What does a Banquet Captain do?
Banquet captains are responsible for directing each banquet staff in the entire meal service and assign tasks to them as required. Their duties include teaching new staff members how to execute their designated tasks in the banquet. Also, they organize meetings to give updates on service or policy changes as well as administering any staff issues and resolving them in a timely manner. Additionally, they guide the setup of the banquet, preserve stock room supply, and ensure all sanitary regulations and company policies on appropriate and safe food handling are followed by every staff member.
Banquet captain responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real banquet captain resumes:
- Manage department service standards, POS system, schedules and labor / beverage costs.
- Supervise functions, delegate service staff, working closely with group contacts and culinary staff to ensure maximum possible guest experience.
- Assist management of daily operations for FOH.
- Supervise, plan, and execute in-room cater events.
- Correct POS user errors and provide comps and signature gold/promotional discounts.
- Work directly with the executive chef in planning and preparing cuisine.
- Cross-Train in the restaurant, bartending, and as a front desk representative.
- Assist in planning banquets, responsible for setting up rooms, serving, and bartending.
- Schedule servers for banquets, draft excel spread sheets for tip pay outs to servers.
- Direct scheduling, inventory management, hiring, payroll, tip pool and staff management.
- Develop daily dinner and dessert menu specials and prepare gourmet cuisine for banquets, restaurant and weddings.
- Lead banquet staff, including training, presentation, and policies, especially around alcohol and food allergies.
- Prepare all buffets labels to identify food items and communicate with kitchen staff to be ready prior schedule.
- Communicate client needs to the staff and oversee the cleanliness of the club after events and reset for the next day.
- Handle cash sales from bars, responsible for closing out bills with guests and prepare final checks for the accounting department.
Banquet captain skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Banquet Captains are proficient in Customer Service, Cleanliness, and Food Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Physical strength, Detail oriented, and Customer-service skills.
We break down the percentage of Banquet Captains that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 11%
Managed personnel according to our service needs assuring proper personal appearance including uniform, cleanliness to ensure high quality customer service.
- Cleanliness, 9%
Communicated client needs to the staff and oversaw the cleanliness of the club after events and reset for the next day.
- Food Service, 8%
Supervised and participated in kitchen and dining area cleaning activities; resolved customer complaints regarding food service.
- Beverage Service, 8%
Provided beverage services to all guests pleasantly and monitored
- Banquet Functions, 5%
Host banquet functions for all convention center and exclusive location fine dinning catering and presentation coordinator.
- Wine, 4%
Provided wine presentations and recommendations to a discerning clientele.
Common skills that a banquet captain uses to do their job include "customer service," "cleanliness," and "food service." You can find details on the most important banquet captain responsibilities below.
Physical strength. One of the key soft skills for a banquet captain to have is physical strength. You can see how this relates to what banquet captains do because "waiters and waitresses need to be able to lift and carry trays of food or other items." Additionally, a banquet captain resume shows how banquet captains use physical strength: "experience & strengths: - served large private and corporate events; weddings, hotels, universities, private parties etc. "
Detail oriented. Many banquet captain duties rely on detail oriented. "waiters and waitresses must record customers’ orders accurately," so a banquet captain will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways banquet captain responsibilities rely on detail oriented: "inspected tables and buffets for details such as missing utensils, glasses, napkins, plates or any other minor details. "
Customer-service skills. banquet captains are also known for customer-service skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to banquet captain responsibilities, because "waiters and waitresses are frontline workers for their restaurant." A banquet captain resume example shows how customer-service skills is used in the workplace: "conducted daily pre-shift meetings entailing brand knowledge development, performance coaching, and team input to improve quality guest experience. "
Communication skills. A big part of what banquet captains do relies on "communication skills." You can see how essential it is to banquet captain responsibilities because "waiters and waitresses must listen to customers, ask questions as needed, and relay information to the kitchen staff so that orders are prepared to the customers’ satisfaction." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical banquet captain tasks: "remained in constant communication with various department supervisors and group contacts in reference to specific events and client needs. "
Physical stamina. Another common skill required for banquet captain responsibilities is "physical stamina." This skill comes up in the duties of banquet captains all the time, as "waiters and waitresses spend most of their work hours standing or walking and carrying trays, dishes, and drinks." An excerpt from a real banquet captain resume shows how this skill is central to what a banquet captain does: "set up banquet tables; serve vip meals, physically capable of carrying meal trays of 10. "
The three companies that hire the most banquet captains are:
- Great Wolf Resorts126 banquet captains jobs
- Brinker International54 banquet captains jobs
- Aimbridge Hospitality32 banquet captains jobs
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Compare different banquet captains
Banquet captain vs. Food service specialist
The food service specialists monitor food preparation, ensuring that the guests get their correct orders, providing them the best dining experience and satisfaction. A food service specialist takes the guests' orders, processes their payments, and serves their orders timely and efficiently. They also monitor the stock inventories, coordinate with suppliers and third-party vendors for stock requests, and assist with kitchen duties as needed, especially on high volume days. A food service specialist must have a broad knowledge of the food services industry, analyzing the current food trends to make suggestions for menus, and responding to the guests' concerns.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, banquet captain responsibilities require skills like "food service," "beverage service," "banquet functions," and "wine." Meanwhile a typical food service specialist has skills in areas such as "kitchen equipment," "preventive maintenance," "mos," and "patients." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Food service specialists earn the highest salaries when working in the government industry, with an average yearly salary of $39,427. On the other hand, banquet captains are paid more in the hospitality industry with an average salary of $34,190.On average, food service specialists reach similar levels of education than banquet captains. Food service specialists are 0.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Banquet captain vs. Room service server
A room service server is an employee employed in a hotel or lodging to provide various services to the room occupants in the hotel. They often deliver ordered food, drinks, or movies to the occupants' rooms. Their duties and responsibilities include delivery of ordered foods or drinks, taking orders, collecting dirty dishes from rooms, and maintaining supplies and orders.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that banquet captain responsibilities requires skills like "banquet functions," "room set-up," "banquet event orders," and "banquet checks." But a room service server might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "guest rooms," "beverage orders," "in-room," and "cash handling."
On average, room service servers earn a lower salary than banquet captains. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, room service servers earn the most pay in the hospitality industry with an average salary of $26,687. Whereas banquet captains have higher pay in the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $34,190.room service servers earn similar levels of education than banquet captains in general. They're 1.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Banquet captain vs. Fine dining server
Fine dining servers the people who make your stay at a restaurant enjoyable. They deliver well-written orders for the kitchen to prepare and bring your food and beverage. Being a fine dining server is no easy task, as certain skill sets need to be met in order to become an effective dining server. An efficient server is detail-oriented, observant to the needs of the diners, and intuitive. An extensive knowledge of wines and other specific food categories may be required depending on the restaurant.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, banquet captains are more likely to have skills like "banquet functions," "room set-up," "banquet event orders," and "banquet checks." But a fine dining server is more likely to have skills like "beverage orders," "strong customer service," "guest service," and "professional appearance."
When it comes to education, fine dining servers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to banquet captains. In fact, they're 0.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Banquet captain vs. Front of house manager
A front of house manager coordinates and supervises the front house team. Front of house managers make sure that every client receives a warm welcome. They see to it that all house services are performed smoothly. The scope of their duties and responsibilities may involve the recruitment of team members. They carry out administrative tasks in an organization or establishment such as a theater, concert hall, or restaurant. It is their job to handle the preparation and daily operations of these areas.
Types of banquet captain
Updated January 8, 2025
