Hotels in the Rio Grande Valley are reporting vacancies during Semana Santa, a holiday that typically brings a surge of visitors and revenue to the area during Easter.

Semana Santa usually draws large numbers of Mexican nationals to the Valley. Hotel managers say they've been preparing for Easter weekend since the start of the year and are hoping to see a sharp increase in last-minute reservations.

"If people are thinking, 'you know what? It's slow right now; there are rooms available,' all that can change from one minute to the next on Friday and Saturday," Hampton Inn & Suites McAllen Manager Anaid Saldana said.

Hotels are staying prepared by keeping extra staff on standby in case bookings pick up suddenly.

"We always try and stay overstaffed, always hiring every day," Saldana said. "If it gets to that point where we're just staffed and booked all of a sudden, we know these people are there that we can go ahead and call in."

Managers are monitoring reservation numbers closely as the weekend approaches.