The holidays are supposed to be a break, not an “always on call” nightmare. If you’re running a support or sales team, you know the drill: folks want time off, call volumes spike or dip, and everyone expects the phone system to just figure itself out. Spoiler: it won’t—unless you set it up right. This guide is for team leads, admins, and anyone stuck wrangling call availability in Aircall when holidays roll around. If you’re tired of chasing people to update their status, or if you’ve ever come back to a mountain of missed calls, you’re in the right place.
First things first: if you’re new to Aircall, it’s a cloud-based phone system that teams use to handle calls, routing, and more. The good news? It’s flexible. The bad news? If you don’t plan ahead, it’ll do exactly what you tell it—chaos included.
Here’s how to keep things sane, step by step.
1. Take Stock: What Does “Holiday Availability” Actually Mean for You?
Before you start clicking buttons, get clear on what “holiday coverage” should look like for your team. Don’t skip this. There’s no one-size-fits-all:
- Are you fully closed, or just running with a skeleton crew?
- Do you need emergency coverage, or is voicemail enough?
- Is it just one day, or a whole week of weird hours?
- Are some people still working, but from home or different locations?
Pro tip: If you don’t actually need to take calls live, don’t overcomplicate things. Set a voicemail and be done with it.
2. Map Your Holiday Schedule in Advance
Aircall isn’t psychic. You’ll need to manually set up when your team is available.
- List all the relevant holidays—don’t forget local or international dates if you’ve got a global team.
- Mark partial days (like closing early Christmas Eve), not just full-day closures.
- Sync with HR or the team calendar so you’re not guessing.
You can set up “Business Hours” in Aircall for each number. But here’s the catch: Aircall’s “Business Hours” are static—they don’t know about holidays unless you tell them.
What to avoid: Don’t rely on people to remember to change their status day-of. It won’t happen.
3. Set Up Holiday Schedules in Aircall
Here’s where you get your hands dirty. Aircall lets you set custom schedules for each phone number or team.
A. Adjust Business Hours (the basic way)
- Go to your Aircall Dashboard.
- Click on the number you want to edit.
- Find the “Business Hours” section.
- Edit the hours for the holiday period. You can set these to zero (closed) or adjust as needed.
- Save changes.
B. Use Holiday Routing (the smarter way)
If you’ve got Aircall’s “Holiday Routing” feature (it’s not in all plans—check if you have it), you can create exceptions for holidays:
- In the Dashboard, select the number.
- Go to the “Business Hours & Holidays” tab.
- Add a holiday by date.
- Choose how calls should be handled on that day (different team, straight to voicemail, special message, etc.).
- Save.
Reality check: Holiday Routing is way less hassle than editing hours each time. If you don’t have it, consider if it’s worth upgrading—especially if your team juggles lots of holidays.
4. Set Up or Record Holiday Voicemail Greetings
Don’t leave callers guessing. If you’re closed or running limited hours, set a custom voicemail greeting.
- Record a short, clear message: “We’re out for the holidays until January 2. Leave a message and we’ll get back to you.”
- If you’re offering emergency coverage, say so, and give alternate contact info if needed.
- Upload this recording in the number’s settings under “Voicemail.”
Don’t: Overpromise callback times. If you’re out, say so. People appreciate honesty over vague “We’ll get back to you soon” lines.
5. Adjust Call Routing for Skeleton Crews
If you have some folks covering calls:
- Create a holiday-specific team or queue (e.g. “Holiday Support”).
- Route calls just to those on shift, not to people who are off.
- Check their user statuses—make sure they’re actually available and their apps are set up.
Watch out: Don’t forget to turn these changes off after the holiday. Set a calendar reminder to switch things back.
6. Communicate—Don’t Assume
Let your team (and your customers, if needed) know the plan. Even the best setup falls apart if no one knows what’s happening.
- Email out the holiday call schedule to everyone involved.
- For customers, update your website or send a note if you expect higher wait times or closures.
- Remind your team how to update their own status in Aircall, in case of last-minute changes.
7. Test, Test, Test
Don’t wait for the holiday to see if your setup works.
- Call your main numbers from an outside line—make sure the right greeting plays, and calls go where they should.
- Check that after-hours routing or voicemails work as intended.
- If you have multiple numbers or teams, test each one.
Pro tip: Do this a day or two before the break. You’ll thank yourself.
8. Set It and (Mostly) Forget It—But Keep It Simple
If you have recurring holidays, set up templates or recurring rules in Aircall if your plan allows. But don’t get too clever:
- The more complex your routing, the more likely something breaks when nobody’s around.
- Simple “closed” rules with clear voicemails are usually enough, unless you run a true 24/7 operation.
What to Ignore (and What Not to)
- Don’t rely on individual users changing their own status. Most people won’t remember, especially when they’re thinking about turkey, not tickets.
- Don’t overengineer with too many rules or tags. Every extra bit of complexity is another thing to fix later.
- Don’t forget to switch things back. Set a calendar invite for yourself.
Wrapping Up: Keep Holiday Coverage Simple
The best holiday call setup is the one you don’t have to think about. Get clear on your actual needs, use Aircall’s built-in features like business hours and holiday routing, and don’t try to outsmart yourself with complicated workflows. Record a clear voicemail, test everything in advance, and make sure your bases are covered.
If you need to tweak things next time, that’s fine—just don’t let “perfect” get in the way of a peaceful holiday (for you and your team).