Employee Experience · 11 tools ranked
Best Employee App for Hospitality Businesses in 2026
Speakap ranks first in employee app for hospitality businesses, followed by Planday and Shiftbase. Mobile apps that reach hotel, restaurant and catering crews with shifts, news and onboarding; Speakap leads for multi-site groups.
The top three
How this list is ordered: by our editorial assessment of fit for organizations of 50 to 1,000 people. Vendors can pay for more visibility; paid placements are labeled and explained in our disclosure. No commission is earned on clicks or purchases, and we do not work as an affiliate.
1. SpeakapFirst because it combines a targeted feed, translation and onboarding journeys with a hospitality section on its own site, which suits crews split across kitchens, floors and housekeeping.
2. PlandaySecond because its own site gives hotels and hospitality full sections, and its rota, leave and labor-cost reports address the staffing arithmetic that decides a venue margin.
3. ShiftbaseThird as the European scheduling app with restaurant and hotel pages, a free tier for small crews and published pricing that a family-run venue can budget from.What is employee app for hospitality businesses?
A hospitality employee app is a mobile tool that gives shift workers in hotels, restaurants, bars and catering one place for schedules, announcements, chat, onboarding and training. It replaces group chats and noticeboards with messages aimed at a site or role, and it works for staff who have no company email address.
How we ranked these
A hotel or restaurant group runs two kinds of staff at once. Servers, cooks, housekeepers and bar crew work in shifts on their own phones and rarely open a company inbox.
Managers and head office sit at screens. The software that reaches the first group is usually a rota tool, and the software that reaches everyone is usually a communication app.
Few products do both well, so a buyer has to decide which job comes first. This ranking judges employee apps through the eyes of a hospitality operator with several sites and 50 to 1,000 staff.
Speakap leads because it is a communication and onboarding app that names hospitality as an industry and handles mixed-language crews. Shift-led products follow, because for many venues the rota is the screen staff open every day.
Every entry says what the product does poorly and who should look elsewhere, because a ranking that hides weaknesses is of little use to someone signing a contract. Segment claims come only from vendor pages we opened, and where a page said nothing about hospitality we say that we did not verify it.
Setup: can a venue go live between two busy services?
Setup is quick for rota apps and slower for communication platforms. Shiftbase, Homebase, RotaCloud and When I Work start from a staff list and a first schedule, and a single manager can finish before Friday. Speakap, Oak Engage and Workvivo need audiences by site and role, an HR feed and a plan for inviting staff.
We did not verify any vendor's promised timeline. Test with one property first, count how many staff accepted their invite after a week, and fix the contact data before widening.
Seasonal crews arrive with the wrong phone number more often than any other error.
The real price: per head, per site or per quote in a seasonal business
Hospitality payroll swings with the season, so the pricing shape matters as much as the headline. Deputy bills per user with a $30 minimum per invoice, Homebase bills per location, and Shiftbase adds a fee for each employee above the included ones. Speakap, Oak Engage, Sociabble and Workvivo quote by license count, often with annual terms.
Speakap states a one-year minimum. Add the paid extras: Deputy messaging, RotaCloud SMS, Workvivo chat.
Ask how the bill moves in the months when you hire many more people and whether you can downgrade after the peak.
Getting your data out: schedules, hours and contact lists when you leave
The data a venue cares about at exit is rotas, clocked hours, leave balances and staff contacts. Rota apps hold the hours that feed payroll, so an export of timesheets and leave history matters before a contract ends. Communication apps hold post history, read receipts and onboarding records, which matter for policy proof.
We did not verify the export formats of any vendor in this list. Ask for a sample export during the trial, in CSV or a documented API, and check that former employees can be removed and their data deleted on request.
Independence from the vendor: what a rota or payroll tie-in locks in
Lock-in in hospitality comes from the tie between the rota, the clock and payroll. Deputy's payroll works only in the United States, Homebase and 7shifts sell payroll as a module, and Planday integrates with payroll providers. Planday is owned by Xero, Workvivo by Zoom and Sociabble by Poppulo, so each roadmap follows a parent.
Speakap is an independent Dutch company. Prefer a product that connects to your payroll through open exports so that you can change the app without retraining every manager.
Who it's for: the venue type decides the product
A restaurant, a hotel and a catering firm need different things, so start from the venue. A single cafe needs a free or cheap rota, which points to Homebase or Shiftbase. A restaurant group with tips and compliance duties looks at 7shifts.
A hotel group with departments in several languages looks at Speakap, Planday or Oak Engage. A brand with a marketing-led internal team can consider Sociabble or Workvivo.
Where a vendor page did not mention hospitality, we left the claim out and said so.
Compared at a glance
| # | Product | Best for | Pricing | Free option | HQ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Speakap | Multi-site groups with mixed-language crews | Quote only | None | Netherlands |
| 2 | Planday | Hotels and restaurant groups planning around costs | Per user / month | Free trial | United Kingdom |
| 3 | Shiftbase | European restaurants and hotels of 10 to 200 staff | Base fee + per employee / month | Free plan | Netherlands |
| 4 | 7shifts | Restaurant, bar and cafe operators | Per location / month | Free trial | Canada |
| 5 | Deputy | Hourly teams in hotels, bars and entertainment venues | Per user / month | Free trial | Australia |
| 6 | RotaCloud | Independent UK pubs, cafes and small hotels | Tiered by headcount / month | Free trial | United Kingdom |
| 7 | Oak Engage | UK groups wanting news, recognition and signage | Quote only | None | United Kingdom |
| 8 | Homebase | Single-location US cafes and restaurants | Per location / month | Free plan | United States |
| 9 | When I Work | Hourly restaurant and catering teams | Per user / month | Free trial | United States |
| 10 | Sociabble | Hospitality brands with marketing-led comms | Quote only | None | France |
| 11 | Workvivo by Zoom | Hospitality groups already standardized on Zoom | Quote only | None | Ireland |
The 11 tools, reviewed
How this list is ordered: by our editorial assessment of fit for organizations of 50 to 1,000 people. Vendors can pay for more visibility; paid placements are labeled and explained in our disclosure. No commission is earned on clicks or purchases, and we do not work as an affiliate.
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FrontlineMultilingualOnboarding
Why #1: First because it combines a targeted feed, translation and onboarding journeys with a hospitality section on its own site, which suits crews split across kitchens, floors and housekeeping.
- Best for
- Multi-site groups with mixed-language crews
- Pricing
- Quote only
- Free option
- None
- Headquarters
- Netherlands
- Key features
- Targeted news feed, Group and one-to-one chat, Automatic translation, Read receipts, Onboarding journeys
- Falls short
- The rota is not native: shift planning arrives through integrations, so a venue still needs a scheduling product beside it.
- Wrong for
- A single restaurant that only needs a shift grid and swap requests will pay for far more than it uses.
Full assessment of Speakap
Picture a hotel group with a head office, six properties and housekeepers who speak four languages. Speakap lets head office post to one property or one department, translates the post, and shows who has read it.
That is the job when an allergen rule or a fire-drill notice has to reach every shift. New starters get a journey and short courses before their first service.
Hospitality sits in the industry menu on Speakap's own site, and the product is built for crews that never log in to a company mailbox. It leads because it covers the message side of the job without turning into a rota tool.
Where it falls short
The rota is not native: shift planning arrives through integrations, so a venue still needs a scheduling product beside it. Automatic translation, SSO and HR sync start at the Premium tier, which means the entry tier is more a trial of the idea.
Prices are not published and contracts run a year at minimum, a hard commitment for seasonal operators.
Wrong for
A single restaurant that only needs a shift grid and swap requests will pay for far more than it uses. Look at Shiftbase or Homebase instead.
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RotasLabor costsUK-based
Why #2: Second because its own site gives hotels and hospitality full sections, and its rota, leave and labor-cost reports address the staffing arithmetic that decides a venue margin.
- Best for
- Hotels and restaurant groups planning around costs
- Pricing
- Per user / month
- Free option
- Free trial
- Headquarters
- United Kingdom
- Key features
- Shift scheduling, Time and attendance, Shift swaps, Availability and leave, Payroll integrations
- Falls short
- The feature list we recorded contains no company news feed, targeted announcement layer or training module, so culture and policy messaging stays elsewhere.
- Wrong for
- A group whose main pain is reaching and informing staff, not scheduling them, should start with Speakap or Oak Engage.
Full assessment of Planday
Planday is the pick when the manager's daily question is "who works Saturday and what does that cost". Open shifts, swaps, availability and leave sit in one mobile app, and labor-cost reports sit beside the schedule so a general manager sees the spend while editing.
The homepage carries separate hospitality and hotel sections, so the vendor does aim at this segment. The Xero acquisition announced in 2021 gives it a larger parent than most rota tools.
It ranks second, behind Speakap, because it solves scheduling extremely well but not company-wide messaging.
Where it falls short
The feature list we recorded contains no company news feed, targeted announcement layer or training module, so culture and policy messaging stays elsewhere. The cheapest tier carries a five-user minimum, and the full Pro price is quote-only, which makes budgeting for a large group a sales conversation.
Wrong for
A group whose main pain is reaching and informing staff, not scheduling them, should start with Speakap or Oak Engage.
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EU-basedFree planRotas
Why #3: Third as the European scheduling app with restaurant and hotel pages, a free tier for small crews and published pricing that a family-run venue can budget from.
- Best for
- European restaurants and hotels of 10 to 200 staff
- Pricing
- Base fee + per employee / month
- Free option
- Free plan
- Headquarters
- Netherlands
- Key features
- Shift scheduling, Time registration, Leave management, Availability requests, Shift swaps
- Falls short
- There is no targeted news feed, translation layer or training course builder in the feature list we recorded, so policy rollouts still need a second tool.
- Wrong for
- A hotel chain with several languages, a head office and complex onboarding needs the communication depth of Speakap or Oak Engage.
Full assessment of Shiftbase
Shiftbase fits an owner running two or three venues in Europe who wants availability requests, shift swaps, leave and clocked time in an employee app without a sales call. The site has dedicated restaurant and hotel pages, with hotel stories from front desk to housekeeping.
Prices are public in euros and a free plan covers small teams, so a trial costs nothing but time. Payroll integrations reduce re-typing hours at month end.
It sits third because it is a scheduling and time product first; messaging exists but is not a communications platform.
Where it falls short
There is no targeted news feed, translation layer or training course builder in the feature list we recorded, so policy rollouts still need a second tool. Cost grows with each extra employee, and Premium unlocks most multi-location features, so a larger group should model the numbers before assuming the entry price.
Wrong for
A hotel chain with several languages, a head office and complex onboarding needs the communication depth of Speakap or Oak Engage.
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RestaurantsTipsPayroll
Why #4: Fourth because it is built for restaurants specifically, with tip handling, labor compliance and a manager log book, but it has little to offer hotels or contract caterers outside food service.
- Best for
- Restaurant, bar and cafe operators
- Pricing
- Per location / month
- Free option
- Free trial
- Headquarters
- Canada
- Key features
- Scheduling, Time clocking, Labor compliance, Payroll, Tip management
- Falls short
- Hotels, resorts and casinos are not on the built-for list, so housekeeping and front desk staff are an afterthought.
- Wrong for
- Hotel groups and multi-country operators should look at Planday or Speakap.
Full assessment of 7shifts
7shifts describes itself as a restaurant HR platform, and the product navigation backs that up: scheduling, mobile team communication, a manager log book, time clocking, labor compliance, tip management, tip pooling, payroll, hiring, onboarding, training and performance tools. The built-for list names quick service, full service, cafes, bars and breweries, pizzerias, pubs, bakeries, catering and franchises.
For a restaurant owner that breadth in one login is the argument. It lands fourth because it is narrow by design, and because its messaging is a team chat, not an enterprise feed.
Where it falls short
Hotels, resorts and casinos are not on the built-for list, so housekeeping and front desk staff are an afterthought. Plan amounts did not load on the page we fetched, which means a buyer must confirm cost with the vendor.
Tip and payroll modules are tuned to North American rules, and we did not verify European payroll coverage.
Wrong for
Hotel groups and multi-country operators should look at Planday or Speakap. A venue with no tips, no North American payroll and no kitchen should skip it.
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Published pricesHourly staffMulti-country
Why #5: Fifth because it names hospitality and hotels among its industries and publishes tier prices, yet its group messaging sits in a paid add-on, not the base product.
- Best for
- Hourly teams in hotels, bars and entertainment venues
- Pricing
- Per user / month
- Free option
- Free trial
- Headquarters
- Australia
- Key features
- Shift scheduling, Time clock and timesheets, Analytics+ add-on, Messaging+ add-on, HR add-on
- Falls short
- Messaging+, Analytics+ and the HR module are add-ons, so the real monthly bill is higher than the headline per-user figure.
- Wrong for
- A venue wanting one place for news, translation and learning is better off with Speakap.
Full assessment of Deputy
Deputy is a sensible choice for an operator with hourly crews in bars, hotels and entertainment venues. The site has pages for hospitality, hotels and entertainment, and the product combines shift scheduling, a time clock, timesheets and an AI helper in one app.
Three public price tiers make it easy to compare with rivals. The company is Sydney-based with a San Francisco office, and it bills in local currencies.
It ranks fifth because scheduling is the core and everything about communication is an extra purchase.
Where it falls short
Messaging+, Analytics+ and the HR module are add-ons, so the real monthly bill is higher than the headline per-user figure. The $30 minimum per invoice hurts a tiny venue, and the payroll add-on works only in the United States.
We found no onboarding journeys or training courses on the pages we read.
Wrong for
A venue wanting one place for news, translation and learning is better off with Speakap. A very small single-site cafe can start on the free plans at Shiftbase or Homebase.
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UK-basedRotasPublished prices
Why #6: Sixth for small UK-style venues: restaurant, bar and hotel pages, simple rotas and clocking, but nothing beyond the schedule for company-wide communication.
- Best for
- Independent UK pubs, cafes and small hotels
- Pricing
- Tiered by headcount / month
- Free option
- Free trial
- Headquarters
- United Kingdom
- Key features
- Shift rotas, Holiday management, Absence management, Clocking in app, Automatic timesheets
- Falls short
- The price scales by headcount band and gets less predictable for larger groups, which have to ask for a quote above 500 staff.
- Wrong for
- Multi-country hospitality groups with a head office communicating to hundreds of employees need Speakap, Oak Engage or Workvivo instead.
Full assessment of RotaCloud
RotaCloud is what a pub landlord or small hotel owner in the UK can set up alone. The site lists restaurants, cafes, bars, hotels and resorts, and support is based in York.
Rotas, holiday and absence records, a clocking app and automatic timesheets cover the daily need, and labor-cost controls help a small margin. The published starting price is low, and the add-ons are itemized.
It sits sixth because it is a rota product for small teams and has no feed, translation or learning content.
Where it falls short
The price scales by headcount band and gets less predictable for larger groups, which have to ask for a quote above 500 staff. Time and attendance and SMS notifications cost extra.
There are no onboarding journeys, targeted news or training modules in the feature list we recorded, and the vendor is a small UK company serving mainly UK customers.
Wrong for
Multi-country hospitality groups with a head office communicating to hundreds of employees need Speakap, Oak Engage or Workvivo instead.
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IntranetRecognitionUK-based
Why #7: Seventh as a communication platform that lists hospitality among its industries and reaches frontline staff without company email, though it offers no rota.
- Best for
- UK groups wanting news, recognition and signage
- Pricing
- Quote only
- Free option
- None
- Headquarters
- United Kingdom
- Key features
- Personalized news, Mobile app, Recognition, Onboarding journeys, Surveys and pulse checks
- Falls short
- There is no published pricing and no scheduling feature, so a buyer needs two contracts and a sales call before knowing the cost.
- Wrong for
- An owner-operator with a single site and no internal comms person should pick a rota product such as Shiftbase or RotaCloud first.
Full assessment of Oak Engage
Oak Engage suits a UK hospitality group that wants recognition, news and onboarding in one place. The vendor lists hospitality, retail and healthcare among its industries, and its frontline access works without a company email address.
Digital signage reaches staff rooms and back-of-house screens that never see a phone. ISO 27001 and Azure hosting answer the security questions procurement asks.
It ranks seventh since the product is a culture and communication layer, so the rota and the clock still come from a different vendor.
Where it falls short
There is no published pricing and no scheduling feature, so a buyer needs two contracts and a sales call before knowing the cost. The product feels designed for UK mid-market organizations with a communications team, and a small independent venue will find it heavy.
We did not verify any hospitality-specific customer numbers.
Wrong for
An owner-operator with a single site and no internal comms person should pick a rota product such as Shiftbase or RotaCloud first.
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US-basedFree planSmall business
Why #8: Eighth because it bundles scheduling, a time clock and team messaging in a free tier for one small US venue, but it is built for single-site small businesses.
- Best for
- Single-location US cafes and restaurants
- Pricing
- Per location / month
- Free option
- Free plan
- Headquarters
- United States
- Key features
- Scheduling, Time clock, Timesheets, Payroll add-on, Team communication
- Falls short
- Per-location pricing climbs quickly for a group, because each venue pays its own fee.
- Wrong for
- European or multi-country operators, and any group running more than a few sites, should look at Planday, Shiftbase or Speakap.
Full assessment of Homebase
Homebase suits a US cafe or bar with one site and a handful of staff. The free Basic plan covers scheduling, a time clock and timesheets for up to 10 employees at one location, and the paid tiers price by location, not by head.
Team messaging, hiring and onboarding sit in the same mobile app, and an AI scheduling helper drafts rotas. Hospitality and leisure appear in its customer menu next to retail and beauty.
It ranks eighth since it is aimed at small, single-site US businesses.
Where it falls short
Per-location pricing climbs quickly for a group, because each venue pays its own fee. The product is US-centered, with dollar pricing and payroll that works under US rules.
Messaging is team chat, not a targeted feed with translation, and the vendor lists many industries, so hospitality is one segment among several.
Wrong for
European or multi-country operators, and any group running more than a few sites, should look at Planday, Shiftbase or Speakap.
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US-basedPublished pricesAuto scheduling
Why #9: Ninth as a low-priced scheduling app with restaurant, catering and franchise pages, held back by US-centered integrations and a messaging layer that stays inside the schedule.
- Best for
- Hourly restaurant and catering teams
- Pricing
- Per user / month
- Free option
- Free trial
- Headquarters
- United States
- Key features
- Auto scheduling, Shift swaps, Multi-location scheduling, In-app messaging, Time clock
- Falls short
- Messaging stays within the app and the schedule, with no targeted news, translation or learning courses in the feature list we recorded.
- Wrong for
- European hotel groups needing multilingual messaging and training should compare Speakap.
Full assessment of When I Work
When I Work is the cheapest way in this list to put a mobile rota in the hands of hourly staff. The site has industry pages for restaurants, hospitality, catering and events, and franchises, and the tool covers auto scheduling, swaps, in-app messaging, a time clock and forecasting.
Franchise managers can post schedules and approve swaps from a phone. Premium adds SAML single sign-on and the API.
It is ninth because it is a scheduler first, with US payroll and point-of-sale integrations driving its design.
Where it falls short
Messaging stays within the app and the schedule, with no targeted news, translation or learning courses in the feature list we recorded. Many integrations assume US payroll and point-of-sale systems.
Single sign-on needs the top tier, and larger groups are pushed to a custom Enterprise quote.
Wrong for
European hotel groups needing multilingual messaging and training should compare Speakap. Owners who only need a free tier can look at Homebase.
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AdvocacyAcquiredEU-based
Why #10: Tenth because the Poppulo listing names hospitality, entertainment and casino industries and offers targeted mobile news, but the brand is mid-transition and carries an advocacy slant.
- Best for
- Hospitality brands with marketing-led comms
- Pricing
- Quote only
- Free option
- None
- Headquarters
- France
- Key features
- Targeted news, Mobile-first intranet, Employee advocacy, Recognition and rewards, Gamification
- Falls short
- The acquisition means plans, names and support channels may change during the transition, and prices are quote-only.
- Wrong for
- A venue that wants a rota and a clock should pick Planday or Shiftbase.
Full assessment of Sociabble
Sociabble delivers targeted news to a mobile app, an intranet, email, Teams and signage, and adds recognition, gamification and surveys. Poppulo bought it on 26 May 2026, and the Poppulo page lists hospitality and entertainment, including casinos, among industries served.
A hotel brand with a marketing-minded communications team could use the advocacy tools to turn staff into brand voices. It is tenth because the product serves communications and marketing teams more than shift crews, and the move into Poppulo changes how it is packaged.
Where it falls short
The acquisition means plans, names and support channels may change during the transition, and prices are quote-only. Employee advocacy is a marketing feature that most hospitality crews will not use daily.
There is no scheduling or time clock, and we did not verify any hospitality customer numbers.
Wrong for
A venue that wants a rota and a clock should pick Planday or Shiftbase. Buyers who need stable packaging today may prefer Speakap or Oak Engage.
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MajorSocial feedZoom
Why #11: Eleventh as a major-vendor social feed that lists hospitality among its industries and suits groups already on Zoom, with chat and screens sold as paid add-ons.
- Best for
- Hospitality groups already standardized on Zoom
- Pricing
- Quote only
- Free option
- None
- Headquarters
- Ireland
- Key features
- Social feed, Employee app, Intranet spaces, Recognition, Workvivo TV add-on
- Falls short
- Chat and TV are add-ons, so the useful bundle costs more than the base license.
- Wrong for
- Independent venues and groups without a communications team will find it oversized.
Full assessment of Workvivo by Zoom
Workvivo gives a large hospitality employer a social feed, spaces, recognition and an employee app, run by Zoom after its 2023 acquisition and headquartered in Cork. Hospitality is one of the industries on its menu, next to retail, logistics and construction.
A group already holding Zoom licences for head office gets a familiar vendor and a polished feed. Workvivo TV can put news on back-office screens.
It is last here because it is a large-company, culture-first product, and as a major vendor it is not eligible for the top three.
Where it falls short
Chat and TV are add-ons, so the useful bundle costs more than the base license. There is no free trial and no published price.
The product reads as built for office and mixed workforces on Zoom, and no scheduling, time clock or shift swap exists in the feature list we recorded.
Wrong for
Independent venues and groups without a communications team will find it oversized. A rota-led operator should begin with Planday or 7shifts.
What the data says about this market
Eleven products are ranked. Two are Dutch, three British, two American, and one each Canadian, Australian, French and Irish. Six publish tier prices on public pages (Planday, Shiftbase, Deputy, RotaCloud, Homebase and When I Work), while four are quote-only (Speakap, Oak Engage, Sociabble and Workvivo) and 7shifts publishes amounts that did not load when we fetched them.
The split is telling. Products that sell scheduling publish prices because a manager can buy them alone. Products that sell communication quote prices because a buyer needs internal sign-off and an IT conversation.
Two products offer a free plan for small teams (Shiftbase and Homebase), and five offer a free trial. The four communication platforms offer neither, only a demo. A small venue can therefore test a rota app for nothing, while a group buying a communication app commits before staff have used it.
This is why we advise a pilot on two sites and a written exit plan before an annual contract starts.
Segment fit is the weakest part of the evidence. Vendor sites list hospitality in an industry menu or give it a page, which tells us the vendor wants these buyers, but it does not tell us how well the product performs in a hotel kitchen at midnight. Haiilo, Connecteam and Enboarder were left out of this page because the pages we opened did not mention hospitality at all.
That is a statement about the evidence we found, not a verdict on those products. They may rank on other pages of this site for other segments.
Ownership is shifting. Xero bought Planday in a deal announced in 2021, Zoom bought Workvivo in 2023, and Poppulo bought Sociabble on 26 May 2026. Three of the eleven therefore answer to a larger parent.
Independent vendors such as Speakap, Shiftbase and 7shifts may move too, so ask each one how a change of owner would affect your price and your data. We found hospitality named on vendor pages for most of the list, but no vendor page gave customer numbers we could verify, so none appear here.
How to choose
1. Decide whether the rota or the message is the daily habit
Ask ten staff what they open first on a working day. If the answer is the schedule, choose a rota app and treat communication as the second purchase. If staff already have a rota they accept, but rules, notices and training reach them late, start with a communication product such as Speakap.
List the three most painful failures of last season, such as a missed shift swap or an unread allergen notice, and rank the products by how directly they address those failures. Resist buying both at once for every venue.
2. Match the product to the venue type and the countries you operate in
A restaurant with tip pooling and food-safety checks fits 7shifts, which is built for food service. A hotel with housekeeping, front desk and kitchen fits a product with targeting by department, such as Speakap or Oak Engage, plus a rota tool such as Planday. A venue in the United States has more payroll choices than one in the Netherlands.
Check language support, local payroll connections and data hosting for each country before you build a shortlist, and drop any product that fails one.
3. Pilot on two sites and write the exit plan before you sign
Run the product at one busy and one quiet site for a month. Measure how many staff accepted the invite, how many read a test announcement, and how many managers used the tool without help. Agree in writing what happens to your data, your price in the low season and your right to leave.
Ask for a sample export during the pilot, and have your payroll lead check that exported hours match what you paid. A vendor who resists a pilot or an export test is telling you how the contract year will feel.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best employee app for hospitality businesses in 2026?
Speakap ranks first for hotel and restaurant groups that need to reach crews in several languages and across several sites. It pairs targeted news, translation and onboarding journeys, and it lists hospitality among its industries. Planday is the better first pick when the daily problem is the rota and labor cost, and Shiftbase suits European owners of two or three venues who want published euro prices.
Does a hospitality employee app replace a scheduling tool?
Usually not. Speakap, Oak Engage, Sociabble and Workvivo are communication products, and shift planning comes from a separate rota tool or an integration. Planday, Shiftbase, 7shifts, Deputy, RotaCloud, Homebase and When I Work do the opposite: strong rotas, lighter messaging.
Many groups end up with one of each, so ask a vendor which integrations are live before signing.
How much does a hospitality employee app cost?
It depends on the product type. Rota apps publish per-user or per-location prices, for example Deputy from $5 per user per month, Shiftbase with a free tier up to 15 employees, or Homebase at $0 for one small location. Communication platforms such as Speakap, Oak Engage, Sociabble and Workvivo quote by license count.
Add the cost of add-ons, which several vendors charge for messaging, SMS and payroll.
Can seasonal and part-time staff use the app without a company email?
Yes for the products in this list that target deskless crews. Oak Engage states frontline access without a company email, and Speakap is built for staff without a desk. Rota apps invite staff by phone number or personal email.
Check how a leaver loses access, because seasonal turnover leaves old accounts open if offboarding is manual.
Which apps in this ranking publish prices?
Planday, Shiftbase, Deputy, RotaCloud, Homebase and When I Work show tier prices on public pages. 7shifts has a public pricing page, but the amounts did not load when we fetched it, so we quote none. Speakap, Oak Engage, Sociabble and Workvivo are quote-only.
Published prices can change, so confirm the number on the vendor page before budgeting.
Is a restaurant-specific tool better than a general employee app?
For a restaurant, often yes. 7shifts bundles tips, labor compliance, a manager log book and payroll around the rota, which general communication apps lack. For a hotel, a resort or a catering firm with mixed departments, the restaurant focus is a limit.
Pick by venue type first, then check whether the product also reaches staff outside the kitchen and the floor. Ask also whether the tool's tip and payroll rules match the country you operate in, since those modules were built around North American practice.
How do multilingual crews get the same message?
Look for automatic translation in the feed. Speakap lists instant translation, though it starts at the Premium tier. Rota apps send shift notices but rarely translate free text.
If half your crew reads a different first language, test one real announcement in a demo before you sign, and ask whether translation covers chat as well as news posts.
How do hotels differ from restaurants when choosing?
Hotels have departments that never meet, such as housekeeping, front desk, maintenance and food service, so targeting by department and site matters more than tip handling. Restaurants have one team and tight daily swaps. Planday, Deputy and Speakap name hotels or hospitality on their sites, while 7shifts centers on food service.
Does the app help with onboarding new seasonal hires?
Some do. Speakap lists onboarding journeys and short training courses, and Oak Engage lists onboarding journeys. 7shifts and Homebase mention hiring and onboarding tools inside their rota apps.
Check whether a new hire can sign documents and see the first rota before day one, because that is where seasonal starts are lost.
What should I ask in a demo?
Ask for three live tests: send one announcement to a single site and a single department, translate it, and show read status. Then ask how a shift swap reaches the app and who approves it. Finally ask what leaves with you at exit, including schedules, hours and contact lists, and in which file format.
How long does a rollout take?
We did not verify rollout timelines on vendor pages, so treat any promised date as a sales estimate. In practice the speed is set by your data: a clean staff list, correct roles and sites, and a manager at each venue who owns the rollout. Pilot with two venues before extending to the full group, and plan time for staff who need a first invite on a personal phone.
Ask each manager to send one real announcement in week one, because a feed nobody posts in loses its audience quickly.