blog

date

November 1, 2024

blog

reading time

5 min

What Does a Host Do at a Restaurant?

A host/hostess is the first face you encounter and interact with when first entering a restaurant.

Their role is essential in setting the tone for each guest's dining experience. From the warm welcome upon arrival and taking coats into coatcheck, to managing reservations and effectively coordinating seating to ensure minimal wait times and a calm atmosphere, hosts are the conductors of the entrance. With a priority on providing the most exceptional customer service, as well as ensure the seamlessness of table turnovers will ensure a memorable and positive dining experience for each guest.

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A smiling hostess standing at a restaurant entrance with a reservation book, ready to greet guests.

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Is There a Difference Between Host vs. Hostess?

No, there is no difference except for the gendering of each word.

Host = Male

Hostess = Female

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Host Training Checklist

Host training is often overlooked, but it is a crucial step to ensure the best guest experience and overall restaurant image perception. They are the basis of each guest's first impression of the restaurant and can largely impact the meal.

Training restaurant hosts thoroughly is crucial because they maintain the best overall perspective of the restaurant’s operations, allowing them to spot and address issues quickly.

Positioned at the entrance, hosts have a comprehensive view of both guest arrivals and the seating layout, enabling them to detect potential challenges, such as table bottlenecks, delays in seating, or areas needing immediate attention.

With proper training, they can proactively manage these issues, either by taking quick actions themselves like re-arranging seating flow or alerting management before problems escalate.

Their trained awareness and communication skills are essential for maintaining a smooth operation and an enjoyable guest experience.

An ideal candidate may have most, if not all, of these skills and assets

Welcoming and friendly demeanor
Customer service skills
Organizational skills
Excellent communication skills
Interpersonal skills
Comfortable in a fast paced environment
Food Safety Knowledge
Dealing with special requests and unexpected situations
Problem Solving + Conflict remedying
Team player
Managing the restaurant reservation system

Cartoon icon of a restaurant host with a bow tie and a speech bubble showing a menu.

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Nowadays, there are many in person and online host and hostess job training programs that will develop all the most crucial requirements for the role so the training program doesn't need to be developed in house.

Some restaurants opt for no training and letting the qualified candidates train on the job and learn along the way.

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Host and Hostess Duties and Responsibilities (Job Description)

1. Greeting Guests

Greeting customers as each walks in the door is a crucial part of the customer experience. You are the first contact for guests and by managing the flow of guests as they enter, you are able to control the flow of service and create an orderly and organized environment as each guest waits or gets shown to their table.

2. Reservation Management

Reservation management is one of the most crucial parts of a hostess position as guest wait times significantly impacts the entire experience for guests. By providing accurate wait times and not straying away too far from their online reservation, it can relieve many potential stressful situations.

With MenuSifu's POS MX, everything can be done with an easy click, all in one device. An easy to use all-in-one solution can be a great addition to your restaurant and an easy application for your host or hostess to begin using.

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A restaurant POS system screen displaying reservations and order details for efficient guest management.

3. Seating Guests

Seating guests can be both a hostess responsibility and a server responsibility depending who is available at the moment and which area of the restaurant the guest is being directed towards. A smooth flow is crucial for a high turnover rate especially in a busy restaurant environment.

4. Answering Phones

Answering customer phone calls and customer questions is one of the aspects of restaurant hosting that happens both before, during, and after service times and answering customer inquiries will increase customer volume and mitigate any guest concerns or disgruntled guests.

Having effective communication skills is an essential skill when talking on the phone to get the message across in a clear and efficient manner.

5. Coordinating with Other Restaurant Staff

The host training process involves getting to know and befriend the entire restaurant staff. This way, any customer concerns or problems with customer satisfaction can be dealt in an effective approach. Hosts must also coordinate with kitchen staff on to go orders

6. Managing Waiting Guests

When a restaurant is busy, the host must maintain the efficient running of the restaurant and give the guests an enjoyable dining experience from the moment they entire the restaurant.

The guest experience mainly deteriorates due to wait times or quality of the meal, so being one of the two aspects that significantly affects the entire dining experience, it is crucial to address customers with a positive attitude and attentive service.

7. Create an Overall Welcoming Atmosphere

A crucial role as a hostess is to remain calm and positive even during times of chaos and conflict. Having a pleasant demeanor and maintaining a seamless flow of customers on your end will definitely make a difference within the restaurant.

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How Much Does a Host or Hostess Make?

Since you don't even need a high school diploma to be a host or hostess, it has a very low barrier to entry and if you can provide top notch customer service, this might be the job of you.

Due the lack of education requirements, the hourly wage can be on the lower end from $10 - $25+ plus tips and ranging from $35,000 to $45,000+ a year.

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Potential Questions during a Host and Hostess Interview

1. Do you have any past experience being a host or hostess and elaborate.

2. What do you think is the most important quality for a host or hostess to have, and how do you embody that?

3. How do you manage multiple tasks and prioritize during a busy shift with guests, reservations, and phone calls coming in? Give me an example where you showed excellent multitasking skills.

4. Can you describe a time when you went above and beyond to ensure a positive experience for a customer?

5. What would you do if a guest becomes upset with their wait time and starts to make a scene?

6. How would you manage your schedule if you have other commitments?

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