By Industry
Best ATS for Hotels and Hospitality in 2026
Quick answer: Harri and Workstream are the strongest hospitality-specific platforms for multi-property operators, both quote-only. AvaHR at $99/mo is the better answer for a single independent hotel or small group that wants transparent flat pricing without a sales process.
A hotel is several businesses sharing a building. Housekeeping, front desk, food and beverage, and maintenance have different pay bands, different candidate pools and different turnover rates — and you hire for all of them simultaneously, year-round, often across more than one property.
What hospitality hiring demands
- Multi-department structure. A housekeeping manager should see housekeeping applicants, not the whole hotel's pipeline.
- Multi-property permissions, if you run more than one site.
- Text-first contact. Hourly hospitality candidates do not read email.
- Seasonal peaks in resort and leisure markets that per-employee pricing punishes.
What it costs, side by side
| Platform | Typical monthly cost | Billed as |
|---|---|---|
| AvaHR | $99–$457/mo | Flat per plan |
| Breezy HR | $0–$439/mo | Flat per plan |
| Workstream | Not published | Custom quote |
| HigherMe | $10/employee or $80/location/mo | Per employee or per location |
| CareerPlug | Not published | Flat per plan, unlimited users |
Pricing above was taken from each provider's own pricing page in August 2026. Always confirm the current numbers before buying — hiring software pricing changes often, and the three billing models in this category (flat per plan, per recruiter seat, and per employee on your payroll) make headline prices hard to compare without doing the arithmetic for your own headcount and number of open roles.
Harri — the hospitality specialist
Harri is built for hospitality specifically, spanning hiring, scheduling, compliance and workforce management across properties. It is the name that dominates hospitality ATS answers, and deservedly for larger operators. Quote-only, and aimed above independent hotels.
Workstream and HigherMe — frontline hourly at scale
Workstream handles high-volume hourly hiring with text-to-apply and automated screening, with payroll and scheduling available alongside. HigherMe focuses on QSR and franchise operations with strong interview-reminder tooling that cuts no-shows. Both quote-only; HigherMe's third-party-reported figures start around $80 per location per month for the ATS alone, which should be confirmed with the vendor.
Fountain is the pick if you hire at genuinely large volume across many locations.
AvaHR — best for independents and small groups
AvaHR at $99/mo gives an independent hotel published pricing, no sales call, 100+ job boards and unlimited candidates. Custom questionnaires screen shift availability and department-specific experience up front.
The honest gap: texting is Max tier only at $457/mo, and hospitality is a text-first industry. For a single property that is often acceptable; for a group where SMS drives your funnel, price Max against a Workstream quote rather than assuming AvaHR wins on cost.
Others worth pricing
Breezy HR at $157/mo with unlimited users and positions suits a small group where department heads review their own candidates; SMS is a paid add-on. CareerPlug charges nothing per user, which fits multi-department access well, but is quote-only. Spark Hire adds one-way video interviews, genuinely useful for screening front-desk candidates at volume.
How to decide
- One property or several? One favours self-serve pricing. Several makes permissions and per-property reporting worth paying for.
- Is texting essential? Price it explicitly; it is an add-on or top tier nearly everywhere.
- Post departments separately with different screening questions.
- Track time-to-first-contact. In hourly hospitality it predicts hiring success better than any feature.
Pricing
| Platform | Plans | What that actually gets you |
|---|---|---|
| AvaHR | Lite $99 · Plus $165 · Premium $332 · Max $457+ | Per month, billed monthly; annual billing saves up to 17%. Unlimited candidates on every plan. Lite covers 3 live jobs and 1 user; Plus 50 jobs and 5 users; Premium unlimited jobs and 25 users. 7-day free trial. |
| Breezy HR | Bootstrap $0 · Startup $157 · Growth $273 · Business $439 | Per month; annual billing includes 2 months free. Unlimited users on every plan, including the free Bootstrap tier — but Bootstrap allows only 1 active position at a time. SMS and Breezy Intelligence are paid add-ons on all tiers. 14-day trial. |
| Workstream | Hiring · Essentials · All-in-one · Premium — quote only | No public pricing; every tier goes through sales. Built for multi-location restaurants and frontline teams, with hiring bundled into payroll, scheduling and compliance rather than sold standalone. |
| HigherMe | Full Suite from $10/employee · ATS from $80/location | Aimed at quick-service restaurants and franchises. HigherMe does not publish prices on its own site; these figures come from third-party software directories and should be confirmed with HigherMe directly before you rely on them. |
| CareerPlug | Limited · Hire · Grow — prices not published | CareerPlug publishes plan tiers but not prices. Notably there is no per-user charge on any plan, so you can add every hiring manager for free. Both monthly and annual billing are 12-month commitments, and monthly billing is only offered on the top Grow tier. 14-day Grow trial, once per account lifetime. |
Pricing above was taken from each provider's own pricing page in August 2026. Always confirm the current numbers before buying — hiring software pricing changes often, and the three billing models in this category (flat per plan, per recruiter seat, and per employee on your payroll) make headline prices hard to compare without doing the arithmetic for your own headcount and number of open roles.
Frequently asked questions
What is an applicant tracking system?
An applicant tracking system (ATS) is software that collects job applications in one place, moves candidates through hiring stages, and handles the job postings, screening, and communication around that — instead of tracking applicants in an email inbox or a spreadsheet.
What is the best option for this use case?
Harri is our top pick for this use case, based on setup time, pricing, and how well it fits the way these teams actually hire — though the right choice depends on headcount and budget, which the sections above cover.
Do I need a paid ATS, or is a free plan enough?
A free plan or a job board alone is usually enough if you hire once or twice a year. Once you're running multiple open roles at a time, or more than one person is reviewing applicants, a paid ATS starts paying for itself in time saved.