Aplauso organizes your venue into a three-level hierarchy: Property → Departments → Outlets. Employees are assigned within that hierarchy. Understanding this structure keeps canonical tip and rating destinations consistent and makes roll-up reporting reliable.

The Property Hierarchy

Property (e.g. "The Grand Hotel")
├── Department: Housekeeping
│   ├── Outlet: Main Building
│   └── Outlet: Spa Building
├── Department: Guest Services
│   ├── Outlet: Concierge Desk
│   └── Outlet: Valet Booth
└── Department: Wellness
    └── Outlet: Spa Reception
LevelWhat it isHas a tipping QR?
PropertyYour venue or brandNo
DepartmentA team or service line within a propertyYes
OutletA service point or operating unit within a departmentYes
EmployeeIndividual staff memberYes

Creating Departments

Departments group employees and service outlets by role or service type within a property.

  1. Go to Business → Departments.
  2. Click New Department.
  3. Enter:
    • Name (e.g. "Housekeeping", "Valet", "Concierge")
    • Description (optional)
  4. Click Save.

Creating Outlets

Outlets represent service points or operating units within a department (for example, a front desk, spa reception, restaurant, parking location, or service journey stage).

  1. Create the owning department first.
  2. Go to Business → Outlets.
  3. Click New Outlet.
  4. Enter:
    • Department - choose the owning department
    • Name (e.g. "Main Hotel", "Spa Building", "Valet")
    • Description (optional - shown to guests on the tipping page)
    • Default tip presets (override the property-level presets if this outlet serves different tip norms)
  5. Click Save.

Simple operations: You can use a department as the canonical destination without creating a separate outlet when a finer service-point layer is not useful.

Assigning Employees to Departments

When you invite employees, you assign them to a department. You can change this at any time:

  1. Go to Business → Team settings → [Employee Name] → Role and assignment.
  2. Change the Department and Outlet fields.
  3. Save.

Department and Outlet QR Codes

Department and outlet QR codes open the Webkiosk with that entity as the canonical destination. The guest leaves one rating and, if they tip, one tip for that destination. Aplauso then applies that exact destination's saved rule.

  • Department QR URL: k.aplauso.io/d/{departmentId}
  • Outlet QR URL: k.aplauso.io/o/{outletId}

These codes are especially useful for:

  • Housekeeping floors (guest tips the department and Aplauso distributes)
  • Valet queues (multiple attendants, one QR code at the booth)
  • Spa reception (tips and ratings directed to the spa outlet)

To get department and outlet QR codes:

  1. Go to Business → Departments or Business → Outlets, then open the destination.
  2. Click Download QR Code.

Analytics by Department and Outlet

The management dashboard shows tip volumes, average ratings, and guest satisfaction broken down by outlet and department, making it easy to spot high-performers and areas for coaching.

See Property Insights for details.

Hotel

  • Outlets: Main Building, Spa, Restaurant, Valet
  • Departments per outlet: Housekeeping, Concierge, Bellhop, Room Service

Spa / Wellness Center

  • Single outlet (unless multi-location)
  • Departments: Massage, Facials, Nail Services, Reception

Valet Service

  • Single outlet
  • Single department: Valet Attendants (use department QR for the whole team)

Next Steps