Hotel front desk schedule template.
A weekly grid for a desk that never closes. One row per person, one column per day, three shifts a day – morning, evening and the night audit – and a check under the grid that counts who is on each shift, so a night with nobody on the desk shows while the schedule is still being written.
Free, no email required. Made for Excel and Google Sheets (File → Import).
What is in the file
- The week – one row per person, a column for each day, and a drop-down list in every cell with the shifts of your desk: 7 am to 3 pm, 3 pm to 11 pm, 11 pm to 7 am, a mid shift and a day off.
- Who you need each day – how many people each shift needs, day by day. The line under it counts who is scheduled and reads "2 of 2" or "0 of 1", so a shift with nobody on it is easy to see.
- Weekly hours – the last column adds up each person from the paid hours of their shifts and marks anyone above the number at the top of the sheet. That number starts at 40 and is yours to change.
- A blank week to print – the PDF is the same grid without the example, for a desk that writes the schedule by hand.
How to use it
- Replace the example names with your team, one row per person.
- Set your shifts in the shift list near the bottom of the sheet: the times as you write them, and the paid hours of each.
- Pick each person's shift for each day from the list in the cell. A night shift goes under the day it starts on, so the 11 pm shift that begins on Friday night sits in the Friday column.
- Under "Who you need each day", type how many people each shift needs. The example uses two on the morning and evening desk and one on the night audit; your hotel may need different numbers on different days.
- Read the lines marked "scheduled". A cell turns terracotta when fewer people are on than you need. In the example week, the night audit on Sunday reads 0 of 1.
- Copy the sheet for the next week and change only what is different.
What a front desk schedule has to get right
Start with the night audit
On a day shift a second person can usually stretch for an hour. At 3 am there is often one person in the building who can check a guest in, so an empty night audit is an unstaffed desk. Fill that line first, for all seven nights, and build the day shifts around it.
Read along each row for short turnarounds
Someone who finishes the evening desk at 11 pm and starts the morning desk at 7 am has eight hours between the two, less the trip home. In the grid this shows as an evening shift followed by a morning shift on the next day. It is worth one pass along every row before the week is posted.
Plan the 3 pm change, not only the shifts
The afternoon change is when the open questions of the morning pass to the evening team: a late arrival, a room that is not ready, a guest waiting on a call back. A short overlap or a written note keeps them from being lost. The shift handover template is a one-page form for that note.
Keep an eye on the weekly hours
A sixth shift taken to help a coworker is easy to miss on a grid. The Hours column is there so it is seen when the week is written, not at payroll. Under US federal law, overtime pay starts after 40 hours in a workweek for employees the law covers (source: US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division). Your state may add its own rules.
Hotels in New York
New York State adds its own rules on a weekly day of rest, meal periods, long days and short shifts. They are set out in plain words, each with its source, in New York rules on hours and rest.
Common questions
How do I show a night audit shift that ends the next morning?
Put it under the day it starts on. The 11 pm to 7 am shift that begins on Friday night goes in the Friday column and counts toward the night audit for Friday. One shift stays in one cell.
Can I change the shift times?
Yes. Change the wording in the shift list near the bottom of the sheet, for example to 6am-2pm, and set its paid hours. Then pick the new shift in the week. Change the list before you fill in the week: a cell that still holds the old wording is no longer counted.
How many people does a front desk need on each shift?
That depends on the number of rooms, the arrivals of the day and what else the desk looks after, so the template does not suggest a number. Type what your hotel needs for each shift and each day. The two, two and one in the file are only an example.
Does it work in Google Sheets?
Yes. Upload the .xlsx file to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets, or use File → Import inside a sheet. The file uses drop-down lists, highlighted cells and the COUNTIF family of functions, all of which Google Sheets has.
When the template stops being enough
A spreadsheet shows the plan for the week. When the night auditor calls in sick at 9 pm, the plan is in a file on one computer, and the people who could cover the shift do not know it is open.
Schedio keeps the same three things this file keeps – the week, who each shift needs, and the hours – and adds what a desk that runs all day needs: an open shift a coworker can take from their phone, a note that passes from the 3 pm lead to the night auditor, and each person's own shifts sent to them in their language. It costs $49 a month per hotel, for any number of staff.
No card · first month free · cancel anytime · plus tax at checkout