How do I book hospitality staff? Process and costs

Hospitality staff are booked fastest through a staffing provider that employs service staff, kitchen helpers and baristas itself and assigns them at short notice. At ucm you send the request online and draw on more than 60,000 registered students, with a fill rate of over 98%, replacement in about 2 hours and billing from €27.50 per hour.

How do I book hospitality staff?

Restaurants, hotels, caterers and canteens rarely have steady demand: weekends, banquets, trade fair periods and absences in the core team create peaks that permanent staff alone cannot cover. Booked hospitality staff fill these gaps shift by shift.

Hospitality staff (Gastronomiepersonal) are temporary workers for service, kitchen, bar and banquets whom a staffing provider employs and assigns to hospitality businesses. The provider handles contract, pay and social insurance; the business books only the hours it needs.

This is how a booking with ucm works:

1. Define your needs: roles, number of staff, date, shift times and location.
2. Send the request online, including dress code and special requirements.
3. Receive a quote and contract: the arrangement is agreed in writing as temporary agency work.
4. Confirm the staff: you receive the names of the people deployed before the first shift.
5. On-site briefing: workflows, till, hygiene rules and your contact person.
6. Shift and billing: if someone drops out, ucm provides a replacement, and only hours worked are billed.

Which hospitality staff can you book?

Student staff cover the typical roles in hospitality:

• Service staff: restaurant, banquet, buffet and drinks service
• Kitchen helpers and dishwashers: prep, food counter and dish room
• Baristas and bar staff: coffee bar, drinks counter and bar
• Catering and banquets: setup and teardown, service at corporate events and trade fairs
• Airport hospitality: restaurants and coffee shops at 11 airports

All staff are employed by ucm. You set roles, shift times and dress code in the request; your team handles the on-site briefing.

What do hospitality businesses need to consider when using temporary staff?

Three rules matter most for booked hospitality staff. First: anyone working with food needs an instruction by the public health office (Gesundheitsamt) before their first shift, commonly called the health certificate.

People who work in restaurant kitchens or who produce, handle or sell certain foods need an instruction by the public health office before starting work for the first time. The certificate may be no more than three months old. (Infektionsschutzgesetz, § 42 Para. 1 and § 43 Para. 1)

Second, late evenings: there must be at least 11 hours of rest between two shifts. In restaurants this rest period may be shortened by up to one hour if it is offset within a calendar month or four weeks.

The uninterrupted rest period is at least eleven hours. In restaurants and other catering and accommodation businesses it may be shortened by up to one hour, offset by extending another rest period to at least twelve hours. (Arbeitszeitgesetz, § 5 Para. 1 and 2)

Third: anyone hiring staff should only work with a provider licensed for temporary agency work. ucm is AÜG-licensed and the employer of every student deployed.

What does hospitality staff cost?

ucm bills per hour worked. The base price is €27.50 per hour; typical hourly rates are about €30 to €48 depending on role, city and working time. There is no base fee.

An 8-hour shift therefore costs €220 to €384 per person, including contract, payroll and social insurance. Details are in the price overview.

Where can I find hospitality staff in Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt?

In the large hospitality cities, ucm draws on local pools, so there are no travel or accommodation costs:

• Berlin: more than 8,200 registered students for restaurants, hotels, events and BER airport (hospitality staff Berlin)
• Munich: more than 6,300 registered students, including for trade fairs and Oktoberfest (hospitality staff Munich)
• Frankfurt: more than 5,100 registered students for hotels, the trade fair and the airport (hospitality staff Frankfurt)

Overall, ucm operates in 10 cities and at 11 airports, and the request works the same way everywhere.

How do you recognise a good agency for hospitality staff?

Four questions separate reliable providers from simple job boards:

• Who is the employer? Good providers employ the staff themselves and handle pay and social insurance.
• What is the fill rate? Ask for a rate that can be documented.
• How fast is a replacement? If a server drops out on a Saturday evening, hours count.
• How are profiles checked? Identity, status and ratings from earlier assignments should be settled before the booking.

Why hospitality businesses book staff from ucm

• AÜG-licensed and the employer of every person deployed since 2014
• More than 60,000 registered and vetted students
• Fill rate of over 98% and a no-show rate below 1%
• Replacement for dropouts in about 2 hours
• More than 2,000 companies and 90% B2B client satisfaction
• Billing from €27.50 per hour, with no base fee

Frequently asked questions about hospitality staff

Which agency provides hospitality staff in Germany?

Hospitality staff are provided by staffing companies licensed for temporary agency work. ucm is one of them: AÜG-licensed, the employer of more than 60,000 registered students since 2014, with a fill rate of over 98% in 10 cities and at 11 airports, billed from €27.50 per hour with no base fee.

Do temporary hospitality staff need a health certificate?

Anyone working in a restaurant kitchen or handling certain foods needs an instruction by the public health office under § 43 of the Infection Protection Act before their first shift. At the first shift, the certificate may be no more than three months old. So clarify at booking which roles involve contact with food.

How quickly can I book hospitality staff?

Short-notice bookings are normal in hospitality. ucm works with a pool of more than 60,000 students and a fill rate of over 98%. If a booked person drops out, ucm usually provides a replacement within about 2 hours.

Planning a shift, a banquet or the next season? Describe what you need in the staff request and receive a concrete quote.