Whether it’s the rush of ski season, the surge during music festivals or the influx of international guests attending conferences or business events, hospitality businesses constantly face shifting demands that require careful staffing adjustments.
Owners and managers need to ensure there is enough staff in place while balancing various factors like availability, compliance with labor laws and employee satisfaction.
We will cover why hospitality employee scheduling is essential, share best practices, and offer a free scheduling checklist template.
Plus, we’ll explain how digital forms can improve operations and elevate guest experiences.
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What Is Employee Scheduling In Hospitality?
Employee scheduling in hospitality involves planning and organizing work shifts for staff members across hotels, resorts, restaurants, event venues and wellness centers.
The approach is based on:
- Specific employee roles
- Tasks performed
- Business needs
- Staff availability
- Legal requirements
Why Are Staff Schedules Important For The Hospitality Industry?
Employee scheduling in hospitality ensures there are enough staff members to meet the demands of guests and deliver high-quality service.
Meet Customer Demand
Hospitality businesses often experience fluctuating demand, particularly during peak seasons or major local events.
For example, during a holiday weekend, a hotel might need more receptionists and housekeeping staff to handle an increased number of guests.
An effective schedule:
- Ensures efficient staffing
- Enhances the overall guest experience
- Leads to better reviews and repeat business
Improve Employee Productivity
Effective scheduling assigns the right staff to the right tasks, reducing downtime and boosting productivity. Based on their shifts and roles, employees can work without confusion or overlapping duties.
For example, a formal dinner event attended by multiple people requires enough kitchen staff and waiters.
An effective schedule:
- Yields faster service
- Improves customer experience
Balance Labor Costs
While overstaffing leads to redundant labor costs, understaffing can result in poor customer experiences. A balanced schedule matches staffing levels with demand, promoting cost-efficiency.
For example, a resort during the off-season might reduce staff hours to avoid unnecessary labor costs, while maintaining enough workers to cover essential operations.
An effective schedule:
- Allows businesses to optimize their budget
- Helps protect employees from burnout
Ensure Compliance With Labor Laws
Hospitality businesses must adhere to labor laws and regulations regarding working hours, overtime and break periods.
For example, hotels must comply with agreements on maximum shift lengths and mandatory breaks.
A proper schedule:
- Fosters a positive work environment
- Prevents penalties or legal issues
Enhance Employee Satisfaction & Retention
Fair and transparent scheduling helps reduce conflict and improves employee morale by respecting their preferences and offering work-life balance.
For example, a café might rotate weekend shifts between employees to ensure no one feels overburdened.
A proper schedule:
- Minimizes employee complaints
- Helps retain team members and reduce turnover
Hospitality staff scheduling helps meet business fluctuations, balance labor costs and retain employees
Hospitality Employee Scheduling Checklist Template
Below is a sample employee scheduling template tailored for hospitality businesses. Feel free to adjust it based on the specific needs of your establishment.
Period & Shifts
- Identify the scheduling period, whether weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.
- Set start and end dates.
- Determine the length of each shift, for example 8 hours or 12 hours.
Bookings & Business Forecast
- Review the number of expected guests.
- Determine how many people you will need during the period.
- Add information updates such as group bookings and special requests.
Employee Availability
- Determine hotel staff availability for the scheduled period.
- Note employee preferences such as early shifts.
- Distribute hours between part-time and full-time employees.
Shift Assignment
- Assign team members to roles based on their expertise.
- Plan workload during weekdays, weekends, holidays and night shifts.
- Plan backup staff for emergencies, sick days or sudden spikes in guest numbers.
- Double-check for overlaps or under-scheduled shifts.
Compliance
- Check if overtime hours are in line with overtime regulations.
- Schedule mandatory breaks, such as meal breaks or rest breaks, in accordance with labor laws.
- Limit shift durations per local or federal laws.
- Ensure minimum rest between shifts to avoid legal violations.
- If applicable, follow union agreements or regional labor laws that include additional rules for scheduling, such as wages for night or weekend shifts.
Best Practices For Hospitality Staff Scheduling
If you are looking for ways to optimize shift coverage and enhance overall performance, here are several tried-and-true scheduling practices you can implement.
Analyze Demand
Analyzing trends and occupancy rates helps you plan for adequate coverage during busy times and optimize staff levels during quieter periods.
- Review past occupancy rates, sales data and guest bookings to identify trends and peak periods.
- Track local events like conferences or festivals, holidays and special occasions that may impact demand.
Coordinate Employee Preferences
- Collect feedback from team members regarding their availability, preferred shifts and days off.
- Create a flexible scheduling system that balances operational needs with employee desires.
- Implement a request system, allowing employees to submit shift change requests or time-off requests quickly and easily.
Implement Fair Scheduling
- Rotate weekend, holiday and evening shifts among all employees.
- Track hours and requests to ensure fair distribution.
- Address employee scheduling complaints quickly and fairly.
Cross Train Hotel Staff
- Identify key roles for your operation — such as front desk and housekeeping — and cross-train staff.
- Develop training programs that cover basic skills for multiple roles.
- Schedule regular practice sessions to keep skills fresh and relevant.
Communicate With Team Members
- Distribute hospitality schedules in advance so your team can prepare or request changes.
- Use different communication channels, including email, messaging apps or scheduling software to communicate schedule details and changes.
- Encourage an open environment where employees feel comfortable discussing scheduling concerns.
Use Hotel Staff Scheduling Software
- Choose a hospitality-specific scheduling tool that allows you to swap shifts and track availability.
- Train staff on the system so they can use it effectively.
- Review and update the software’s performance so it meets hospitality scheduling requirements and integrates smoothly with other systems.
Monitor & Adjust Schedules
- Track performance indicators such as guest satisfaction and service quality to check if the schedule is working well.
- Gather feedback from staff about their schedules and adjust based on their comments.
- Continuously improve scheduling practices to align with operational needs and support employee well-being.
To optimize your employee scheduling, analyze demand, coordinate employee preferences and implement a scheduling software
Improve Your Hospitality Employee Scheduling With doForms
doForms, a modern mobile form solution, helps hospitality owners simplify the employee scheduling process, ensuring it meets both business demands and employee preferences.
With real-time data collection and flexible shift management features, doForms allows you to:
- Adjust hospitality schedules on the go based on occupancy rates, bookings and special events, so that you have the right staff at the right time.
- Track and update employee availability based on shift preferences and time-off requests.
- Comply with labor laws by automatically tracking hours, overtime and breaks, reducing the risk of errors and potential penalties.
- Send schedules directly to your team’s smartphones, laptops, or tablets for real-time updates.
Beyond scheduling, doForms helps you:
- Create role- or establishment-specific checklists such as hotel room cleaning checklists, restaurant operations checklists, food storage checklists and pool maintenance checklists.
- Develop checklists for routine maintenance tasks to ensure all areas of the property are kept in top condition.
- Develop forms for tracking inventory levels in real time, including housekeeping supplies, kitchen ingredients and bar stock.
- Submit and approve overtime and leave requests.
- Create employee timesheet templates to record work hours and simplify payroll processing.
- Generate payroll reports and summaries.
- Implement guest satisfaction surveys, collecting feedback on stays, dining experiences and other services.
doForms helps you boost efficiency and manage a motivated, engaged and satisfied workforce that secures happy guests and maximum revenue.
Ready to say goodbye to paper forms?
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FAQs About Employee Scheduling
Managing employee schedules is important for hospitality businesses as it directly affects operations. Here are some common questions and answers about staff schedules and how mobile forms can enhance this process.
How do mobile forms help with last-minute scheduling changes?
Mobile forms facilitate quick updates and notifications for last-minute scheduling changes, allowing employees to receive real-time alerts and manage unexpected situations effectively.
Can mobile forms be tailored to specific scheduling needs in hospitality?
Yes, doForms are highly customizable. They enable you to create custom shift templates, add role-specific checklists, and incorporate unique data fields relevant to your business.
Can mobile forms be integrated with other HR or scheduling software?
Yes, doForms can integrate with other HR and scheduling software for seamless data transfer and synchronization, streamlining processes and ensuring consistency across platforms.
Ready to take employee scheduling to the next level?
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