The rota goes stale fast
You send it as a photo and after the first change there are three versions. Nobody knows which one is right.
The staff rota for your restaurant, built and published
Build the week by hand or with Ella, publish it, and everyone sees their shifts on their phone.
Hostelella's rota is staff scheduling software for restaurants, bars and hotels. Whoever manages the team builds the week by hand or lets Ella propose it, reviews it and publishes it; each person sees their shifts on their phone and requests changes from there. It replaces the spreadsheet and the photo in the group chat.
Shifts feed the rest of the app. Clock-ins are compared with the planned shift, approved time off shows on the calendar and is taken into account when Ella plans, and notices about publications, changes and shift handovers reach each person privately. You can also ask Ella “Who's working tomorrow?”.
Building and publishing shifts by hand never uses AI allowance, on any plan. What changes between Basic, Ella and Ella Pro is how many weeks Ella can generate each month. Plans start at €9.99 + VAT per venue/month, with a 7-day Ella Pro trial and no card. To hand over team organisation there is Ella Director, a separate professional service.
How the rota gets built
Build the week
In “Shifts”, tap a person's slot on a given day and pick the shift type, or tap “Generate the week with Ella” to get a proposed schedule.
Review and publish
New shifts stay as drafts. Adjust whatever you need and publish the week: each person gets a private notice with their shifts.
The team sees it and requests changes
Each person sees their next shift and their week. If they can't make it, they request a change or offer the shift to a colleague from the same screen.
Where the spreadsheet and the WhatsApp group fall short
Swaps lost in messages
“Can you cover me?” gets buried under a hundred messages. There is no trace of who asked or who approved it.
Clashing rest days and holidays
Juggling contracts, days off and absences in your head ends in uncovered gaps or someone working a double.
What's included
Plan, publish and adjust the week from one screen.
The week at a glance
People by days in a single view, with Ella's help when you want it.
- List, day and week views (people × days)
- The same shift for several people and days in one go
- Ella proposes the week using contracts, availability and approved time off
- Labour warnings before you publish: they inform, they don't block
Everyone has their schedule
What is published is what counts, and it reaches the right person.
- Next shift, full week and total hours
- Change requests and shift handovers from the shift itself
- Holiday and time off requested and approved in Shifts
- “Add to my calendar” to take shifts to the phone calendar
Questions about shifts and rotas
How do you build a staff rota for a restaurant?
Start from your opening hours and how many people you need in each time slot, then assign shifts around contracts, rest and time off. In Hostelella you build it in the “Week” view by tapping each slot, or let Ella propose the whole week for you to review before publishing.
Does Ella build the rota on her own?
Ella proposes; you decide. You review the proposal, regenerate what you don't like — the whole week, certain days or certain people — and save the draft. The team sees nothing until you publish.
How many weeks can Ella generate per month?
One week a month on Basic, four on Ella and eight on Ella Pro. Regenerating that same week within the month doesn't use another one, and once the limit is reached you keep building shifts by hand.
Does the rota take rest periods and labour rules into account?
Before you publish, the app warns you if the week breaks rest periods, working-time limits or limits for minors, based on the rules for the business's country, region and sector. The warnings are for information: they don't block publishing and they don't replace your employment adviser.
What happens if someone can't work their shift?
They can request a change with a reason, or offer the shift: Ella notifies the colleagues who can take it. If taking it raises no labour warnings, it's theirs straight away; if it does, a manager approves it. Managers also have “Who can cover it?” inside the shift.
Can I export the shifts?
Yes. Whoever manages the team can export the shifts for a period as a CSV, and each person can add their own shifts to their phone calendar.
Keep exploring
Publish your next rota with Hostelella
Try 7 days on Ella Pro, free and with no card: build the week, publish it and see how it reaches your team. Then choose a plan, from €9.99 + VAT per venue/month.
No card · One trial sign-up per user and payer
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