A hostess is someone who helps to greet and welcome customers coming into a restaurant. They are one of the first points of contact with a customer and help represent the business in the best light. They play an essential role in the management of the restaurant's guests. Without a hostess, guests may decide to leave the restaurant and the business could lose revenue. A hostess is someone with a great personality and people skills who has great attention to detail.

Table of Contents

• Hostess Job Description Sample
• Hostess Resume Summary
• Hostess National Average Salary
• Hostess Duties & Responsibilities
• Hostess Skills
• Hostess Requirements

Hostess Job Description Sample

A hostess is one of the employees who stands on the front-lines in terms of customer satisfaction and representation of the business. A typical job for a restaurant host or hostess includes greeting and welcoming the customers upon the entry to the building. And helping them to be seated at the first and most accommodating place in the restaurant. A hostess may be given smaller tasks that they are expected to complete. For example, ensuring that the menus are clean. Or that there are enough napkins and silverware to suffice the audience for the evening. Additional cleaning tasks may be provided to a hostess. A hostess should be expected to be a multidisciplinary team player.

Related: 5+ Best Hostess Interview Questions & Answers

Hostess Resume Summary

This is how you might describe your position as a Hostess in a resume summary, executive summary or professional summary:

3+ years in restaurant management. Great attention to detail. People skills. Able to manage large groups of people with many requests. Customer satisfaction is my priority.

Hostess National Average Salary

National average salary for Hostesses is provided by The U.S. Department of Labor Statistics. National averages are a cumulative total average as seen by a non-specific geographic mean average. That means this is the average salary that you might expect to have (regardless of geographic region) when entering into this job function.

National average salary: $7.45/hr - $12.38/hr

Hostess Duties & Responsibilities

• Greet all customers and help get them seated
• Answer any customer questions that may arise
• Be able to support all wait staff and menu needs
• Be able to support large quantities of customers waiting to be seated
• Plan seating arrangements in advance
• Play a pivotal role in customer service
• Assist in smaller yet important tasks that the restaurant may require
• Understand a seating chart and help assist with seating guests
• Be proactive about greeting guests
• Work with customers who have a reservation
• Ensure patrons are happy with their experience at all times
• Provide patrons accurate wait times when necessary
• Assist patrons to the waiting area or lounge when waiting
• Communicate to other kitchen staff about new customers
• Ensure proper table rotation
• Communicate with the guests waitress and other staff
• Ensure guest satisfaction at all time
• Greet guests immediately
• Greet customers immediately
• Ensure the dining room is ready for new guests
• Ensure the hostess position and station is organized
• Ensure a positive attitude at all times
• Communicate with the waiter or waitress who is working with the customers
• Look each guest in the eye and be a part of the experience of the restaurant
• Track each guest reservation and mark the hour and time they arrived
• Provide excellent customer service at all times

Hostess Skills

• People skills
• Communication skills
• Detail-oriented skills
• Listening skills
• Patience
• Customer happiness skills

Tip: Two of the best soft skills to list on your resume are: time management and willingness to be flexible, agile and adaptable to change.

Hostess Requirements

• Friendly, outgoing personality
• Previous restaurant hostess work is preferred
• Ability to listen and communicate efficiently to customers
• Strong organizational skills
• Strong motivational skills
• Ability to be flexible with working hours
• Ability to demonstrate leadership under pressure

Hostess Resources

• 5+ Best Hostess Interview Questions & Answers
• Hostess Cover Letter

Using Your Template

Follow these instructions to use your new job description template

• Step one: Fill out all details in your job description template using the provided sample on this page.
• Step two: Customize your requirements or duties to anything special to your workplace. Be sure to speak with team members and managers to gauge what's required of the position.
• Step three: When the census of the team has agreed on the description of the work, add in a Equal Employment Opportunity statement to the bottom of your job description.
• Step four: Check with your legal department, management team, and other team members to ensure the job description looks correct before creating a job advertisement. Choose a job board that's specific to your needs.

Related Hiring Resources

5+ Best Hostess Interview Questions & Answers
Hostess Cover Letter Sample