What You'll Do

  • Provide guests with menus.
  • Greet guests and seat them at tables or in waiting areas.
  • Receive and record patrons' dining reservations.
  • Maintain contact with kitchen staff, management, serving staff, and customers to ensure that dining details are handled properly and customers' concerns are addressed.
  • Inform patrons of establishment specialties and features.
  • Direct patrons to coatrooms and waiting areas, such as lounges.
  • Operate cash registers to accept payments for food and beverages.
  • Prepare cash receipts after establishments close, and make bank deposits.
  • Supervise and coordinate activities of dining room staff to ensure that patrons receive prompt and courteous service.
  • Order or requisition supplies and equipment for tables and serving stations.

Essential Skills

Active Listening 3.5/5
Speaking 3.12/5
Service Orientation 3.12/5
Social Perceptiveness 3.0/5
Reading Comprehension 2.88/5
Monitoring 2.88/5
Coordination 2.88/5
Critical Thinking 2.75/5
Active Learning 2.62/5
Persuasion 2.62/5
Negotiation 2.62/5
Time Management 2.62/5

Career Fit Overview

Use this summary to understand the kind of profile this role rewards. It helps you judge whether this career looks like a stronger match than your current role, a nearby move worth exploring, or a broader path to compare more seriously.

Top passions

  • Helper: Supporting people and making a difference matters to you.
  • Leader: Taking charge and moving ideas forward motivates you.
  • Organizer: Bringing order to data and processes satisfies you.

Common styles

Cooperation, Social Orientation, Optimism, Dependability, Empathy

Want a personal read on fit? Take the free assessment and compare this career to your current role, nearby alternatives, and broader stronger-fit options.

Key Abilities

This career demands strong capabilities in the following areas:

Oral Comprehension 4.0/5
Oral Expression 4.0/5
Speech Recognition 3.25/5
Speech Clarity 3.12/5
Written Comprehension 3.0/5
Problem Sensitivity 3.0/5
Deductive Reasoning 3.0/5
Inductive Reasoning 3.0/5

Technologies & Tools

Avenista Table Reservations Facebook GuestBridge Reserve Hospitality Control Solutions Aloha Point-of-Sale iMagic Restaurant Reservation Microsoft Excel Microsoft Office software Microsoft Windows OpenTable Point of sale POS software Reservation software

Work Environment & Strengths

Common Strengths for This Career

  • Cooperation (High importance: 4.67/5)
  • Social Orientation (High importance: 4.63/5)
  • Optimism (High importance: 4.43/5)
  • Dependability (High importance: 4.37/5)
  • Empathy (High importance: 4.22/5)

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How to Become One

Little or no previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for this career. Training is provided on the job.

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Also Known As

This career is known by many different job titles across industries. Here are all the variations:

Bar Host Bar Hostess Breakfast Host Buffet Hostess Deli Host (Delicatessen Host) Dining Coordinator Dining Room Host Dining Room Hostess Front Desk Host Front Desk Hostess General Teller Greeter Hospitality Coordinator Host Host Coordinator Hostess Maitre D' (Maitre d'hotel) Parlor Chaperone Party Host Party Hostess Restaurant Host Restaurant Hostess Seater Tearoom Host Tearoom Hostess

Career Fit FAQs

Is this career a good fit for me

This page shows the role itself. To see personal fit, use the assessment to compare your interests, motivations, and strengths against this career and against the role you are in now.

Can this help if I want to stay in my field

Yes. Many people use career pages like this to compare nearby roles in the same field and see whether they need a full switch or a better-fit version of the work they already know.

What should I compare first

Start with the daily tasks, the preparation level, and the work-style signals on this page. Then use the assessment to see whether this role looks like a stronger fit than your current role or just a different title.