Resorts operate at a different level of complexity than standard hotels. A single property may simultaneously manage a corporate buyout, multiple family leisure reservations, a wedding group, and a rotating activity schedule spanning water sports, spa services, and guided excursions. Coordinating these moving parts without error requires dedicated staffing — and in 2026, virtual assistants are proving to be an operationally sound answer to that demand.
Group Booking Coordination: The Highest-Stakes Channel
Group business is both the most lucrative and most labor-intensive segment in resort revenue. CBRE Hotels Research reported in its 2025 lodging analysis that group and meeting business accounted for over 35 percent of total room revenue at full-service resort properties in North America — yet group bookings require three to five times more communication touchpoints than transient leisure reservations.
A group booking inquiry triggers a cascade of tasks: sending a proposal, negotiating room blocks, finalizing F&B minimums, coordinating meeting space, collecting rooming lists, and issuing contracts. At many mid-scale resorts, this work lands on a sales coordinator who is simultaneously managing dozens of active groups. Mistakes — a missed rooming list deadline, an unanswered contract addendum — can cost the property the booking or damage a relationship with a repeat corporate client.
A virtual assistant with group sales experience manages the coordination pipeline: tracking proposal status in CRM systems like Delphi or Amadeus Sales & Event Management, sending follow-up communications on schedule, collecting rooming lists from group contacts, and routing contract questions to the on-site sales manager. The VA becomes the consistent human voice behind the group's administrative experience without competing for desk time with in-person guest needs.
Activity and Spa Scheduling at Scale
Resort guests increasingly book activities in advance — and expect real-time responsiveness when schedules change. Phocuswire's 2025 Resort Experience Report found that 62 percent of resort guests now research and attempt to pre-book activities before arrival, but nearly 40 percent of those inquiries go unanswered or receive slow responses.
A VA managing the activity booking queue monitors inbound reservation requests across email, direct website bookings, and OTA-sourced activity add-ons. They confirm availability against the resort's scheduling software, send booking confirmations, and handle modification requests when a guest's travel plans shift. For spa scheduling — which carries its own therapist availability grid and service-duration constraints — a trained VA can manage the booking calendar with the same precision as an on-site spa receptionist.
This is particularly valuable during peak seasons when resort staff are fully deployed on floor operations. A VA working an earlier or later shift relative to the property's time zone can capture late-evening activity inquiries that would otherwise sit until the next morning, a gap that frequently costs direct bookings to OTA competitors.
Pre-Arrival and In-Stay Guest Communication
Resort guests expect a curated experience before they arrive. STR's 2025 Guest Satisfaction Benchmark study found that properties with structured pre-arrival communication — confirming preferences, sharing activity options, and surfacing upgrade opportunities — achieved Net Promoter Scores 22 points higher than properties without those workflows.
A resort VA manages pre-arrival email sequences, follows up on unanswered preference surveys, and responds to the inevitable stream of questions about parking, check-in times, dining options, and activity availability. In-stay, they can monitor the property's guest messaging platform (services like Revinate, Medallia, or Guestline) and handle routine inquiries — restaurant reservation requests, activity reminders, amenity questions — freeing front-desk staff for face-to-face service.
Resorts building out these remote staffing capabilities can find experienced resort operations VAs at Stealth Agents, where candidates are vetted for familiarity with major resort PMS platforms and group sales CRM tools.
Sources
- CBRE Hotels Research, U.S. Hotel Industry Outlook 2025, cbre.com
- Phocuswire, Resort Experience Report 2025, phocuswire.com
- STR Global, Guest Satisfaction Benchmark Study 2025, str.com