Host & Hostess Job Description: Duties, Template & Pay (2026)
A restaurant host or hostess runs the front door: greeting guests, managing the waitlist and reservations, and seating parties so the floor stays balanced and the kitchen is not buried. Host and hostess are the same job. This page has a template you can copy, the duties list, what the role pays, and six host interview questions with what a good answer sounds like.
What a host or hostess does
Host and hostess are the same job. The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts both in one occupation, hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop (SOC 35-9031), and many restaurants now post the role as “host” for everyone. This page uses both titles because candidates still search for both.
The Occupational Outlook Handbook sums up the job in one line: hosts and hostesses greet customers, seat guests, and manage reservations and waiting lists; they may also provide menus, take and prepare to-go orders, and help keep the dining area clean. In practice the host runs the door. They decide who sits where, which server gets the next table, how long the quote on the wait list is, and what happens when a party of eight walks in at 7:15 on a Friday.
O*NET’s task list adds the parts most postings leave out: assigning tables by rotation so servers get a fair number of seatings, talking with guests to handle complaints, keeping in contact with the kitchen, servers and managers, answering phones, and inspecting the dining room and restrooms. The software named is reservation and waitlist systems (OpenTable, GuestBridge Reserve), point-of-sale systems such as Aloha, and Microsoft Office.
| Working conditions (O*NET) | Share reporting it |
|---|---|
| Constant contact with others | 93% |
| Standing continually or almost continually | 90% |
| Face-to-face discussions every day | 85% |
| Indoors, environmentally controlled, every day | 85% |
| Dealing with the public rated extremely important | 66% |
| Unpleasant, angry or discourteous people | 61% once a week or more, but not every day |
The last row is the one to be honest about. A host absorbs the wait-time complaints before anyone else in the building does. Candidates who have hosted before know that, and a posting that says how managers back up the host stand reads differently from one that asks for “a smile at all times.”
Host and hostess duties
Use this list as the core of the posting and cut what your restaurant does not do.
- Greet every guest on arrival and on departure
- Manage reservations and the waitlist in the reservation system, and quote accurate wait times
- Seat guests by rotation so servers get a fair share of tables, and adjust for party size, accessibility and requests
- Keep the floor plan current: which tables are open, being bussed or about to turn
- Answer the phone, take reservations and handle to-go orders where the host stand does
- Hand out menus and explain specials or features
- Handle the first round of a complaint calmly and get a manager when needed
- Keep the entrance, host stand, menus and restrooms clean and stocked
- Help bus or reset tables on a rush when the floor needs it
Host job description template
Copy this into your ATS or job board, replace the bracketed fields and delete what does not apply. It is written for a full-service restaurant; the customization notes below cover fine dining, high-volume casual, bars and hotel restaurants.
Job title
Host / Hostess, [Days and shift], [Restaurant name], [City, ST]
Summary
[Restaurant name] is hiring a host to run the front door. You are the first and last person every guest sees: you manage the waitlist and reservations, seat guests so the floor stays balanced, and keep a busy night feeling calm. [Pay: $X/hr plus [tip share / tip pool], if applicable]. [Shifts: e.g., Friday and Saturday nights plus one weekday lunch].
What you will do
• Greet guests, manage the waitlist and reservations in [OpenTable / Yelp / Resy / your system], and quote accurate wait times
• Seat guests by rotation so every server gets a fair share of tables
• Answer phones, take reservations and [handle to-go pickup]
• Keep the host stand, entrance, menus and [restrooms] clean and ready
• Work with servers, bussers and the manager on duty to turn tables quickly
• Handle guest concerns calmly and bring in a manager when needed
• Help bus or reset tables during a rush
What you need
• No experience needed; we train you on [system] and the floor plan
• Comfortable talking to strangers, including unhappy ones
• Able to stand and walk for a full shift
• Available [evenings / weekends / holidays]
• [Minimum age, if your state or liquor license sets one]
What we offer
• [Pay range], [tip share details stated plainly]
• [Schedule posted X days ahead; shift swaps allowed]
• [Shift meal / staff discount]
• [Path to server, bartender or shift lead, and how long it usually takes]
How to apply
[One step. A short form or a text to [number]. Tell applicants when you hold interviews.]
Requirements: what to ask for, and what to drop
| Requirement | What to know |
|---|---|
| Experience | Ask for none. The OOH lists short-term on-the-job training and no formal educational credential for this group of jobs. “1+ years hosting experience” screens out the students and first-job candidates who fill most host roles. |
| Education | Do not require a diploma. In O*NET’s survey, 42 percent said a new host needs less than a high school diploma and 29 percent said a diploma. |
| Availability | This is the real requirement. Name the shifts, including weekends and holidays, rather than “flexible availability.” The OOH notes part-time work is common and that shifts often run early mornings, late evenings, weekends and holidays. |
| Age | If you hire workers under 18, federal and state child labor rules limit hours and some tasks. Check the U.S. Department of Labor child labor guidance and your state before scheduling. |
| Appearance | Say what the dress code is and whether you supply it. Vague appearance language invites the wrong kind of screening. |
| Tips | If hosts share in tips, say how. If you take a tip credit, the federal rules on who can be in a mandatory tip pool are narrower; see DOL Fact Sheet #15 and check your state. |
Customizing it by restaurant type
Fine dining
Reservations, VIP notes, coat check and pacing the kitchen matter more than speed. Name the reservation system and whether the host confirms bookings by phone.
High-volume casual
Wait-list management and table turns are the job. Say the volume (covers on a Friday) and whether hosts also run to-go.
Bars, lounges and coffee shops
The BLS occupation includes lounges and coffee shops. Hosts here may also check IDs or take orders at a counter; say so, and name any minimum age your state or license requires.
Hotel restaurants
Hosts may cover room-service calls or a breakfast buffet. The job overlaps with a concierge at the edges; say where the line is.
What hosts and hostesses earn
Hosts and hostesses had a median wage of $15.00 an hour in May 2025 ($31,200 a year at the median). That compares with $15.00 for fast food and counter workers, $16.34 for dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers, and $17.00 for nonrestaurant food servers, the other occupations the OOH groups with hosts. These are OEWS figures, and the OEWS wage definition includes tips, so the median is not a base rate before tips.
There were 444,200 hosts and hostesses in 2025, and BLS projects employment to grow 3 percent to 459,500 by 2035. The BLS Employment Projections table puts host openings at about 107,100 a year over the decade, against 15,300 net new jobs over the whole ten years; across the whole food and beverage serving group the OOH projects about 1,078,500 openings a year.
What it costs to reach a host
Our 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark has no restaurant or host role family, so we quote the closest published lines rather than invent one. The retail and corporate sector, the nearest match for hourly customer-facing work, had a median cost per applicant of $8.58 on Meta, a middle 50 percent band of $3.72 to $17.76, a blended $3.66 and a 26 percent apply rate, the highest of any sector. The customer service / admin role family ran a $2.71 median with a 25 percent apply rate. Both sit well below the $13.88 all-role median.
Cheap applicants are not the constraint for this role; speed is. A host applicant who hears back in three days has usually taken another restaurant’s shift. Cost per applicant is not cost per hire.
Host interview questions
Six questions that tell you more than “why do you want to work here.” For more, see our server interview questions and interview questions for teenagers.
1. The wait is 45 minutes and a guest says their friend knows the owner. What do you say?
Good answers stay polite and fair: acknowledge them, keep them on the list, offer the bar, and involve a manager if they push. You are listening for someone who will not seat people out of turn just to end the conversation.
2. Three servers have open tables. How do you decide who gets the next party?
Anyone can learn your rotation; you want someone who mentions fairness to servers and the state of each section. Candidates who have hosted will mention a server who is already slammed.
3. Tell me about a time you dealt with someone who was upset. What happened?
Any setting counts: school, retail, family. Listen for staying calm, not taking it personally and knowing when to hand it off.
4. The phone is ringing, two parties are at the stand and a server needs a table reset. What do you do first?
A good answer acknowledges the people in front of them first, answers the phone with a quick hold, and asks for help. There is no single right order; you are testing whether they freeze.
5. Which days and times can you work each week?
Ask it plainly and write it down. Availability mismatches are a common reason new hosts quit early.
6. Where would you like to be in a year?
Many hosts want to serve or bartend. That is a good answer if you can offer the path, and worth telling them about.
Hiring the rest of the front of house? See the server, busser, bartender, barback and restaurant manager job descriptions, and hospitality recruiting for the hiring side.
The job description is not the job ad
The template is the document. The ad has to get someone who was not looking to stop scrolling.
- First line: pay, tips and shifts. “Host, Friday and Saturday nights, hourly plus tip share” with the actual numbers says more than any adjective.
- Say “no experience needed” if it is true. It is a strong reason for a first-job candidate to apply.
- Show the path: host to server is a real promotion, and saying so recruits.
- Follow up the same day. Host candidates usually apply to several places at once.
More in job ad copywriting and how to hire servers, which applies to the host stand too.
Frequently asked questions
What does a host or hostess do in a restaurant?
A host or hostess greets guests, manages reservations and the waitlist, seats parties so servers get a fair share of tables, hands out menus, answers the phone and often handles to-go orders. They also help keep the entrance and dining room clean, handle the first round of guest complaints and help bus tables when the floor is busy.
What are the main host duties?
Greeting and seating guests, quoting wait times, managing the reservation and waitlist system, rotating tables across server sections, answering phones, handling to-go pickup, keeping the host stand and entrance tidy, and communicating with servers, bussers and the kitchen so tables turn quickly. The exact list depends on the restaurant’s size and service style.
Is there a difference between a host and a hostess?
No. They are the same job, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics counts both in one occupation, hosts and hostesses (35-9031). Many restaurants now use “host” for everyone. Using both titles in a posting can help it show up in more searches.
How much do restaurant hosts make?
The median wage for hosts and hostesses was $15.00 an hour in May 2025, or $31,200 a year at the median. BLS wage figures include tips. If hosts share in tips at your restaurant, the posting should say how that works.
What qualifications does a host need?
Very few. The OOH lists no formal educational credential and short-term on-the-job training for this group of jobs. What matters is availability for evenings and weekends, comfort talking to strangers, and the ability to stand for a full shift. Requiring experience mainly shrinks the pool.
Can hosts be paid the tipped minimum wage?
Under federal law, a tipped employee is one who customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips, and the federal tipped cash wage is $2.13 an hour. Whether a host qualifies depends on the facts and on state law, which is often stricter. Check DOL Fact Sheet #15 and your state before setting pay.
What should I ask in a host interview?
Ask how they would handle a guest demanding to skip the wait, how they would decide which server gets the next table, how they dealt with an upset person, what they would do with the phone ringing and two parties waiting, and which shifts they can actually work. Listen for fairness and calm under pressure.
How many hosts are there in the U.S.?
BLS counted 444,200 hosts and hostesses in 2025 and projects 459,500 by 2035, a 3 percent increase. Most openings come from people leaving the job rather than new positions, which is why host stands are rehired so often.
How much does it cost to recruit a host?
We do not publish a restaurant-specific figure. The closest line in our 2026 benchmark, the retail and corporate sector, had a median cost per applicant of $8.58 on Meta with a 26 percent apply rate. The customer service / admin role family ran a $2.71 median. The all-role median was $13.88.
Related job descriptions
Hiring hosts and front-of-house staff?
The description is the document. Getting it in front of people who are not on a job board, and following up the same day, is the part we do.
Wage, employment, projection and duty data for hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop (SOC 35-9031): U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, Food and Beverage Serving and Related Workers, last modified 27 August 2026; May 2025 OEWS wages, 2025 employment and 2025–35 projections. Annual median, tasks, software, education and work context: O*NET OnLine 35-9031.00. Tipped-employee rules: U.S. DOL Wage and Hour Division Fact Sheet #15. Occupation-level annual openings: BLS Employment Projections Table 1.2, 2025–35. Read at source 24 September 2026. Cost-per-applicant figures: Boostpoint 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark, 891 managed campaigns and 1,334 campaign-months.