.

4. Harness the Power of Technology for Hiring

Technology is making Diwali staff hiring and Dussehra hiring in India quicker and easier. Examples of digital tools that can be utilised include:

• Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS): Greatly simplify the review and shortlisting of applications.
• Online assessments: Can be used to test for basic skills related to customer service, language, or technical roles.
• Mobile recruitment apps: Many seasonal candidates, especially students, prefer to apply via mobile, rather than through company websites.

The value of a technology platform means Human Resource teams can also refer communication via messaging platform infrastructure and schedule interviews, as well as send reminders and track hiring status in real-time.

5. Implement Flexible Staffing Plans

Demand can be unpredictable during the festival time of year, meaning it could vary from one day to the next. Flexible staffing solutions help a business to handle demand effectively. Here are some flexible staffing options to consider:

• Part-time hires: Part-time hires are a great option for peak-hour business coverage, while not creating fatigue for a full-time staff member.
• Shift employees: Create a shift employee schedule to avoid burnout and maximise employee coverage during peak lunch/dinner patterns.
• On-call staff: Keep a short list of employees on call to work as the need arises.

Flexible staffing plans can provide smooth-operating procedures for your banquet hall, restaurant, or catering business without overburdening your permanent full-time employees.

6. Provide Staff Training

Hiring good employees is only part of the issue. The community will talk about great employee training ahead of the festival, with a focus on:

• Customer Service Training - You want to ensure that seasonal employees follow the same customer service standards set by the brand.
• Operational Orientation - Ensure seasonal staff is up to speed with POS systems, inventory counts, or kitchen training methods.
• Health & safety measures - Essential in restaurants or hotels on busy festival weeks, keeping your employees safe while serving customers is most important.

Providing a trained seasonal workforce can keep errors to a minimum, improve efficiency, and enhance the customer experience.

7. Provide Incentives for Seasonal Staff.

When there are motivated employees, the staff will perform at a higher level, even in a short-term role. Offering incentive items like:

• Festive bonuses
• Referral rewards for those who refer qualified seasonal workers.
• Meal benefits or transportation costs can help.

Even if it is a small incentive, increased engagement, lower absenteeism, and improved festival seasonal hiring are all benefits that can come from these ads.

Organising staffing for the festive seasons of Diwali and Dussehra during 2025 requires prior planning, flexible hiring strategies, and optimised execution. By taking advantage of these hospitality hiring suggestions, your organisation will have the confidence to face the busy festive season. Some points to consider, which will set your organisation up for a strong festival season, include hiring early, effective job postings, technology, training staff, and incentivising employees.

Festivals are a revenue opportunity but also an exceptional time to establish long-term working relationships. Planning for Diwali hiring and Dussehra staffing in India today will set the stage for the future festival seasons.

Looking for festive employment or looking to hire talented seasonal employees for your business? Download Foodism Connect today to access verified candidates and verified employers that are ready to hire for the festive season.