Managed Payroll · Hotels & Lodging
Tip credit and tip pooling compliance for front desk, housekeeping, and valet staff, multi-property consolidation for hotel groups, high new-hire volume from seasonal turnover, and the service charge vs. tip distinction that trips up most payroll vendors, all handled correctly. BEG manages it at $25-$45 per employee per month, all-inclusive. No migration required.
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TL;DR
Hotel and lodging payroll has to get tip credit compliance, multi-property consolidation, seasonal new-hire volume, and the service charge vs. tip distinction right at the same time. BEG manages all of it at $25-$45 PEPM, all-inclusive, live in 3-5 business days with no migration required.
Why Hotel Payroll Is Different
Tip credit rules, seasonal staffing swings, and the legal difference between a tip and a service charge create compliance traps that most payroll vendors do not catch.
Who We Manage Payroll For
Tip credit eligibility assessed correctly by role and state, with proper notice and recordkeeping maintained for every tipped employee.
Tip pooling arrangements structured to meet FLSA requirements, with the correct cash wage floor applied wherever a tip credit is not permitted.
Service charge distributions processed as regular taxable wages, kept separate from tip pools, and never counted toward a tip credit.
Consolidated payroll across every property in your portfolio, with entity-level separation and property-level reporting for ownership.
How It Works
We map your property footprint, tip credit rules by role and state, service charge policies, and seasonal staffing patterns. You get a fixed monthly cost before we start.
We configure role- and state-specific tip credit rules, service charge processing separate from tip pools, multi-property entity setup, and new-hire onboarding workflows. No migration required.
Every pay cycle, every state filing, every new-hire report, and every year-end W-2, fully managed by BEG. Your general managers touch nothing.
What BEG Handles
BEG assesses tip credit eligibility separately for front desk, housekeeping, and valet roles, applies the correct cash wage floor in every state (including states that prohibit tip credits entirely), and maintains the notice and recordkeeping documentation the Department of Labor requires for any tip credit taken. Tip pooling arrangements are structured to include only eligible employees under current FLSA guidance.
Hotel groups frequently operate each property under its own ownership or franchise entity while managing labor as one portfolio. BEG maintains entity-level separation, correct EINs, and state and local wage registrations per property while giving ownership one consolidated payroll view and one flat monthly rate across the entire group.
Seasonal properties and hotels with high frontline turnover generate a steady stream of new hires that each trigger a state new-hire reporting obligation, generally due within 20 days of hire in most states. BEG manages new-hire reporting for every hire across every property, so seasonal ramp-up never creates a compliance backlog for your HR team.
Mandatory service charges on banquets, room service, and resort fees are the property's revenue, not tips, under DOL guidance, and cannot be counted toward a tip credit. BEG processes any portion of a service charge distributed to staff as regular taxable wages, kept entirely separate from tip pools and tip credit calculations, so your property never blends the two and creates a compliance gap.
What You Get
Common objection: "Our property management system is already tied into our current payroll setup."
BEG does not require you to change platforms. We operate as your managed payroll team inside your current system. If you want to move to isolved for a platform that handles tip credits and multi-property structures natively, we can manage that transition -- but it is never a requirement.
Common objection: "Every property and every seasonal hiring wave used to cost us more."
The $25-$45 PEPM rate covers everything: tip credit configuration, service charge processing, multi-property consolidation, new-hire reporting at any volume, state filings, and year-end W-2s. One number, every property, everything included.
Common objection: "We call our payroll company and they think a service charge is the same thing as a tip."
Your BEG payroll specialist is your ongoing contact, not a call center that has to look up tip credit rules. When a property opens, when a service charge policy changes, or when a state changes its tip credit law, one message to your BEG contact gets it explained and handled.
Getting Started
15 minutes. We map your property footprint, tip credit and service charge policies, and seasonal staffing patterns, and give you a fixed monthly price.
Agreement signed, system access granted, tip pooling and service charge policies reviewed for FLSA compliance.
Role- and state-specific tip credit rules, service charge processing, and multi-property entity structure configured in your existing system.
Your first fully managed hotel payroll run across every property. BEG executes, you approve, we handle everything else.
The Math on Waiting
When a hotel counts service charge distributions toward its tip credit, or fails to withhold employment taxes on service charge payouts the way it should on regular wages, the exposure accumulates every pay period at every property running that policy. A DOL wage and hour investigation looks back years, not weeks. Getting the distinction right now costs far less than the correction later.
Your Next Transition Window
BEG transitions take 30-60 days. Hotel groups that consolidate payroll before peak season avoid carrying the wrong tip credit configuration or a new-hire reporting backlog into their busiest months.
15 minutes. We scope your property footprint, tip credit policies, and seasonal staffing needs, and give you a fixed monthly cost.
FAQ
No. A mandatory service charge is the property's revenue because the guest has no discretion over the amount, while a tip is a voluntary payment the guest chooses to give. Service charges cannot be counted toward a tip credit, and any portion paid to staff must be processed and taxed as regular wages, not tip income, per Department of Labor guidance.
It depends on whether the role customarily and regularly receives tips and whether your state permits tip credits at all. We assess eligibility separately by role and by state, apply the correct cash wage floor, and maintain the notice and recordkeeping documentation required for any tip credit taken.
We maintain entity-level separation, correct EINs, and state and local wage registrations for each property while giving ownership one consolidated payroll view and one flat monthly rate across the entire group.
We manage new-hire reporting for every hire across every property, generally required within 20 days of hire in most states, so a seasonal hiring surge never creates a compliance backlog for your HR team.
No. BEG operates as your managed payroll team inside your existing system. Migration to isolved is an option if you want a platform built for tip credits and multi-property structures, never a requirement to get started.
Everything: tip credit configuration, service charge processing, multi-property consolidation, new-hire reporting, state filings, year-end W-2s, and BEG support.
From signed agreement to live payroll: 3-5 business days. We configure tip credit rules, service charge processing, and multi-property entity structure in your existing system. If you are onboarding ahead of peak season, we prioritize new-hire reporting workflows first.
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