Preparing Your Riad for the High Tourism Season

When the riad is full, every room is earning and every problem is more expensive. The weeks before your busiest period are the best time to fix, refresh and prepare — while rooms can still be taken out of service for a day without affecting guests.

High season varies by destination and by your own guest mix, so look at your booking calendar and count back: give yourself enough time to arrange the work and, if needed, order parts.

1. Walk every room with a checklist

Go through each room as a guest would, then as a technician would.

• Do all taps, showers and toilets work properly? Is hot water quick to arrive?
• Do drains run freely?
• Does the air conditioning cool well and quietly? Does heating work, for winter-peak destinations?
• Do all lights, switches and sockets work? Are there enough sockets near the bed?
• Do doors, windows and shutters open and close smoothly and lock securely?
• Are there marks on walls, chipped paint, cracked grout or loose fittings?
• Does the Wi-Fi reach the room properly?

Photograph and list everything. That list becomes your pre-season work plan.

2. Service the systems guests rely on

• Air conditioning: clean filters, clean indoor and outdoor units, check for leaks and unusual noise. Book this early — technicians get busy as temperatures rise. See air conditioning maintenance.
• Water heaters and pumps: check capacity, descale and test at peak demand.
• Pool or plunge pool: service the pump and filter, repair grout and get the water balanced well before the first guests use it.

3. Check the terrace and the roof

Even if the high season is dry, the terrace is where guests have breakfast and watch the sunset. Repair cracked tiles, re-secure loose railings and check lighting for evening use. If the rainy season is coming, inspect waterproofing too (waterproofing service).

4. Refresh the finishes

A few days of painting and touch-ups make a noticeable difference to how rooms feel and photograph. Prioritise:

• entrance, courtyard and stairs, which every guest sees;
• bathrooms, where grout and sealant wear fastest;
• doors and frames, which get scuffed.

Use finishes suited to traditional walls, and treat any damp before repainting. Our painting and decoration team can work room by room.

5. Deep clean what daily housekeeping misses

High windows, light fittings, the inside of AC units, terrace tiles, zellige grout, and the dust left after any work. A deep clean before the season makes daily housekeeping easier for the rest of it.

6. Prepare for the unexpected

• Keep a small stock of common spares: bulbs, shower heads, flush valves, batteries for locks and remotes.
• Make sure staff know where the water and electrical shut-offs are.
• Agree in advance who to call for urgent problems, so nobody is searching for numbers on a busy evening.

Plan it once, repeat it every year

Once you have done this once, turn it into a checklist and repeat it before each season. Or let StaysFix handle it through a regular maintenance plan.

Read more about our work with riads, or request a quote for your pre-season preparation.