I wouldn’t mention that you knew about this before your interview.

But you could flat out tell them, “Hey, my grandparents are planning this huge vacation over Christmas. They’re going all out, and spending over $50K on this, and it’s a huge deal. I really want and need to honor them in this.” You may lose your job, but the good news is that if your boss is going to have to replace you, he has plenty of time to do it.

[mod says] Minor typo in title corrected via internal edit.

I agree with @snowberry. Tell them as soon as possible, acting as if you just found out about it. Explain that you love the job, and don’t want to lose it, but you feel like you really have to go on this trip.

Oh man you are screwed!..

You need to claim religious purposes for business sake.

Yup tell them right away as described above. Be understanding if you can’t get the time off as other employees with more seniority might also have plans to take off for Christmas. But also add that even if you can’t get the time off you would still like to work up to that date.

And later maybe if and when they have an opening they will remember your candidness and ethics and will consider rehiring you.

That said there is a chance that they will give you the time off. As a part time employee you won’t have a lot of hours to fill and if you make a good impression and are a people person that works in your favor. Depends on who and how they run the place.

It is also possible no one has yet spoken for that time or everyone wants to work it because of tips and well trying to cover for their extra expenditures.

If you wait til the last minute you won’t be rehired and won’t get any food references. So it is better to quit stressing about when and how and just do it.

@Unbroken Food references?

I think you should have wait for one or two months & give your best there so that they will impressed with your works. It will definitely helps you make a strong bond between & your seniors & it may be gives you a positive response while taking leave or they may be understand you. But yes Christmas is really busy time for hotel, & in this case it is very difficult to take a leave.

As others have said, do it now! The longer you wait, the less chance of a happy outcome.

I would ask them if my missing two week in December would inconvenience them. I apologize for the sudden notice but I just found out…so on, so forth.

Making it appear like you’re flexible offers a greater chance they’ll be amendable to giving you that time off.

Know beforehand that they don’t give a damn about who spent what. They hired you to be there. If you can’t be there, there’s always someone standing by to take your place.

As a small business owner, I see this happen way too often, and it pisses me off something terrible. Nobody else in the company gets to take time off during the holidays. Who the hell is going to cover your shifts during an extra busy time of year? I’ve got customers to take care of; do you want a job or not?

[Takes off boss’s hat.]

Personally, I wouldn’t pass up a big family vacation for an entry level job either. It was a mistake not telling them upfront about it, but as others have said, tell them about it now. Knowing your plans in advance will give them more options to handle the situation. It’s possible that their staffing level is large enough that it won’t be a big deal.

Good* predictive text

In this economy, you are lucky to even have a job. Your grandparents are gonna have to understand that your employment is more important.

I’d like to add that even if they did give you time off for Christmas, it wouldn’t be the full 2 weeks. No job would do that.

Tell them now and do whatever you can to make your work quality speak for you until the vacation comes. Volunteer for extra shifts or overtime. If they know you are dedicated, maybe they will keep you on. Life is too short to miss a vacation with grandparents. You don’t know how life can be cut short until it is too late. I wish you luck and a good time with family. They are important.

Are there plane tickets involved? If there is then you can show them when the tickets were purchased and that they are non-refundable. Let them know you was so excited about getting the job that you forgot to mention it earlier and you hate to ask for the time off but that your family would not forgive you for passing up on this after they already bought your tickets. Wouldn’t hurt to say that family from all over will be attending and that this if the first family gathering that everyone would be there.
Offer to work overtime and thanksgiving weekend to make up for it.

@Pandora Nailed it! Offer to do something for them special to make up for them letting you have that time. That’ll probably make all parties feel good about the arrangements.

When I got my last job, I discussed my desire to continue working at a summer institute for a week in July (overlapped with the 4th of July holiday). I was hired in December, so this was over 6 months notice. I told them that it was very important to me, but that the job was more important and I would not have gone to the institute if I could not have the time off. I would hate to have any resentments over a new employee getting off a desirable holiday. In exchange, I worked Christmas (less than 2 weeks after being hired) as well as every Christmas, and the two other summer holidays.

I agree with @Pandora and @Adirondackwannabe. Apologize. Tell them that you would have discussed it in the interview but were thrown by not formally interviewing. Tell them that you plan to stay at this job as long as possible, and will work all future Christmas/New Year holidays, as well as pick up other holidays this year and next. Be humble. Be appreciative for the opportunity (and money) that they are giving you.

Personally I’d look at the long term gain and losses of each decision. Then make a decision. If I saw the job as more profitable to me, or in some way enhancing my life for a longer period then I would choose the job. The other way around if I felt otherwise.

I agree with @LornaLove. If you insist on the vacation, then it doesn’t matter if they fire you or not, because you’re going regardless. If the vacation is more important than a part time job (and only you can determine that, knowing the job and whether or not you think there’s room for advancement), then take the vacation, no matter what. If you think you want to stay at the job, then hope they allow you to go, and if not, then you accept the consequences.

Please post an update as to how things go for you with this, if you wish. I wish you the best of luck with your decision and the results.

JCA
The Update Lady

I would suggest telling the truth. Now.

I think you should tell them now. Holidays suck in that kind of job, and to have someone with no seniority take basically the whole time off leaving staff shorthanded, it isn’t fair to them. They deserve to know that you’ll be gone and make a decision based on that information. Don’t be that person that screws over others because it’s best for you.

As someone who worked in the hotel industry for 30 years, I whole-heartedly agree with those that say to talk to your supervisor now. The more heads-up the person has, the better chance of having it work out for you.

Here is some potential good news. Unless the hotel is in a market that caters to potential guests during that period, most hotels run an exceptionally low occupancy around Christmas. If this is the case for your hotel, the supervisor may be thankful to have you asking for that time off. That could mean a few more hours for others that otherwise would have a reduced schedule.

Go into that discussion a “What is the chance…?” type of approach. Offer to work more hours on other holidays. There may be some other creative ways on filling in the gap depending on your position and the hotel’s affiliation and/or ownership.

Just hope for the best and plan for the worst. And as @jca said, please let us know. It would be interesting to read how this challenge (we called it ‘Juicing the Jam) is handled.

Depending on what kind of position you have and how many of you are working would depend on how likely they will be to make it not a big deal. But seriously, they probably won’t agree to 2 weeks, especially
when you don’t have vacation time. maybe you can compromise on a shorter time and adjust your plans. as a person in retail, even with vacation time earned, they still limit your time and the days you can take it. good luck!

I would not mention the 50K that your grandparents are spending; your boss may assume that you have a family financial cushion to fall back on.

I agree with those who suggest telling him and offering to horse trade for upcoming busy times and the emergencies that other employees may have, including last-minute and inconvenient subbing

@naynay86 Welcome to fluther. GA.

So all went fine, I just said that I just found out and would it be okay, apparently they don’t usually let people off for Christmas but I asked far in advance and my boss doesn’t want me to miss out :) I have good employers. Thanks for all the advice!

Good deal. Thanks for the update!

Great, glad it turned out well for you. Make sure you update us on how the vacation is. I am looking forward to hearing about the fun you had. Where is the vacation anyway?