Best HR Software for Hospitality in 2026

Last Updated: February 2026

The Unique HR Challenges Hospitality Operations Face

Hospitality businesses—hotels, resorts, casinos, cruise lines, event venues, and lodging properties—face some of the most complex HR challenges in any industry. With turnover rates often exceeding 70% annually, complex tip and gratuity management, 24/7 operations requiring sophisticated scheduling, and multi-property coordination, hospitality HR teams need specialized software built for their unique realities.

The critical pain points hospitality HR teams face include:

After extensive research analyzing hospitality-specific requirements, we've identified the top 6 HR software solutions purpose-built for hotels, resorts, and hospitality operations.

Top 6 HR Software Solutions for Hospitality

1. 7shifts — Best for Multi-Property Hospitality Operations

Pricing: From $34.99/month per location | Website: 7shifts.com

7shifts has evolved beyond its restaurant roots to become the premier scheduling and labor management solution for multi-property hospitality operations. Its labor forecasting, tip management, and property-level reporting make it ideal for hotel groups, resort collections, and hospitality brands.

✅ Pros

  • Real-time labor cost forecasting against occupancy/revenue data
  • Built-in tip pooling, tip-out calculations, and tip credit compliance
  • Multi-property hierarchy with centralized reporting and property-level autonomy
  • Mobile-first design with excellent employee self-service
  • Shift marketplace for coverage across properties
  • Integration with major PMS systems (Opera, Maestro, RoomKey)
  • Team communication tools reduce reliance on text messages

❌ Cons

  • No payroll processing (requires integration with ADP, Paychex, or Gusto)
  • Limited HR features beyond scheduling and time tracking
  • Per-location pricing can be expensive for large hotel groups (20+ properties)
  • Advanced features require higher-tier plans
  • Not purpose-built for non-F&B departments (housekeeping, maintenance)

Best for: Multi-property hospitality groups (3-50 locations) focused on labor cost optimization, particularly those with significant food & beverage operations.

2. Toast — Best All-in-One for Hotel F&B Operations

Pricing: Custom pricing based on property size | Website: toasttab.com

Toast delivers comprehensive POS, payroll, scheduling, and HR in a unified platform optimized for hotel restaurants, banquet operations, and resort F&B outlets. If your F&B operations are significant, Toast's integration between POS and HR creates powerful operational synergies.

✅ Pros

  • Seamless integration between POS, scheduling, and payroll (single vendor)
  • Automatic tip distribution based on actual sales data from POS
  • Labor forecasting tied to reservation and event bookings
  • Payroll included with automatic tip reporting
  • Department-level labor cost tracking (restaurant, bar, banquet, room service)
  • Excellent for event-driven F&B (weddings, conferences, banquets)
  • Strong mobile apps for managers and staff

❌ Cons

  • Best suited for F&B operations—less ideal for full-property HR (front desk, housekeeping)
  • Requires Toast POS system (vendor lock-in)
  • Implementation complexity requires 2-4 weeks minimum
  • Limited HR features compared to dedicated HRIS platforms
  • Pricing can be opaque with multiple add-ons

Best for: Hotels and resorts with significant F&B operations seeking unified POS, scheduling, and payroll in a single platform.

3. ADP Workforce Now — Best Enterprise Solution for Large Hotel Groups

Pricing: Custom pricing (typically $50-150 per employee/month) | Website: adp.com

ADP Workforce Now is the heavyweight enterprise solution for large hospitality brands, management companies, and hotel groups. Its comprehensive HR, payroll, benefits, and time tracking capabilities scale from 50 to 50,000 employees across multiple properties and brands.

✅ Pros

  • Comprehensive HR, payroll, time, benefits, recruiting in unified platform
  • Multi-property hierarchy with property-level reporting and consolidated management
  • Full-service payroll with guaranteed accuracy and tax filing
  • Sophisticated tip management with FLSA compliance
  • Integration with major hotel PMS systems
  • Dedicated hospitality industry specialists and account support
  • Scales from boutique hotels to major chains
  • Proven reliability and financial stability

❌ Cons

  • Premium pricing makes it expensive for single properties or small groups
  • Scheduling module less sophisticated than 7shifts or When I Work
  • Implementation takes 8-12 weeks minimum
  • Interface feels dated compared to newer platforms
  • Customer service quality varies significantly by account tier
  • Contract terms can be rigid with auto-renewal clauses

Best for: Large hotel groups and management companies (100+ employees) needing enterprise-grade HR and payroll with dedicated hospitality expertise.

4. Homebase — Best Free Option for Single-Property Operations

Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans from $24.95/month per location | Website: joinhomebase.com

Homebase offers genuinely useful functionality at zero cost, making it perfect for single hotels, B&Bs, and small hospitality businesses. While limited compared to enterprise solutions, it solves critical scheduling and time tracking needs without requiring significant budget.

✅ Pros

  • Free forever plan for basic scheduling, time tracking, and team messaging
  • Mobile-first design requires minimal training
  • GPS-verified time tracking prevents clock-in fraud
  • Shift swapping and coverage management
  • Basic tip tracking and reporting
  • Can add payroll for additional fee
  • Implementation takes hours, not weeks

❌ Cons

  • Limited HR features (no performance management, minimal onboarding)
  • Free plan lacks advanced scheduling (labor forecasting, demand-based scheduling)
  • No multi-property support on free plan
  • Basic reporting compared to enterprise platforms
  • Will outgrow this quickly as operations mature
  • Tip management less sophisticated than specialized hospitality tools

Best for: Single-property hotels, B&Bs, and small hospitality businesses (under 50 employees) needing basic scheduling and time tracking at minimal cost.

5. Paycor — Best Mid-Market Platform with Strong Multi-Property Support

Pricing: Starting at $99/month base + $5 per employee | Website: paycor.com

Paycor delivers comprehensive HR functionality with particularly strong time tracking, scheduling, and multi-property capabilities. It's positioned perfectly for growing hospitality businesses (50-500 employees) that have outgrown basic solutions but aren't ready for enterprise complexity.

✅ Pros

  • Unified HR, payroll, time tracking, and benefits in single platform
  • Multi-property hierarchy with location-level autonomy and consolidated reporting
  • Solid scheduling with department-specific templates
  • Tip management with pooling and distribution calculations
  • Rapid onboarding workflows for high-volume hiring
  • Competitive pricing with transparent, scalable structure
  • Modern mobile app for managers and employees
  • Implementation typically 4-6 weeks

❌ Cons

  • Scheduling less sophisticated than 7shifts for labor forecasting
  • Limited PMS integration options
  • Customer support response times can be inconsistent
  • Requires minimum employee count (typically 20+)
  • Not as hospitality-specific as 7shifts or Toast

Best for: Growing hospitality businesses (50-500 employees) with 2-20 properties seeking comprehensive HR functionality at mid-market pricing.

6. UKG Ready (formerly Kronos) — Best for Large Resorts and Casino Operations

Pricing: Custom pricing (typically $6-12 per employee/month) | Website: ukg.com

UKG Ready is the premier choice for large, complex hospitality operations like destination resorts, casino properties, and cruise lines. Its sophisticated time tracking, union contract management, and labor analytics justify its premium positioning for operations where labor is the dominant cost driver.

✅ Pros

  • Industry-leading time tracking with biometric clocks and badge readers
  • Advanced scheduling with skills matching and seniority-based shift bidding
  • Comprehensive union contract management (critical for casino and large resort operations)
  • Multi-property and multi-brand support with sophisticated reporting
  • Labor forecasting tied to occupancy, ADR, and RevPAR
  • Extensive hardware options for property-wide deployment
  • Strong integration with major PMS systems (Opera, Amadeus, SynXis)

❌ Cons

  • Premium pricing makes it expensive for smaller operations
  • Implementation complexity requires 6-12 weeks minimum
  • Interface has a learning curve for less tech-savvy employees
  • Payroll module adequate but many prefer integrating with ADP/Paychex
  • Overkill for single-property hotels or small groups

Best for: Large resort properties, casino operations, and multi-brand hospitality companies (200+ employees) needing sophisticated workforce management and union support.

Comparison Table: Hospitality HR Software at a Glance

Platform Best For Starting Price Tip Management Multi-Property Payroll Included
7shifts 3-50 properties (F&B focus) $34.99/location ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent No (integrate)
Toast Hotel F&B operations Custom ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good Yes
ADP Workforce Now 100+ employees (enterprise) $50-150/employee ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent Yes
Homebase Single property (budget) Free / $24.95 ⭐⭐⭐ Adequate ⭐⭐ Limited Add-on
Paycor 50-500 employees (mid-market) $99 + $5/employee ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good Yes
UKG Ready 200+ employees (resorts/casinos) $6-12/employee ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent Via integration

Tips and Gratuity Management: Essential Features

Managing tips and gratuities is one of the most complex aspects of hospitality HR. Your software must handle multiple tip scenarios while ensuring FLSA compliance:

Core Tip Management Capabilities:

FLSA Compliance Requirements:

Platform Rankings for Tip Management:

  1. 7shifts: Purpose-built for tip-based businesses with sophisticated pooling and distribution
  2. Toast: Automatic tip distribution from POS data with full payroll integration
  3. ADP Workforce Now: Comprehensive tip credit compliance with reporting and audit trails
  4. Paycor: Solid tip management with pooling and compliance tracking
  5. UKG Ready: Adequate tip handling with custom configuration required
  6. Homebase: Basic tip tracking, limited distribution capabilities

Critical consideration: Many hospitality businesses use their POS system (Toast, Micros, Aloha) for tip capture and distribution, integrating with HR software for payroll processing. Ensure your chosen platforms integrate seamlessly to avoid manual tip data entry—a major source of errors and payroll delays.

Managing Extreme Turnover: Onboarding at Scale

Hospitality's high turnover (often 70-100% annually for hourly positions) requires HR software that makes hiring and onboarding fast, simple, and scalable:

Essential Onboarding Features:

Rapid Hiring Workflows:

Best practices: Aim for time-to-start under 48 hours from offer acceptance to first shift. In competitive hospitality markets, candidates who can't start immediately often accept other offers. Digital onboarding via mobile eliminates the "come to the office to complete paperwork" barrier that loses candidates.

Multi-Property Management: Centralized vs. Distributed Control

Hotel groups, management companies, and resort collections must balance corporate oversight with property-level autonomy. Your HR software should support this tension:

Centralized Control Benefits:

Property-Level Autonomy Benefits:

Hybrid Model (Most Common):

Corporate centralizes:

Properties control:

Software requirements: Look for platforms with hierarchical organizational structures (corporate → region → property → department) and role-based permissions that let you define exactly what corporate HR sees vs. what property managers control. 7shifts, ADP, and UKG excel at this; Homebase and Toast have more limited multi-property capabilities.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do we handle employees who work at multiple properties?

This is common in hotel groups with properties in close proximity (e.g., beach resorts sharing staff for events, sister hotels cross-covering shifts). Your HR software should support multi-location employees with: (1) Single employee record with multiple location assignments; (2) Location-specific time tracking showing hours worked at each property; (3) Cost allocation to proper property for labor accounting; (4) Consolidated benefits enrollment (don't duplicate); (5) Payroll consolidation across all locations. 7shifts and ADP handle this scenario well. Pro tip: Clarify in advance whether shared employees are paid by one "home" property or split payroll by actual hours at each location—this affects labor cost reporting and tax jurisdictions.

Can HR software help us manage seasonal workforce fluctuations?

Absolutely—this is critical for resorts with distinct peak/shoulder seasons. Key features: Active/inactive status: Deactivate seasonal employees during off-season without losing historical data; Rehire workflows: Streamlined process to bring back previous seasonal workers with one click; Season tagging: Label employees by season (summer, winter, year-round) for targeted communications; Availability tracking: Capture when seasonal staff are available to return; Automated reminders: Email/text returning seasonals 30-60 days before season starts to confirm availability. All platforms support this, but 7shifts and Paycor make it particularly easy. Tip: Keep seasonal workers in "inactive" status rather than terminating them—this preserves their training records, certifications, and performance history for seamless return.

What about split shifts and on-call employees?

Split shifts (work morning, break afternoon, return evening) and on-call scheduling are common in hospitality but create compliance complexity. Split shift requirements: Track as separate punches with break time excluded from hours worked; Some states (CA) require split shift premiums—software should calculate automatically; Ensure break time meets meal period requirements. On-call management: Track on-call availability (reporting pay requirements in some states); When called in, capture travel time if compensable; Minimum show-up time if employee reports but isn't needed (state-specific). UKG Ready and ADP handle complex split shift and on-call scenarios best; 7shifts supports them with some configuration; simpler tools like Homebase require workarounds.

How do we track housekeeping productivity and room assignments?

Many hotels track housekeeping by rooms cleaned rather than just hours worked. Approaches: (1) Integrate with PMS: Pull room assignment data from Opera/Maestro showing which housekeeper cleaned which rooms; (2) Task-based time tracking: Housekeepers clock into specific room numbers or zones; (3) Productivity reporting: Compare rooms cleaned vs. hours worked to identify efficiency issues. Reality check: Most HR software doesn't have deep housekeeping features—hotels often use specialized housekeeping management software (HotSOS, Flexkeeping, Alice) that integrates with their HRIS for payroll. Alternative: Track housekeeping productivity in PMS or housekeeping app, use HR software purely for time/payroll with cost center tracking by department (housekeeping = cost center 300).

Can we share employee records between properties but keep payroll separate?

Yes—this is common when properties are owned by different entities but managed by the same company. Setup: Create shared employee database for onboarding, training, and contact info; Separate payroll entities for each property with proper legal employer designation; Use cost center or department codes to allocate labor costs to properties; Run separate payroll processing for each legal entity. Benefits: Cross-property talent mobility without re-onboarding; Consolidated training records and certifications; Separate P&Ls for ownership accounting. ADP, UKG, and Paycor support multi-entity configurations. Warning: Get your legal structure right—employees can only have one "employer of record" for payroll tax purposes. Consult HR attorney or accountant before implementing shared employee arrangements.

What about union contracts for hotel workers?

Many urban hotels and large resorts have unionized workforces (UNITE HERE for hotel workers, Culinary Union in Las Vegas). Union contracts create specific HR software requirements: Seniority tracking: Maintain accurate seniority lists for shift bidding, vacation priority, and layoff procedures; Shift bidding: Allow senior employees to claim preferred shifts first; Overtime distribution: Enforce contractual OT rotation ("passing" on OT, equalizing OT across employees); Grievance tracking: Document formal complaints and resolution timelines; Contract terms: Codify wage scales, step increases, and benefits into system; Steward access: Provide union representatives appropriate access to member data. UKG Ready has the most sophisticated union management; ADP Workforce Now is also strong. 7shifts and Toast have limited union capabilities (better for non-union properties).

How do we handle live-in employees and housing deductions?

Resorts often provide employee housing with payroll deductions for rent/utilities. Requirements: Proper consent: Written authorization for housing deductions (state-specific rules apply); Payroll deductions: Post-tax deductions from net pay (not pre-tax); Fair market value: Ensure charged rent meets FMV requirements if claiming employer lodging exclusion; Housing agreements: Signed documents outlining terms, move-out procedures, damage liability; Occupancy tracking: Know who's in which unit for safety and maintenance. Most HR platforms support recurring payroll deductions. Store housing agreements in employee files within HRIS. Compliance tip: Some states (CA, NY) have strict rules about employer-provided housing—consult employment attorney to ensure your deduction practices comply with state wage payment laws.

Should we integrate HR software with our PMS (property management system)?

Integration between HR software and PMS (Opera, Amadeus, SynXis, Maestro, RoomKey) creates significant operational benefits: Labor forecasting: Adjust staffing based on occupancy, ADR, and group bookings automatically; Department allocation: Map PMS revenue centers to HR cost centers for accurate labor cost by department; Tip management: Pull service charge and gratuity data from PMS for payroll; Room assignments: Track which housekeepers cleaned which rooms. Integration options: 7shifts integrates with major PMS platforms; ADP and UKG offer PMS integrations but often require custom development; Toast doesn't integrate with full PMS (it IS the POS for F&B). Reality: PMS integration is powerful but complex—expect 4-8 weeks additional implementation time and ongoing maintenance. Prioritize if labor forecasting tied to occupancy is critical; defer if you're just starting with HR software and want quick wins first.

Final Recommendation

For most multi-property hospitality operations, we recommend 7shifts as the best balance of functionality, hospitality-specific features, and value. Its labor forecasting, tip management, and multi-property capabilities are purpose-built for hotels and resorts, particularly those with significant F&B operations. Pair it with Gusto or ADP for payroll to create a comprehensive solution.

Single-property boutique hotels and B&Bs should start with Homebase's free plan to handle basic scheduling and time tracking at zero cost, upgrading to paid plans as needs grow.

Hotels with extensive F&B operations (resort restaurants, banquet facilities, multiple outlets) should strongly consider Toast for its unified POS, scheduling, and payroll—the integration between systems eliminates friction and provides powerful operational insights.

Large hotel groups, management companies, and resort collections (100+ employees) needing comprehensive HR, payroll, and benefits should evaluate ADP Workforce Now for its enterprise capabilities, dedicated hospitality support, and proven reliability—particularly if full-service payroll with guaranteed accuracy is a priority.

Large resort properties, casino operations, and operations with unionized workforces should investigate UKG Ready for its sophisticated workforce management, union contract support, and advanced labor analytics—the investment pays for itself through optimized scheduling and reduced labor costs.

Regardless of platform choice, remember that in hospitality, your employees ARE your product. Guests don't remember room amenities—they remember the people who served them. Invest in HR software that makes your team's lives easier, simplifies management burdens, and ensures fair, accurate compensation. The right system pays for itself through reduced turnover, improved employee satisfaction, and operational efficiency that flows directly to your bottom line.


Disclaimer: Pricing and features are accurate as of February 2026 but may change. Always verify current offerings directly with providers before making a purchase decision. Consider conducting trials at a pilot property before rolling out across your entire portfolio.