How to hire a hostess

How to hire a hostess, step by step

Here's a step-by-step hostess hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a hostess job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new hostess
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a hostess do?

Post a hostess job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a hostess, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect hostess also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents hostess salaries for various positions.

   Type of Hostess	Description	Hourly rate
   Hostess	Food and beverage serving and related workers perform a variety of customer service, food preparation, and cleaning duties in restaurants, cafeterias, and other eating and drinking establishments.	$9-16
   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... Show more	$10-22
   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... Show more	$8-18

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Reservations
   • Exceptional Guest
   • Seat Guests
   • To-Go Orders
   • Bus Tables
   • Telephone Calls
   • POS
   • Greeting Guests
   • Food Orders
   • Customer Service
   • Drink Orders
   • Ensure Cleanliness
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Front Desk

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Assist guests in booking reservations and manage guest history data using OpenTable reservation system.
   • Welcome guests upon arrival and provide seating arrangements base upon OpenTable reservations and guest preference.
   • Greet by name and escort patrons to their personalize private dining area while coordinating reservations and exemplifying customer service
   • Help bar back when need and learned minimal skills in bartending.
   • Make managers aware of guests' special dining requirements and allergies.
   • Set up and maintain continental breakfast buffet, hors d'oeuvres and VIP bar.

   More hostess duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your hostess job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A hostess salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, hostesses' average salary in alaska is 14% less than in maine.
   • Seniority. Entry-level hostesses earn 41% less than senior-level hostesses.
   • Certifications. A hostess with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a hostess's salary.

   Average hostess salary

   $12.64hourly

   $26,298 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level hostess salary

   $20,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 20, 2025

   Average hostess salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Maine	$27,494	$13
   2	Massachusetts	$27,461	$13
   3	New York	$26,416	$13
   4	California	$26,257	$13
   5	Nevada	$25,451	$12
   6	Arizona	$25,351	$12
   7	Oregon	$24,832	$12
   8	District of Columbia	$24,793	$12
   9	Texas	$24,786	$12
   10	Minnesota	$24,598	$12
   11	Washington	$24,576	$12
   12	Illinois	$24,479	$12
   13	Ohio	$24,416	$12
   14	Virginia	$24,345	$12
   15	Colorado	$24,185	$12
   16	North Carolina	$24,078	$12
   17	Kansas	$24,074	$12
   18	Oklahoma	$24,054	$12
   19	Louisiana	$24,036	$12
   20	Alabama	$23,965	$12

   Average hostess salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	V-Soft Consulting	$33,191	$15.96
   2	Children's of Alabama	$33,011	$15.87
   3	Maggiano's Little Italy	$32,973	$15.85	179
   4	Bertucci's	$32,496	$15.62	2
   5	Hyatt Hotels	$32,415	$15.58	143
   6	Anthony	$32,373	$15.56	4
   7	Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts	$32,244	$15.50	19
   8	Belmont High School	$32,195	$15.48
   9	HealthTrust	$31,534	$15.16
   10	Sunrise Senior Living Management Inc	$31,381	$15.09	196
   11	Interstate Hotels & Resorts	$31,365	$15.08
   12	Gallagher	$31,008	$14.91
   13	Southern Illinois Healthcare	$30,679	$14.75	1
   14	TooJay's	$30,131	$14.49	26
   15	Corporate Caterers Orlando	$29,748	$14.30
   16	Glory Days Grill	$29,680	$14.27	20
   17	PeopleReady	$29,253	$14.06	22
   18	Avera Health	$29,200	$14.04	1
   19	Adecco	$29,167	$14.02
   20	Rocco's Tacos & Tequila Bar	$29,001	$13.94

4. Writing a hostess job description

   A good hostess job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a hostess job description:

   Hostess job description example

   Working at Northstar Cafe is much more than just a job. It’s the chance to become an important member of a close-knit team, responsible for shaping the experience at a most-loved restaurant. It’s an opportunity to bring communities together and help them thrive. And it’s a way to play a key part in the bigger picture, supporting food practices that elevate local growers and producers and keep the environment healthy.
   
   It’s also the best place to launch the rest of your working life. Here, you’ll gain the practical skills that will make you an outstanding professional in any industry. You’ll know how to maintain the highest standards and work in an environment of utmost integrity. And, you’ll develop the collaboration, communication, and leadership skills that will serve you throughout your career.
   If you’re — excited about food prepared from scratch using the best local, organic, and artisan ingredients open to learning and growing your skills looking forward to being valued as an integral member of a team wearing a smile more often than not, and genuinely interested in sharing your joy
   — then a Northstar Cafe SERVICE TEAM member might be the perfect job for you. Bring your upbeat attitude, positive energy, and desire to be your best. We’ll teach you everything else.
   
   We want you to be successful here, and support you with: thorough training in our beautiful dining room and professional kitchen top-notch teammates who’ll become close friends An efficient, productive, upbeat work environment
   
   Here’s what you’d do: Serve guests with genuine warmth Show up ready to pitch in, help out, and become very knowledgeable about the food we serve Act with confidence to ensure our guests love their experience when unique situations arise Accurately follow our best known methods, which include processes for interacting with guests, serving, cleaning, and preparing beverages Arrive at work on time looking polished and professional Move quickly, and stand for six to eight hours per day, and lift 50 pounds Wash and cut fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Prepare syrups and mixers from scratch Use a variety of classic and modern beverage-related tools and machinery to prepare beverages Take pride in being part of the most loved restaurant in the neighborhood
   
   And our team gets great benefits: medical/dental/vision paid vacation healthy lifestyle reimbursement free meal with every shift (pretty much everyone’s favorite benefit) endless opportunities to grow, challenge yourself, and have fun
   
   Our team loves working here, and we strive to make this a place worthy of them. Here’s what some of them had to say: “My favorite part about my job is I have the ability to make someone’s day, every day.” “I’m proud of how clean we keep the restaurant, how we treat each other, and how we treat guests. Our standards are really high, which I love.” “Shift meals is one of the best parts about working here! Our food is so wholesome and good.” “The style of communicating, even when something’s wrong, is very kind. It makes people actually want to change. Learning this has helped me be a better communicator in all areas of my life.” “It's the most supportive work environment that I’ve ever been a part of.”
   We use eVerify to confirm U.S. Employment eligibility.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find hostesses for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any hostesses they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level hostesses with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your hostess job on Zippia to find and recruit hostess candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with hostess candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new hostess

   Once you've selected the best hostess candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new hostess first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a hostess?