Staff App
Every staff member gets their own briefing — tasks in priority order, shift status, SLA deadlines, photo uploads, and real-time notifications. All in one browser tab.
The Problem
Lisa arrives for her morning shift at 6:50am. She checks the whiteboard in the back office — it was last updated two days ago. Three room numbers are scribbled on it, one has been crossed out but she isn't sure by whom. She asks the night porter if anything came in overnight. He says "I think there was something about Room 6, extra pillows maybe?" She makes a mental note. Mental notes don't have deadlines.
Darren, the maintenance lead, has a shared spreadsheet on his phone. It has columns for room number, issue, who reported it, and status. The status column reads "Done" for six rows and is blank for the rest. He doesn't know if blank means nobody has looked at it, or if someone fixed it and forgot to update the sheet. He scrolls through WhatsApp looking for messages from last night. There are three — one is about a football score.
Then there's shifts. Lisa doesn't know if she's been clocked in. She doesn't know what her rota looks like next week. She can't check her break times. Her manager tracks attendance in a paper logbook that sits on a shelf behind reception. If there's a dispute about hours — and there always is eventually — the answer is buried in a notebook that might or might not have been filled in correctly.
How It Works
Runs in any browser. Shows each staff member their tasks, shift status, SLA deadlines, and notifications. No booking calendars. No revenue dashboards.
Every task follows a clear workflow: Claim, Start, Complete. Each step is visible, timestamped, and tracked against SLA deadlines. Staff see their tasks in priority order with real-time SLA status on every card.
Claim, Start, Complete — every task follows a three-step workflow. No ambiguity about ownership or progress. The person doing the work controls the status.
SLA stages visible everywhere — On Track (green), Warning (amber), Breached (red). Every task card shows where it stands against the deadline at a glance.
Completion notes — "Deep clean done, replaced bedding, minibar restocked." The work is documented, not just marked done.
Filter by status — view All, Assigned, In Progress, or Blocked tasks. Drill down to what needs attention now.
Staff photograph their completed work directly from the task screen. Photos are attached to the task record, creating a visual audit trail. Supervisors review and verify before the task is officially closed.
Camera or file upload — take a photo directly from the app or upload from the device gallery. Works on any phone or tablet browser.
Photo gallery per task — every image is attached to the specific task record. Before and after shots, detail close-ups, all in one place.
Awaiting verification — when staff mark a task complete with photos, it enters a verification queue. The task isn't closed until a supervisor approves it.
Supervisor review — managers review photos and notes from the dashboard. Approve, reject with feedback, or request additional photos.
Every clock-in, break, and clock-out is timestamped and recorded. Staff can see their current shift status, take breaks with a single tap, and view their 7-day rota without asking anyone. The data is clean enough for payroll.
Clock in and out with timestamps — tap to start, tap to finish. Every transition is logged with the exact time. No paper logbooks, no disputes about hours.
Break tracking — short break, lunch break, back on duty. Break duration is recorded and visible to both staff and managers.
7-day rota visibility — staff see their upcoming shifts at a glance. Morning, afternoon, or day off — no need to check a noticeboard or text the manager.
Payroll-ready data — hours worked, breaks taken, shift patterns — all exportable. Clean, timestamped records that survive any dispute.
Staff receive real-time notifications for new tasks, SLA warnings, shift reminders, and task verifications. Every notification has a priority badge, a timestamp, and is actionable — tap to go straight to the relevant task or shift screen.
Real-time WebSocket delivery — notifications arrive instantly. No polling, no refresh, no delay. When a task is assigned, the staff member knows immediately.
Priority badges — Critical (red), High (amber), Medium (blue), Low (grey). Visual hierarchy ensures urgent items stand out at a glance.
Actionable notifications — every notification links to the relevant task, shift, or room. One tap to see the full context and take action.
Role-based room visibility — housekeepers see housekeeping tasks. Maintenance staff see maintenance tickets. Each role gets the notifications relevant to their work.
In Practice
A typical morning on the Staff App.
Lisa opens the Staff App on her phone at 6:50am, ten minutes before her shift starts. She enters her PIN — four digits, no email and password — and the dashboard loads. Four KPI cards: 12 tasks today (2 urgent), morning shift (not yet clocked in), 3 unread notifications, and 1 SLA urgent item. She taps "Clock In." The shift card updates to CLOCKED_IN with a green badge and the timestamp 06:50.
The SLA urgent card shows Room 14 — a VIP deep clean due by 11:00am. It's currently ON_TRACK. She taps "Claim" and the task moves to her queue. She scrolls through her task list: twelve items, ordered by SLA urgency. The top four have deadlines before noon. She starts with Room 14 — the VIP guest is arriving at 2pm and the room needs to be spotless.
At 9:45am, a notification appears: "New task — Room 6, extra pillows requested by guest." She taps the notification and it opens the task detail. She grabs the pillows from the linen cupboard and delivers them. Task complete. Two photos uploaded: the pillows on the bed and the room in good order. Total time: twelve minutes.
Meanwhile, Darren logs in at maintenance. His dashboard shows a different view — his own tasks, his own SLA deadlines. He has an SLA urgent item: a dripping tap in Room 8, due for resolution by 10:30am. He claims it, heads to the room, and gets to work. Lisa doesn't see Darren's tasks. Darren doesn't see Lisa's. Each person sees only what's relevant to their role.
At 12:32pm, Lisa taps "Lunch Break." The shift card updates to ON_BREAK with an amber badge. She checks the 7-day rota before leaving the staff room: morning shifts Monday, Tuesday, Thursday. Day off Wednesday. Afternoon shift Friday. Day off Saturday. Morning again Sunday. She doesn't need to check a noticeboard or text the manager.
By the end of her shift at 2pm, she's completed eight tasks, uploaded fourteen photos, and received five notifications. Every action is timestamped. Every task has a completion note and photo evidence. Her manager can see it all from the dashboard. No WhatsApp messages were sent. No whiteboards were consulted. No spreadsheets were updated. The system handled it.
Connected to Everything
Task assignment, SLA deadline configuration, shift scheduling, and performance analytics. Managers see the big picture — who's doing what, what's overdue, and where patterns emerge.
Room cleaning tasks flow from the manager's assignment to individual staff dashboards. Cleanliness status updates sync in real time across housekeeping and reception.
Maintenance tickets with priorities, status updates, and photo evidence. When a maintenance task blocks a room clean, staff see it immediately in their task list.
Early check-in flags trigger priority task assignments. Room status updates from staff flow back to reception so the front desk always knows which rooms are ready.
Guest requests — extra pillows, room service, late checkout — route directly to the relevant staff member's task queue. No phone calls, no reception relay.
Kitchen staff manage their own shifts, receive notifications for new orders, and report maintenance issues — all from the same Staff App interface configured for their role.
Bar staff track their shifts, receive real-time notifications for stock issues and service requests, and stay connected to the hotel operations system.
Restaurant staff manage shift tracking, table service coordination, and notifications through the same familiar Staff App interface tailored to front-of-house operations.
Every department feeds into one system. When a guest requests extra towels through the Guest Portal, it becomes a task on a housekeeper's dashboard. When maintenance fixes a blocked shower, reception knows the room is available. The Staff App is where your team lives — and everything connects through it.
FAQ
Get Started
The Staff App is included in every Prisma plan. Set up your hotel, add your rooms and staff, and your team can be using the app within minutes.
No credit card. No contract. No setup fees. Full access to every feature — including the Staff App — at every tier.
Prisma is a UK hotel management platform with 10 purpose-built department apps. The Staff App is one of ten dedicated applications included in every plan. Pricing starts at £49/month for properties with up to 10 rooms.
