Food service
Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop
Welcome patrons, seat them at tables or in lounge, and help ensure quality of facilities and service.
Median pay
$31,200
Growth to 2035
+3%
about as fast as average
Openings a year
107,100
Time to qualify*
1 month
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- No formal educational credential
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
- Prior experience
- None
Calculate your switch to hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop: 11% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Provide guests with menus.
- Greet guests and seat them at tables or in waiting areas.
- Maintain contact with kitchen staff, management, serving staff, and customers to ensure that dining details are handled properly and customers' concerns are addressed.
- Assign patrons to tables suitable for their needs and according to rotation so that servers receive an appropriate number of seatings.
- Speak with patrons to ensure satisfaction with food and service, to respond to complaints, or to make conversation.
- Inspect dining and serving areas to ensure cleanliness and proper setup.
- Supervise and coordinate activities of dining room staff to ensure that patrons receive prompt and courteous service.
- Answer telephone calls and respond to inquiries or transfer calls.
Also called: Buffet Hostess · Dining Coordinator · Greeter · Host · Host Coordinator · Hostess · Private Dining Coordinator · Seater
Outlook and AI
Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop held 444,200 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 459,500 by 2035 (+3%, about as fast as average; all jobs: +3.5%).
Compare with
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- Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop vs. Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers
- Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop vs. Food servers, nonrestaurant
- Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop vs. Fast food and counter workers
- Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop vs. Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks
- Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop vs. Bartender
- Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop vs. Locker room, coatroom, and dressing room attendants
- Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop vs. Passenger attendant
- Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop vs. Demonstrators and product promoters